Book List

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The Flowing Grace of Now:Encountering Wisdom Through the Weeks of the Year

The Flowing Grace of Now:Encountering Wisdom Through the Weeks of the YearAuthor: Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB

Your insights as to why the book is important from the perspective of one who seeks to be faithful to Benedictine spirituality in our time: Benedictine writer Macrina Wiederkehr has a mystical way of approaching everyday life. This is her most recent book, published not long before she died in April 2020. It is an engaging companion for those of us finding ourselves separated from family and friends. Sister Macrina finds an array of teachers in the stuff of ordinary life. There are 52 reflections for the weeks of the year and they are excellent jump-starts to Lectio. Each chapter helps us to wake up and identify "teachers" that arrive in the normal course of life in unexpected ways.

Recommended by: Judith Valente

Wilmington's Lie

Author: David Zucchino

Your insights as to why the book is important from the perspective of one who seeks to be faithful to Benedictine spirituality in our time: I believe we are called to learn more about the history of racism in America. This powerful book is about an actual coup - the overthrow of an elected city government - in 1898 in Wilmington NC. White supremacists were upset that blacks had been elected to city offices, and wanted to disenfranchise black voters. The whites rioted, murdered blacks, and burned black businesses. This event has been so well hidden that even some natives of North Carolina have never heard of it. But I believe it is a religious and spiritual imperative that we look honestly at our own history - it gives us perspective on what is happening in America today.

Recommended by: Kathleen Norris

Moments to Remember, Ignatian Wisdom for Aging

Authors: Carol Ann Smith, SHCJ and Eugene F. Merz, SJ

Your insights as to why the book is important from the perspective of one who seeks to be faithful to Benedictine spirituality in our time: I find this book a treasure as I look with new lens at my vulnerabilities because of Covid, aging, and death-particularly as I write my legacy for family during this Covid time. I am grateful for time to re-explore my life with Benedictine insights and to discover a growing sense of inner peace.

Recommended by: Cheryl B. Larson, OblSB