To Save a Thousand Souls, Fr. Brett Brannen
Truth in advertising (or reviewing): Fr. Brannen was my formation advisor in seminary. I learned an immense amount from him and count myself fortunate in being able to regard him as a friend. So this isn't necessarily the most unbiased of reviews.
That being said, I am still confident I'd give the book a good review even if I'd never met the author. His primary audience is the man who thinks he might have a vocation to the diocesan priesthood, but nearly anyone interested in how Catholic priests become priests, from the moment of the first hint of a call through the day of ordination, will learn much from this book.
I've been ordained nearly three years (it seems a short time and forever simultaneously), and I was going through the period of serious discernment nearly a decade ago. I wish this book had existed then, and I wish I'd had a copy. Some of what I found was simply confirmation that what I'd experienced was typical; some of it addressed the fears I had to work through in other ways; and some of it was simply advice that I eventually figured out on my own eventually, a process that would have been easier had someone been able to point it out to me at the time.
Advice about prayer? It's here.
Information about what to expect? It's here.
Warnings of pitfalls and how to avoid them? They're here, along with advice on how to get back up if you've fallen.
And all of it is straightforward, clear, and without pretense.
Buy a copy for yourself, and give one to someone you know who's discerning.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Special Edition: Sherlock Holmes meets the Catholic Church
(Full disclosure: I know the author of this book and my name is in the credits in the back.)
It has been some time (sadly) since I have drunk much from the original well, but the book doesn't have the uncomfortable feel that I get when I read something written in imitation of someone else's style. Holmes and Watson are demonstrably themselves, but seen through different authorial eyes. That's a good thing, not a bad one, and the result is an entertaining book.
In this memorable year ’95 a curious and incongruous succession of cases had engaged [Holmes's] attention, ranging from his famous investigation of the sudden death of Cardinal Tosca—an inquiry which was carried out by him at the express desire of His Holiness the Pope.... “The Adventure of Black Peter”From this intriguing hint, Ann Lewis has spun out not one but three tales of Sherlock Holmes and his involvement with things Catholic. (Arthur Conan Doyle was Jesuit-trained, BTW.) The result is Murder in The Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes
It has been some time (sadly) since I have drunk much from the original well, but the book doesn't have the uncomfortable feel that I get when I read something written in imitation of someone else's style. Holmes and Watson are demonstrably themselves, but seen through different authorial eyes. That's a good thing, not a bad one, and the result is an entertaining book.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Bernadette
February 11 is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of Prayer for the Sick.
St. Bernadette of Lourdes and I met at the end of her story. Her body is not in Lourdes; it's in the convent in Nevers, France, where she spent the last thirteen years of her short life (she died at age 35). I saw her incorrupt body there on a pilgrimage in 2001-2002 (over Christmas break). I do not remember any longer if I'd read The Song of Bernadette
ahead of time or not. I tend to think not, since the story of her life seemed new to me as I heard it told at the convent. So my first encounter with her was a quiet one in a quiet place, hundreds of miles away from the place where she became famous.
Something about her caught my imagination in a way that few other saints have. I have tried on and off to understand what it is that draws me to her, and I have never gotten very far. Her life was very different from mine; apart from our common faith, I cannot think of too many things we have in common. But I feel somehow as if I understand her, and in understanding her I understand better Jesus and His Mother, whose chosen messenger was St. Bernadette.
A few years later I did get to Lourdes. I've been in the baths (very cold!) and still have some of the water. I have knelt and prayed the Rosary where St. Bernadette knelt and prayed at the first apparition. I'd still like to get back there someday.
In the meantime, though, I've acquired a fairly extensive collection of material on St. Bernadette and Lourdes--more than I have on any other saint except the Blessed Virgin herself, I'm pretty sure.
It's odd two of the best books about Lourdes are by a Jew (Franz Werfel, The Song of Bernadette) and a Presbyterian (Ruth Cranston, Miracle of Lourdes
), but such are the facts of the matter. Much like St. Francis, St. Bernadette is able to reach across the borders of belief and speak to all sorts of people. (Perhaps there is a clue in there somewhere as to why I love her too. I'll have to think about it.)
Werfel's book is deservedly famous in its own right, and all the more famous for having been turned into an Academy Award winning-movie
. The book is very readable and not overly fictionalized (Bernadette's father was perhaps not quite the hapless alcoholic it shows); the movie very watchable but somewhat more fictionalized, having a totally irrelevant love interest (though purely Platonic) thrown into the mix.
