The Living Gospel: Daily Devotions for Lent 2018
by Ann M. Garrido (Ave Maria Press / Alban Books, £2.99)
The Feast of the Nativity just over, and the New Year hardly begun, then the mind of the Church turns towards Lent, which begins less than three weeks from now, Easter being this year on April 1.
This little booklet is designed by American preacher Ann Garrido. She hopes that her readers will come away with “a deeper conversion of heart” than they might have thought possible. This may sound very pietistic, but there is a strong sense of reality and the possible here. She quotes a friend’s driving instructor who said that a “wise person would not go more than 30mph on this road whether there was a speed limit or not”.
That line – and there are many like it through these pages – focuses the reader’s mind on that great problem we all face, doing the right thing because we know it is right and not because there are others to see it. This can be highly recommended for the bag or pocket in those 40 days of preparations for Holy Week.
Say It To God: In Search of Prayer
by Luigi Gioia (Bloomsbury, £9.99)
This book has been selected as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent book for this year, and indication of its potential to appeal widely to many thoughtful people.
The author is a professor at the Pontifical University of Sant’ Anselmo in Rome, but also a research associate of the Von Hügel Insitute in Cambridge (which is named not after the celebrated baron, but his equally distinguished brother who was a Stonyhurst- educated anthropologist at Cambridge).
This background sounds complex, but this book is intended for the widest audience to provide a source of daily reading over Lent. He leaves aside matter of technique and complex theological notions, but using quotations from scripture he sees prayer as a conversation with God. This is an excellent concept, for we can all talk, but need to remind ourselves that a conversation is not one side sided. We also need to listen, and to expect to be replied to in unusual ways. This is an excellent book which can be highly recommended.
55 Ways to Connect with Families in Your Parish
by Karen Kent (Veritas, €12.99)
At Christmas time, as if by some small miracles, the parish churches are filled with people. Some are home from abroad, others are visiting families they no longer live near; all want however to recapture something from their pasts. Not the same something for all, but a real something for each one.
This little book, published with the World Meeting of Families in mind, contains ideas for a renewed sense of connecting people with parish, but not just at Christmas, not just for some special event, but on every day of the year.
The author is an Ursuline sister involved in pastoral development in Cork and Ross. Inspired by Amoris Laetitia, she attempts to revitalise both the laity and the clergy throughout the liturgical year.
There is little sense in calling up traditional ideas when these ceased to be part of people’s lives years ago. Something new is needed, something perhaps “new everyday”. Her insights will prove very inspiring for many, both in rural and urban Ireland.
But it’s perhaps worth remembering too that we have civil as well as religious parishes. The life of the parish should not be seen as just what we do with our co-religionists, but what we do to promote the social and civil life of our changing neighbourhoods. This means not only the other religious groups, but also many kinds of civil society groups too.
And those who work in Dublin need to remember that their lives are not only in those weekends at home in the country, but in the city where they work. In these pages many will begin to find an answer to that old question asked so long ago: “Who is my neighbour?”