CBB Review – Sacred Reading: The 2017 Guide to Daily Prayer

Last updated on: November 13, 2016 at 9:52 pm By Pete Socks

Review by Julie Abell I really enjoy books that can keep my eyes and heart focused on Jesus and this one does just that. Sacred Reading: The 2017 Guide to Daily Prayer by Douglas Leonard, the Executive Director of Apostleship of Prayer, allows the reader to delve into the “powerful, ancient form of prayer known as sacred reading (lectio divina) that invites communion with God through scripture reading and contemplation.” Throughout the entire Church year the reader is presented daily... Read more

Satan does not see God; Angels: Day 117

Last updated on: November 11, 2016 at 9:15 pm By Pete Socks

Examining the book of Job, St. Gregory the Great encounters a puzzle very near the beginning. How could Satan come before the Lord when only the pure in heart shall see God? The answer, he says, is that God saw Satan, but Satan did not really see God. “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them” ( Job 1:6). When it says that Satan came before... Read more

Whence have you come?; Angels: Day 116

Last updated on: November 11, 2016 at 9:10 pm By Pete Socks

When Satan appears before the Lord, God asks him, “Whence have you come?” That’s not because God was ignorant of where Satan had been, says St. Gregory the Great. It’s God’s way of saying that Satan has not been doing his will. “The Lord said to Satan, ‘Whence have you come?’ Satan answered the Lord, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it’” ( Job 1:7). Why didn’t he ever say to... Read more

Satan presents himself before the Lord; Angels: Day 115

Last updated on: November 6, 2016 at 11:01 pm By Pete Socks

Satan still has an angel’s nature, says St. Gregory the Great. Although he has fallen, he is still rightly classed with the angels in the Book of Job. “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them” ( Job 1:6). It is certainly necessary to ask how Satan came to be there among the elect angels, when long before he had been condemned and banished from among... Read more

Better a prisoner for Christ than an angel; Angel: Day 114

Last updated on: November 6, 2016 at 10:49 pm By Pete Socks

It sounds crazy, says St. John Chrysostom, but a Christian would rather be a prisoner with Paul than be transformed into an angel in Heaven. Suffering for Christ is the greatest privilege a Christian can ever know. Yes, to everyone else it seems like folly that to suffer dishonor is to be counted worthy, that to suffer dishonor is to rejoice. But to those who understand the love of Christ, this is what counts as the most blessed thing of all! If... Read more

It’s good to be human; Angels: Day 113

Last updated on: November 6, 2016 at 10:50 pm By Pete Socks

Some heretical writers had said that there would be no bodily resurrection, but that we would be pure spirits like the angels. St. Methodius argues that, if God had wanted us to be angels, he wouldn’t have made us human. God didn’t make a human being and then—as if he had done it badly, or made a mistake in forming him—decide to make an angel, repenting of his work, as really bad craftsmen do. Nor did he try to make an... Read more

CBB Giveaway – Resisting Happiness

Last updated on: November 9, 2016 at 7:54 pm By Pete Socks

This week TEN lucky winners will receive a copy of Resisting Happiness by Matthew Kelly, sponsored by Dynamic Catholic (you can read my review here). I use Rafflecopter to run my giveaways which makes it simple for you and me! Enter below. a Rafflecopter giveaway Read more

Our freedom is different from the angels; Angels: Day 112

Last updated on: November 6, 2016 at 10:39 pm By Pete Socks

Like the angels, says St. John of Damascus, we have free will; but it’s a little bit different. For the angel, the choice comes instantaneously. For us, limited by our bodies and attacked by the devil, the choice is never instantaneous: we are faced with a situation, and then decide what to do about it. Freedom of will is used in several senses: one in connection with God, another in connection with angels, and a third in connection with human... Read more

CBB Review – Resisting Happiness

Last updated on: November 9, 2016 at 12:21 pm By Pete Socks

Matthew Kelly seems to churn books out at will. The key is each of these books is good…very good and carry their own unique message. In his latest, Resisting Happiness, Matthew Kelly once more opens our minds and our hearts and causes readers to reassess where they are at in their faith journey. In the first chapter he says: “The hardest war to win is one you don’t even realize you are fighting. And the hardest enemy to defeat is... Read more

CBB Review – Faith Under Fire

Last updated on: November 7, 2016 at 10:11 pm By Pete Socks

Review by Julie Abell Who doesn’t love a good story? Everyone loves a good story. That is probably one of the reasons we scour the internet daily, quickly glancing over an article to see if a good story exists in it. Or is that just me? Regardless, I am here to tell you about the book I picked up to read – Faith Under Fire: Dramatic Stories of Christian Courage by Matthew Archbold. The title alone grabbed me and pulled me... Read more