Cranston's book is non-fiction and does a decent job of giving the follow-up history of Lourdes after the apparitions, including some of the most famous cures.
When all is said and done, though, the best book I know of on the apparitions and on St. Bernadette herself is René Laurentin's Bernadette Speaks: A Life of St. Bernadette Soubirous in Her Own Words
. Laurentin's aim is to cut through the layers of legend and present St. Bernadette as she was and her experiences as she lived through them. Fortunately, despite her lack of early education, St. Bernadette was a sharp observer with a strong memory and a gift for clear expression. I believe that it was reading this book that moved her up into my list of most favorite saints.
St. Bernadette is not a saint simply because Our Lady appeared to her. Others have seen her and have gone on to lead normal or, sadly, very troubled lives. St. Bernadette's life was troubled, too--in fact, Our Lady warned her: "I cannot promise you happiness in this life, but in the next"--but not because she drifted from the way of sanctity. She suffered because she wanted to be faithful to the graces she had received, and the death to self that requires is not easy.
Some say that the sisters at Nevers were harsh on her, and perhaps they were, but then they had seen the sad fate of the children who had seen Our Lady at LaSalette and were determined to keep St. Bernadette from making the same mistakes. She was a willing pupil, even when she found the lessons harsh. She bore physical and spiritual suffering with next to no complaint; she did what was asked of her; she was faithful to her calling. That's why she's a saint.
St. Bernadette of Lourdes and I met at the end of her story. Her body is not in Lourdes; it's in the convent in Nevers, France, where she spent the last thirteen years of her short life (she died at age 35). I saw her incorrupt body there on a pilgrimage in 2001-2002 (over Christmas break). I do not remember any longer if I'd read The Song of Bernadette
ahead of time or not. I tend to think not, since the story of her life seemed new to me as I heard it told at the convent. So my first encounter with her was a quiet one in a quiet place, hundreds of miles away from the place where she became famous.Something about her caught my imagination in a way that few other saints have. I have tried on and off to understand what it is that draws me to her, and I have never gotten very far. Her life was very different from mine; apart from our common faith, I cannot think of too many things we have in common. But I feel somehow as if I understand her, and in understanding her I understand better Jesus and His Mother, whose chosen messenger was St. Bernadette.
A few years later I did get to Lourdes. I've been in the baths (very cold!) and still have some of the water. I have knelt and prayed the Rosary where St. Bernadette knelt and prayed at the first apparition. I'd still like to get back there someday.
In the meantime, though, I've acquired a fairly extensive collection of material on St. Bernadette and Lourdes--more than I have on any other saint except the Blessed Virgin herself, I'm pretty sure.
It's odd two of the best books about Lourdes are by a Jew (Franz Werfel, The Song of Bernadette) and a Presbyterian (Ruth Cranston, Miracle of Lourdes
), but such are the facts of the matter. Much like St. Francis, St. Bernadette is able to reach across the borders of belief and speak to all sorts of people. (Perhaps there is a clue in there somewhere as to why I love her too. I'll have to think about it.)Werfel's book is deservedly famous in its own right, and all the more famous for having been turned into an Academy Award winning-movie
. The book is very readable and not overly fictionalized (Bernadette's father was perhaps not quite the hapless alcoholic it shows); the movie very watchable but somewhat more fictionalized, having a totally irrelevant love interest (though purely Platonic) thrown into the mix. Cranston's book is non-fiction and does a decent job of giving the follow-up history of Lourdes after the apparitions, including some of the most famous cures.
When all is said and done, though, the best book I know of on the apparitions and on St. Bernadette herself is René Laurentin's Bernadette Speaks: A Life of St. Bernadette Soubirous in Her Own Words
. Laurentin's aim is to cut through the layers of legend and present St. Bernadette as she was and her experiences as she lived through them. Fortunately, despite her lack of early education, St. Bernadette was a sharp observer with a strong memory and a gift for clear expression. I believe that it was reading this book that moved her up into my list of most favorite saints.St. Bernadette is not a saint simply because Our Lady appeared to her. Others have seen her and have gone on to lead normal or, sadly, very troubled lives. St. Bernadette's life was troubled, too--in fact, Our Lady warned her: "I cannot promise you happiness in this life, but in the next"--but not because she drifted from the way of sanctity. She suffered because she wanted to be faithful to the graces she had received, and the death to self that requires is not easy.
Some say that the sisters at Nevers were harsh on her, and perhaps they were, but then they had seen the sad fate of the children who had seen Our Lady at LaSalette and were determined to keep St. Bernadette from making the same mistakes. She was a willing pupil, even when she found the lessons harsh. She bore physical and spiritual suffering with next to no complaint; she did what was asked of her; she was faithful to her calling. That's why she's a saint.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Happy Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas!
Among his many amiable properties, St. Thomas Aquinas is my confirmation patron. He was notoriously of some girth (though I do not see how a man who walked everywhere could be very overweight), so there's one place I can somewhat match him. His handwriting is incredibly bad:
That gives another spot where I can hope to match him. When it comes to wisdom and holiness, he has me beat completely.
His life story is not that interesting, and in fact I've never run across a full biography of St. Thomas. Even in Louis de Wohl's novel, The Quiet Light: A Novel About Thomas Aquinas
, St. Thomas spends most of his time off-stage. He did not have the gift for saying and doing memorable things ex tempore that graced the life of a St. Francis; all we have are anecdotes here and there.
Fortunately for us, the lack of biographical material means that G. K. Chesterton's habitual neglect of the lives of the subjects of his biographies isn't a problem. Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox
does well as an introduction to what we know of St. Thomas's life and an appreciation of his thought.
For those who wish to dive in and read St. Thomas, perhaps the most popular option is Peter Kreeft's A Summa of the Summa
Dr. Kreeft does his best, but he runs up against my ADD in two ways: he does all the explanation in footnotes which break up the flow of the text, and he edits his selections to remove extraneous or potentially confusing material, which would be fine if it didn't ... leave the text ... littered by ellipses ... that throw me off the track ... of reading.
Purists, of course, insist that the only way to learn St. Thomas is to read him directly, eschewing even footnotes. I am no purist and will happily offer two other choices. For studying St. Thomas's thought in general, my current recommendation is Ed Feser's Aquinas: A Beginner's Guide
. Feser's writing is very readable, his explanations are sensible, and (IIRC) he usually notes when there's a difference of opinion concerning what St. Thomas actually thought on a given topic.
The best explanation of St. Thomas on ethics (aka natural law) comes from the late great Ralph McInerny: Ethica Thomistica: The Moral Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas
. McInerny couldn't write a dull sentence even if he tried, and his explanations are clear.
I noticed when preparing this that I've owned all the above books except for Feser's for at least 10 years (Feser's just came out last year, and I have not yet perfected a time machine).
St. Thomas is often thought of simply in terms of his vast intelligence. But intelligence does not make a saint. Holiness, piety, and humility do.
On the sixth of December, 1273, St. Thomas was celebrating Mass for the Feast of St. Nicholas. The details are not relayed to us, but he had an intense mystical experience after which he ceased writing entirely. Pressed to continue, he could only say that after what he had seen, all his works seemed as so much straw.
In obedience to the command of Pope Gregory X, St. Thomas set off from Paris for the Second Council of Lyons. He fell ill along the way and was forced to go to a Cistercian abbey. He died there about a month later, on March 7, 1274. His last words were spoken to one of the brothers of the abbey, who asked him how we might live always faithful to God's grace:
"Be assured that he who shall always walk faithfully in his presence, always ready to give him an account of all his actions, shall never be separated from him by consenting to sin."
Though his birth year is uncertain, he was probably forty-eight years old at the time of his death.
March 7th is now reserved for the feast of the early martyrs SS. Perpetua and Felicity; January 28 is the date on which his relics were transferred to a church in Toulouse.
That gives another spot where I can hope to match him. When it comes to wisdom and holiness, he has me beat completely.
His life story is not that interesting, and in fact I've never run across a full biography of St. Thomas. Even in Louis de Wohl's novel, The Quiet Light: A Novel About Thomas Aquinas
, St. Thomas spends most of his time off-stage. He did not have the gift for saying and doing memorable things ex tempore that graced the life of a St. Francis; all we have are anecdotes here and there.Fortunately for us, the lack of biographical material means that G. K. Chesterton's habitual neglect of the lives of the subjects of his biographies isn't a problem. Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox
does well as an introduction to what we know of St. Thomas's life and an appreciation of his thought.For those who wish to dive in and read St. Thomas, perhaps the most popular option is Peter Kreeft's A Summa of the Summa
Dr. Kreeft does his best, but he runs up against my ADD in two ways: he does all the explanation in footnotes which break up the flow of the text, and he edits his selections to remove extraneous or potentially confusing material, which would be fine if it didn't ... leave the text ... littered by ellipses ... that throw me off the track ... of reading.Purists, of course, insist that the only way to learn St. Thomas is to read him directly, eschewing even footnotes. I am no purist and will happily offer two other choices. For studying St. Thomas's thought in general, my current recommendation is Ed Feser's Aquinas: A Beginner's Guide
. Feser's writing is very readable, his explanations are sensible, and (IIRC) he usually notes when there's a difference of opinion concerning what St. Thomas actually thought on a given topic.The best explanation of St. Thomas on ethics (aka natural law) comes from the late great Ralph McInerny: Ethica Thomistica: The Moral Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas
. McInerny couldn't write a dull sentence even if he tried, and his explanations are clear.I noticed when preparing this that I've owned all the above books except for Feser's for at least 10 years (Feser's just came out last year, and I have not yet perfected a time machine).
St. Thomas is often thought of simply in terms of his vast intelligence. But intelligence does not make a saint. Holiness, piety, and humility do.
On the sixth of December, 1273, St. Thomas was celebrating Mass for the Feast of St. Nicholas. The details are not relayed to us, but he had an intense mystical experience after which he ceased writing entirely. Pressed to continue, he could only say that after what he had seen, all his works seemed as so much straw.
In obedience to the command of Pope Gregory X, St. Thomas set off from Paris for the Second Council of Lyons. He fell ill along the way and was forced to go to a Cistercian abbey. He died there about a month later, on March 7, 1274. His last words were spoken to one of the brothers of the abbey, who asked him how we might live always faithful to God's grace:
"Be assured that he who shall always walk faithfully in his presence, always ready to give him an account of all his actions, shall never be separated from him by consenting to sin."
Though his birth year is uncertain, he was probably forty-eight years old at the time of his death.
March 7th is now reserved for the feast of the early martyrs SS. Perpetua and Felicity; January 28 is the date on which his relics were transferred to a church in Toulouse.
Friday, January 21, 2011
The Rite
I see this book is coming out as a movie next week. Here's a review I wrote of the book last year, and a few comments about the movie afterwards.
The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist
By Matt Baglio
The author was, by his own statement in the Author's Note at the end of the book, more of a cultural Catholic than one practicing his faith, a freelance reporter living in Italy. He saw a news item one day that the Regina Apostolorum university in Rome was offering a course for exorcists, and thought it might at least give him an interesting article. He made contact with a priest from the US and followed him throughout his training, which he recounts in fairly dispassionate terms--not clinical or stark, but simply narrating what he observed.
What he observed was enough to convince him that something real was happening. He did his homework, interviewing psychologists from a variety of perspectives from believing to atheist, and reported those conversations as well.
There are a few dramatic scenes in the book, including the opening one, but anyone looking for cheap thrills is in the wrong place. If anything, it seems that the process of exorcism is usually a matter of slow progress rather than dramatic Hollywood-style episodes. Worth noting also is the repeated emphasis that prayer, Mass attendance, and the good use of the sacrament of Confession are often as important as anything the exorcist himself does.
I found the book informative and interesting without being sensational, and on a topic that deserves informative and interesting but non-sensational coverage, but it's just not quite there in 5-star territory, so I'll say 4-1/2 out of 5.
==================
I've seen only the trailers for the movie, based on which I have no plans to see the movie itself. It looks as if the caution and lack of prurient interest in evil have been abandoned in favor of the usual Hollywood-style episodes. Read the book. I won't tell you not to see the movie since I haven't seen it; I'll just say again that I have no plans to see it.
The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist
By Matt Baglio
The author was, by his own statement in the Author's Note at the end of the book, more of a cultural Catholic than one practicing his faith, a freelance reporter living in Italy. He saw a news item one day that the Regina Apostolorum university in Rome was offering a course for exorcists, and thought it might at least give him an interesting article. He made contact with a priest from the US and followed him throughout his training, which he recounts in fairly dispassionate terms--not clinical or stark, but simply narrating what he observed.
What he observed was enough to convince him that something real was happening. He did his homework, interviewing psychologists from a variety of perspectives from believing to atheist, and reported those conversations as well.
There are a few dramatic scenes in the book, including the opening one, but anyone looking for cheap thrills is in the wrong place. If anything, it seems that the process of exorcism is usually a matter of slow progress rather than dramatic Hollywood-style episodes. Worth noting also is the repeated emphasis that prayer, Mass attendance, and the good use of the sacrament of Confession are often as important as anything the exorcist himself does.
I found the book informative and interesting without being sensational, and on a topic that deserves informative and interesting but non-sensational coverage, but it's just not quite there in 5-star territory, so I'll say 4-1/2 out of 5.
==================
I've seen only the trailers for the movie, based on which I have no plans to see the movie itself. It looks as if the caution and lack of prurient interest in evil have been abandoned in favor of the usual Hollywood-style episodes. Read the book. I won't tell you not to see the movie since I haven't seen it; I'll just say again that I have no plans to see it.
Defending Life
When I came into the Church, I accepted that abortion was always wrong because I accepted the authority of the Church that taught me so. The book that first showed me why abortion is wrong and that it can be shown to be wrong without invoking the authority of the Church at all is The Unaborted Socrates: A Dramatic Debate on the Issues Surrounding Abortion
, by Peter Kreeft. Despite the long title (Kreeft likes them), it is a very readable and at times even humorous discussion of the issue, featuring a fictional return of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates in dialogue with three fictional pro-choice advocates approaching the question from different angles.
Dr. Kreeft revisited the topic in Three Approaches to Abortion: A Thoughtful and Compassionate Guide to Today's Most Controversial Issue
. It is more pointed than the earlier book, but then the problem didn’t get any better during the 19 years between the two books. If you try the other book and find the dialogue format off-putting, you might try this book, only one third of which is in the dialogue format.
The most comprehensive reply to pro-choice arguments I know of is Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice
, by Francis Beckwith (Cambridge University Press, 2007), Dr. Beckwith handles it and handles it well.
Finally, Abby Johnson's Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of a Former Planned Parenthood Leader's Eye-Opening Journey across the Life Line
is the very recently-released true story of Johnson's nine-year career with Planned Parenthood, starting as a volunteer and rising to clinic director, and her dramatic conversion to the cause of life. If you want to know what clinic workers think, how they justify what they do, and which approaches to evangelization and conversion are most effective (prayer and kindness: who would ever have suspected that?), this is the book for you.
After abortion:
Abortion always has at least two victims: the child and the mother. Often there is a third: the father. If your life has been touched by abortion and you need more help than you can get in the confessional, or if you have not yet even gotten to the point of being able to confess it, there is still hope and help for you.
Project Rachel is the Catholic Church’s national ministry for those who have been touched by abortion. The website is http://www.hopeafterabortion.com and their toll-free number is 1-800-5WE-CARE. Further local contact information can be found on the “contact us” portion of their web site.
, by Peter Kreeft. Despite the long title (Kreeft likes them), it is a very readable and at times even humorous discussion of the issue, featuring a fictional return of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates in dialogue with three fictional pro-choice advocates approaching the question from different angles.Dr. Kreeft revisited the topic in Three Approaches to Abortion: A Thoughtful and Compassionate Guide to Today's Most Controversial Issue
. It is more pointed than the earlier book, but then the problem didn’t get any better during the 19 years between the two books. If you try the other book and find the dialogue format off-putting, you might try this book, only one third of which is in the dialogue format.The most comprehensive reply to pro-choice arguments I know of is Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice
, by Francis Beckwith (Cambridge University Press, 2007), Dr. Beckwith handles it and handles it well.Finally, Abby Johnson's Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of a Former Planned Parenthood Leader's Eye-Opening Journey across the Life Line
is the very recently-released true story of Johnson's nine-year career with Planned Parenthood, starting as a volunteer and rising to clinic director, and her dramatic conversion to the cause of life. If you want to know what clinic workers think, how they justify what they do, and which approaches to evangelization and conversion are most effective (prayer and kindness: who would ever have suspected that?), this is the book for you.After abortion:
Abortion always has at least two victims: the child and the mother. Often there is a third: the father. If your life has been touched by abortion and you need more help than you can get in the confessional, or if you have not yet even gotten to the point of being able to confess it, there is still hope and help for you.
Project Rachel is the Catholic Church’s national ministry for those who have been touched by abortion. The website is http://www.hopeafterabortion.com and their toll-free number is 1-800-5WE-CARE. Further local contact information can be found on the “contact us” portion of their web site.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Pocket New Testaments
If you've decided to read the Bible more during this new year, a pocket New Testament can be handy. I'm well aware that iDevices and other mobile electronics provide apps for that, but there's something about reading the Bible out of a book that just feels more appropriate. (Those of us with high distractibility—hey! a squirrel!—don't need extra challenges while reading, either.)
If you want to read the whole Bible, you might be stuck with the electronic device of your choice or really tiny print. If that's the course you choose, then let me suggest this read-the-Bible in a year plan (free download) and say that my current translation of choice is The Ignatius Bible: Revised Standard Version - Second Catholic Edition
(it even comes in a Kindle edition).
For reading the New Testament only, a pocket edition is much more practical. I have two, each with advantages and drawbacks.
The New Testament (Challoner-Rheims)
is the last revision of the venerable Douay-Reims translation before the arrival of the New American Bible. It still uses "thee" and "thou" and has the old Catholic spellings of Old Testament names like "Jeremias" and "Noe." If that's going to distract you, then this isn't the edition you want.
On the other hand, it is definitely more pocket-sized than the alternative I'm about to offer; the language is often euphonious and fairly easy to read; the footnotes are few but helpful; and it offers a read-the-NT-in-a-year plan right with the text itself. It's even got a system wherein you can read the whole NT twice in a year.
My other choice is The New Testament And Psalms: Revised Standard Version, Dark Blue, Second Catholic Edition
. It's less pocketable than the other version, being about an inch wider and two inches taller, but then I've never been comfortable stuffing a Bible in my pocket anyhow. It's probably a little heavier, too.
The text is very nicely typeset; the language is current without being obtrusively modern ("inclusive language" is not used); the few footnotes are printed as end notes, lessening potential distractions and making the pages look much less busy; and the inclusion of the Psalms adds a valuable resource.
If I had to pick one ... I'd pick them both.
If you are planning to try to read the Bible or just the New Testament in a year, let me offer you a few hints:
If you want to read the whole Bible, you might be stuck with the electronic device of your choice or really tiny print. If that's the course you choose, then let me suggest this read-the-Bible in a year plan (free download) and say that my current translation of choice is The Ignatius Bible: Revised Standard Version - Second Catholic Edition
(it even comes in a Kindle edition).For reading the New Testament only, a pocket edition is much more practical. I have two, each with advantages and drawbacks.
The New Testament (Challoner-Rheims)
is the last revision of the venerable Douay-Reims translation before the arrival of the New American Bible. It still uses "thee" and "thou" and has the old Catholic spellings of Old Testament names like "Jeremias" and "Noe." If that's going to distract you, then this isn't the edition you want.On the other hand, it is definitely more pocket-sized than the alternative I'm about to offer; the language is often euphonious and fairly easy to read; the footnotes are few but helpful; and it offers a read-the-NT-in-a-year plan right with the text itself. It's even got a system wherein you can read the whole NT twice in a year.
My other choice is The New Testament And Psalms: Revised Standard Version, Dark Blue, Second Catholic Edition
. It's less pocketable than the other version, being about an inch wider and two inches taller, but then I've never been comfortable stuffing a Bible in my pocket anyhow. It's probably a little heavier, too.The text is very nicely typeset; the language is current without being obtrusively modern ("inclusive language" is not used); the few footnotes are printed as end notes, lessening potential distractions and making the pages look much less busy; and the inclusion of the Psalms adds a valuable resource.
If I had to pick one ... I'd pick them both.
If you are planning to try to read the Bible or just the New Testament in a year, let me offer you a few hints:
- Have a plan and stick to it. "A plan" is more than just a list of the readings for each day. Know when you're going to do your reading: with your morning prayers, at lunch, before Mass, whenever. If the first time you pick doesn't work, find one that does. Be persistent. (I don't recommend picking evening or night times if you can avoid it; you may find yourself skipping days when you're tired.)
- Should you miss a day, don't worry about it. Make it up the next day if you can and if you like. Missing a day is not that important. Quitting would be important. If you fall even farther behind, fine. Don't start over. Pick up where you left off. Don't give in to discouragement.
- The goal is not to race through it and get it done. You may find that happening on occasion, though if you're just read the NT, the daily readings should only take a few minutes. If you find a passage that makes you want to take time and reflect, do it.
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