Shhh....It's a Library Post!

 

Photo Credit:   John Bender

I've always been a lover of libraries and was blessed to work as a "Page" at the Manitowoc Public Library during my high school years.  My favorite library, The Salzmann Library, on the campus of Saint Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwaukee, has been the subject of many blog posts here, and I've enjoyed reading other's library posts, as well, such as a post on the world-famous Kansas City Library, One of the Most Unusual Libraries in the World, by Christi Jentz and Milwaukee's Sublime (Public) Library by Cream City Catholic.  (Please do take the time to visit both of those posts and the links they provide as well-you will love them!)

Recently my children and I had the great privilege of visiting a library that completely took my breath away.  I was astonished by it's beauty and saddened that my time there was far too short.  Much to my chagrin I was equally saddened that, although I took many photos of my favorite parts of the library, they were accidentally deleted from my camera.  Thankfully, my son, John, took a few photos which he generously shared with me, and I found lots of google images as well, so I have shared some of them here, but you can find so many more with a simple google search.  It may be a while before I find another opportunity to visit the Feehan Memorial Library and McEssy Theological Resource Center at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois, which is renown as one of only 250 of the world's greatest libraries, so I will try to put the missing pictures into words and share the beauty of that magical place of learning here and now without waiting for another trip to Illinois to capture more photos.

If you are ever afforded the opportunity to visit St. Mary of the Lake Seminary at Mundelein, after enjoying the beautiful grounds, lush with lakes and gardens and statues, and perhaps after bending your knees in prayer in the bright and spacious chapel, do pay a visit  to the Feehan Memorial Library, and, like a book that you just don't want to finish and return to the library, be renewed.

Photo Credit:  John Bender

Photo Credit:  John Bender

Photo Credit:  John Bender

Silenced by the Wonder

Open the door to hush and coolness and beauty, leave the natural and architectural feats behind, and bask in the wonder of books towering three floors high.

Stack after stack of knowledge is waiting to be imparted to those seeking the treasure of wisdom and learning that is available here.  I can't help but ponder whether the knowledge found in this library will be shared in future homilies.

For in a building not too far away, bishops and priests and seminarians still in training find that this source of knowledge is theirs for the taking.  And it's not only men of the cloth who can take advantage of this wonder, but anyone who thirsts after meaning and understanding in this world today and is eager to find that which they seek in the written word, in the wealth of timeless books written across the centuries. Who would not be overjoyed by this gift to be had for free?

Climb the metal spiral to the furthest hidden away corner on the third floor to find rows of Civil War history books wrapped and tied with cloth. Best to leave them wrapped and tied, I suppose.  Why loosen the wounds of war in a world already besieged with too many battles?

Just below another spiral stair, a quiet lounge awaits, immaculately clean and inviting, with relics and statues of Our Lovely Lady to enchant the visitor and accompany the student working quietly nearby.

Oh, blessed librarian, who quietly sits in waiting for those who come to explore the written words held within the hallowed walls of this magnificent library, may you long bring the joy of knowledge to those who enter your world of silent wonder!

google images

google images/Mundelein Seminary

google images

The Third Testament-A Guest Post

John Eklund is a first-time author who has written a historical piece of Catholic fiction based on Church history since the time of Christ. According to his website, the book uses real-life locations and Church events fashioned into a fictional story, which especially intrigues me since one of the locations mentioned in the book is the beautiful Devil's Lake State Park which my family loves to visit for camping trips. The Third Testament is widely acclaimed in Catholic circles so when the author proposed the following guest post, I was eager to agree. Please be sure to visit The Third Testament Website for more information as well as for information on ordering the book.

Joining in Holly's Life Size Catholic Pay it Forward Blog MEME, I offer you a guest post by The Third Testament author, John Eklund:

Several years ago my wife Jennifer and I were planning a trip to Germany (a trip we never ended up taking but still hope to). I had recently bought the book 1000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz and was looking through the section on Bavaria. I came across the remarkable story of the village of Oberammergau. In the seventeenth century the people of Oberammergau were ravaged by the bubonic plague, the Black Death. Guided by faith, the villagers made a pact with God to perform a Passion Play every ten years for eternity in exchange for a reprieve from the Black Death. They performed the first play at Pentecost in the year 1634, and miraculously no further lives were lost. The passage in Schultz’s book made me say “Hey, that sounds like something that could be in the Bible.” Around that same time I was reading Dan Brown’s infamous novel The Da Vinci Code. In the novel Brown erroneously describes the council of Nicea as the place where the early Church leaders decided what events and writings should be included in the Bible. All of a sudden a light bulb went on in my head. I became deeply intrigued by the question- What modern day events and writings would be worthy of being deemed “biblical.” It was then that I decided to begin writing The Third Testament, a pro-Catholic novel about the history of God’s people dating from the time of the apostles until the present day. I spent the next six years researching and writing about the most fascinating topics in the history of the Church and the world, and I loved every minute of it.

For those interested, here is more information about my book:

Brief Description of The Third Testament:

Guided by a mysterious old friend, forlorn Catholic professor Fred Sankt unlocks the hidden truths of the past two thousand years, and struggles to achieve a heavenly reprieve from the deep and dark troubles that mercilessly haunt him.

Book website: www.thethirdtestamentnovel.com

Ecce, Fiat, Magnificat

"This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and Blood." 1 John 5:6






















Have you read Consoling the Heart of Jesus by Fr. Michael E. Gaitley, MIC, yet? It’s a wonderful book, a retreat that can be completed in a weekend for the purpose of comforting Jesus who continues to suffer from our sinful natures and our rejection of the love He offers to us. The entire book was wonderful with many references to St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Faustina. I found myself profoundly moved by Fr. Gaitley’s suggested breathing prayer. There are three parts to the prayer: holding a breathless moment, the inhale, and the exhale.

