Welcome to Litsy!

The title here is Pilgrims by M.R. Leonard, his literary debut. I‘d call it speculative scifi & when i describe it it sounds ludicrous.

Earth is under oppressive martial law awaiting a coming alien invasion. 🛸👽

The aliens land. The aliens are devout Catholics.🧐

Sounds like satire. It is not.

Our main character is a Latin teacher that discovers studying Classics in college was a crackerjack major after all. 🤯

Super overdue review for my June #DoubleSpin. I read this for a spiritual direction seminar, and found a lot of it really helpful as far as the practicalities of spiritual direction—both in practicing spiritual direction with others, as well as honestly confronting your own internal habits and avoidances. A lot of it is really dated, especially when it comes to gender, but I will definitely return to it for the wisdom it offers in many other ways.

Reading this one now. Trying to get these small books done thats on my #bookspin. I can prob finish this one today if i steady read it but i need to get stuff done around the house. Im only at 18% right now. Mot to far into it but im enjoying it. Im learning alot of things. Im on thjng number 2 right now.

This is a book of astonishing depth, yet the writing and concepts are not lofty. Instead, it‘s immensely practical and thought-provoking. Will be embarking on a second read shortly, much more slowly, with pen and journal in hand to study and apply.

“Very little time in a priest‘s life is spent on ‘holy‘ things. Most of it is conflict management and resolution.”
Or, as a woman priest said in a sermon on ordination, “There are times when the church is like a swimming pool: all the noise comes from the shallow end.”

😂🤣😭
My church is in the middle of a pastoral transition, and I can‘t tell you how true this is right now. I texted this pic to my former pastor and her response was “Spot on!”

I bought this faded copy of Practicing Resurrection from the outdoor shelves at Bart‘s Books in Ojai either on my honeymoon or a year later on our first anniversary—nearly 10 years ago. It was fascinating to read it now and see connections that have emerged in the intervening years that made it far more meaningful now than it would have been if I‘d read it back when I originally bought it. It‘s a quiet reflective book, focusing on Gallagher‘s ⤵️

First of several spiritual biographies from the author. I really enjoyed her story personally as I am in a bit of a shifting season. It could relate to her at times and was encouraged even in places I couldn‘t directly relate. Well written and thought out. Enjoyable. Thoughtful.

I loved this book. It‘s like a long, slow breath of fresh air and very much needed as someone who is in full time vocational ministry for the long haul.

Very good read. Combined from three novellas, this novel was very well written. Learning different doctrinal points through the basis of a book and viewing the learning experience of the different curates was enthralling. While one may say they would never do such a thing as the curates, it's easy to see where they went wrong and how we too could fall into the trap. From liberalism to legalism to orthodox, Giertz certainly captivates his audience.

3 stars ⭐️
The most impactful part of this book is the first 50 pages, which I'm sure I'll return to in the future. This really is not a theological book regarding the art of hospitality with practical advice, but rather, a memoir with lots of personal anecdotes on beans in crock-pots, descriptions of lengthy dinners, and tales of dogs and cats misbehaving. The first bit was overwhelmingly good - the rest, underwhelming in almost every way.