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p. 5: '[Francis of Assisi] shows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace.'

This book was given to me years ago as a gift from a fellow LibraryThing member. It‘s not until now that I started reading this memoir, but reading about Reb Albert Lewis is turning into a comfort read for me during these turbulent times.

... 😭😭

Started

📖 Laudato Si' : On Care For Our Common Home by Pope Francis

Outstanding read. It's one of my few 5-star books so far this year. There is such ease to the writing. This is a very internal novel, and I loved it. I loved this far more than the Booker winner last year.

Vol 8 starts at the end of the war. Yudhishthira finds out, to his horror that Karna was his elder brother & resents his mother for the lie. The Stree parva focuses on the sorrow, desperation & mourning of the widows of both armies & is absolutely heartbreaking.

A distraught Yudhishthira is crowned as king & then goes to consult Bhishma on all matters Kingship. This sets the stage for conversations about Raja Dharma, Apad Dharma & Moksha Dharma.

"It is a strange thing that men will be such enemies to themselves. Wisdom is the principal thing, yet all neglect her. Wherefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her and she shalt promote thee, she shall bring thee to honour when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thy head an ornament of grace, a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee."
-Thomas Traherne, "Centuries of Meditations"

Essential Writings, by Mother Maria Skobtsova (collected 2002)

Premise: Collected texts by the 20th C theologian and justice advocate Mother Maria of Paris.

Review: This is a fascinating collection that includes texts not otherwise available in English translation. Mother Maria‘s incisive intellect, loving heart, and unique point of view come through in every essay. Cont.

p. 271: 'It was better to award a light penance that would one day put someone into purgatory to endure further punishment there, than to assign a heavy one that would not be done and might send the defaulter to hell.'

That's not what I expected from medieval confessors. Unfortunately, Orme doesn't cite his source for this attitude.

On to the section about Holy Week, which is obviously timely.

This is what you expect a booker shortlist book to be. It's well written but I already forgot the plot. Was there a plot? The mice were creepy af.

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