After releasing an exhale but before inhaling once again, he suggests that we hold that breathless moment, recognizing that here, in this empty space, we are weak and in need of God’s mercy. At this moment the prayer is Ecce-“behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord” and we offer ourselves just as we are.

While inhaling, the prayer is Fiat. We tell God “yes, let it be done to me” and a flood of merciful love flows into our hearts.

Finally, upon exhaling, we pray Magnificat and let our soul magnify the Lord. We offer praise to God for all of the good things that He has done for us. (This part reminds me of St. Bernard’s Four Degrees of Love-the second degree-Love of God for self’s sake.)

According to Fr. Gaitley, this entire prayer is an act of trust, and can become a spiritual communion. “It becomes one if we make it our intention when we inhale to receive God’s rejected merciful love into our emptiness. It’s especially like receiving Sacramental communion if we imagine that the merciful love we inhale is coming down from the pierced side of Christ as blood and water.”



















ECCE, FIAT, MAGNIFICAT-Lord, let me breathe in Your merciful love, fill my emptiness with a flood of Your blood and water and allow me to console You and praise You for all that You have done for me. Amen.

"Why God Matters" Book Tour

There's something about the relationship between a father and his daughter that is much more special than any other relationship between any two people. If a woman grows up without feeling loved by and cared for by her father, no one else in the world can make that up to her, she will always have an empty hole in her heart that only her father can fill. (Of course this applies even more to our Heavenly Father than to our earthly father!)

So when I was offered the opportunity by Tribute Books to read and review "Why God Matters" by the father and daughter duo of Deacon Steven Lumbert and Karina Lumbert Fabian as part of a book tour, I was more than happy to oblige. Deacon Steven and Karina obviously enjoy a very close and loving relationship that includes the Lord at the heart of it, a closeness that was missing in my own life with my father, but which surprisingly feels closer than ever since he passed away four years ago. It was intruging for me to have a look at what that closeness might have been like while he was still living.

Deacon Steven is a convert to Catholicism and Karina, born after her father's conversion, is a cradle Catholic. Their book of very short stories and anecdotes of faith was very easy to read and a quick read as well, which made it very enjoyable to pick up and read through in short spurts rather than one long read. I enjoyed this aspect as I usually only have 10-15 minutes to sit with a book before the pace of my life causes me to get up and running once again.

After a little background of each of their experiences of faith in general, the book alternates between short stories written by each of them individually. Each short story chapter includes a quote of wisdom from other Catholic writers, a scripture quote, a quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and a life lesson section where the reader may apply the chapter to their own life.

I came away from this book with the feeling that living life as a Catholic is as simple as drawing God into the everyday ordinariness of life and turning to Him in both joy and sorrow because after all, that is where He is always found. I enjoyed the simplicity of "Why God Matters" and would highly recommend it, especially as a gift for someone in the RCIA process who is just beginning to learn and understand why God matters in their own lives.

I thank Deacon Steve and Karina for writing an authentic and spiritually uplifting book, and I thank Nicole at Tribute Books for offering me this opportunity to read and review "Why God Matters."

Golden Drops-Free Offer

Please visit my friend, Victor's blog, Time for Reflections to pick up your free copy of his new E-Book, Golden Drops. This is a book filled with the wisdom of the fictional Fr. Ignatius, a kind, gentle and loving priest who seems to find the solution to some pretty messy problems in record time. Victor is an extremely talented writer who makes Fr. Ignatius seem real. I promise that you will enjoy Golden Drops tremendously!

Treasures in the Written Word

I usually have two or three books going at the same time and nothing makes me happier than to get lost in a good book. It rarely happens that I would say that all of the recent books I have read and am reading, have touched me deeply and brought me joy like these few have...

It's no secret that I am a HUGE fan of Archbishop Dolan. His newest book "Doers of the Word" is a real treat! It's a compilation of short, easy to read stories told in his down to earth style. I recognized many of these from his "Living our Faith" columns for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Reading this book was like visiting with an old friend. Here's a little sample...

"I'm glad we have a Lord whose heart can break, be wounded with thorns, and burn with passionate love and mercy for us. That's one reason that each morning I pray as I was taught in second grade:

All for Thee, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus!
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in Thee!
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I believe in your love for me!
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner!
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come!"

I also found great meaning in "Searching for and Maintaining Peace" by Fr. Jacque Philippe. At a time when I have been struggling to find peace, this book has helped me to believe that peace is possible for everybody. Some words of wisdom from within these pages...

"But when one is close to God, loves Him, desires nothing but to please and obey Him, the devil, while he tempts him still with evil, he tempts him even further by good. This means that he makes use of our desire to do good to trouble us. He makes this by making us scrupulous, nor by presenting us with a certain good that we must realize but which is beyond our present strength, or which is not what God asks of us-all to discourage us or to cause us to lose our peace. He wants to convince us that we are not doing enough or that what we are doing we are not really doing for the love of God, or that the Lord is not happy with us. It creates all kinds of scruples and worries in the conscience which we should purely and simply ignore, while throwing ourselves into the arms of God like small children."

Finally, although I am just beginning it, I have to mention "The Handbook for Catholic Moms" by Lisa Hendey of Catholicmom.com. It is a beautifully practical and inspiring book that will leave every mom, regardless of her circumstances, feeling confident in her vocation to serve God by serving her family.

Happy Reading!