Fifth Sunday of Lent (Cycle A)

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The Raising of Lazarus Lectionary:  34 Reading 1 -  Ezekiel 37:12-14 Responsorial Psalm -  Psalm 130:1-8 Reading 2 -  Romans 8:8-11 Verse - John 11:25a, 26 Gospel -  John 11:1-45 Lazarus, come out! LESSON: The Power of God Through Those Who Believe We’re a week away from the start of Holy Week. Our Lord now has his sights set on Jerusalem, and the pace is quickening. In these next two weeks, we’re living just one part of the Gospel passage from today: an encounter with the reality of suffering and death. Jesus is asking us to have faith in him. In today’s First Reading the prophet Ezekiel reminds us of the Lord’s promise to not only to bring us back to life but to bring us home. The background of this passage is the famous "Valley of Dry Bones." The people of Israel were in exile in Babylon. They weren't just sad; they were spiritually and nationally "dead." Their common saying was: "Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off." They d...
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Review: The Monastic Heart: 50 Simple Practices for a Contemplative and Fulfilling Life

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The Monastic Heart: 50 Simple Practices for a Contemplative and Fulfilling Life The Monastic Heart: 50 Simple Practices for a Contemplative and Fulfilling Life by Joan D. Chittister

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book has 50 chapters; one for each monastic practice. The chapter title and subtitle provide a brief hint on the topic … such as Bells (Remembering), Hospitality, Silence, Cloister, Community, Solitude (you can see how some of these are related if not repetitive). A short summary (aka thesis statement) follows the title, then there is a reflection on the topic within the Benedictine monastic life/history and that is followed by a section called "Integrating the Practice" (how you and I can incorporation this practice in our more secular life. The chapter ends with a quick quote that is designed to restate the core concept of the practice.

For such as ambitious work, it is fairly well put together and it is an easy read … perhaps not in one sitting though. At times it seems to be covering the same ground, just from a different view point. At other times, it seems the author tries too hard to connect the monastic practice to the secular life and I had trouble connecting to that. Regardless, each chapter dose provide the reader with things to contemplate on and maybe come up with their own way of getting to the underlying concept of each practice … the summary of which would be to create your own community and sacred spaces where you can find and nurture a relationship with a loving God, and with a broken world.

Although it was very interesting, it ultimately was not quite what I was looking for

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#TheMonasticHeart #NetGalley.

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