Saturday, December 23, 2006

Books - Women Outside the Box

I seldom recommend reading (books etc.) to large numbers of persons but this year I guess I'll make an exception. This week end I am preaching in two churches and using a talk I wrote six year ago It is entitled "Women outside the Box" and it focuses on women in the Bible and on my own mother.

It has caused me to recall two books I have read this year by women who are definitely "outside the box" in their lives and their views.

The first is by a woman whose life experiences puts her "politically incorrect" among many Catholic circles yet her memoir reveals clearly the hand of a God who loves unconditionally and a woman who has responded faithfully to that Divine Love her whole life. It also has a personal tie in for me since she was helped during tough times by a bishop that my wife and I worked for in New Jersey. Her writing paints an absolutely exquisite picture of religious life and the prayer of the hours. Her book is:

The Scent of God by Beryl Singleton Bisseel
Counter Point, New York, NY , 2006


In January of 2006 I attended a graduate seminar on "Theology of the Body" based on talks by Pope John Paul II given at his Wednesday audiences over several years but also the teaching that had made him so popular with young people over his years as Pastor, Bishop and Pope. That experience lead me to discover a book by a young woman who is a journalist who covers and writes on the popular music scene (New York Daily News) who admires John Paul's Theology of the Body. She arrived at the writing of this book through her experience as a Blogger. Her blog is called "Dawn Patrol" and can be found at [http://dawneden.com/blogger.html]. Her book is definitely "outside the box" of popular cultural assumptions, a culture she was wholeheartedly a part of for many tears.Her book is:

The Thrill of the Chaste By Dawn Eden
W Publishibg Group, Nashville, Tn, 2006

While some consider her style a little too candid, this candor may be just what you or a friend might need. If you are a parent it will provides good material for discussions of the meaning purpose of sexuality with your older sons and daughters.

May the Lord come anew for your this season
and may you have a blessed new year.

No comments: