Sometimes the blog world and the world of Facebook just amaze me. That’s how I “met” Dan Brennan, author of “Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions: Engaging the Mystery of Friendship Between Men and Women.” In addition to posting a review of my book on his website (HERE), Dan posted the following review on Amazon. The best part (as far as I’m concerned) is that Dan is Protestant/Evangelical, confirming for me that my book is not limited to a Catholic audience (despite the word “Catholic” in the title.) Thanks for the kind words, Dan. Here’s his Amazon review:
Five out of five stars A Protestant’s Thumbs up! By Dan Brennan
This review is from: Walking Together: Discovering the Catholic Tradition of Spiritual Friendship (Paperback)
Since I have a passion for the subject of spiritual friendship, I was eager to get this book when I found out about it. I was not disappointed. Mary DeTurris Poust does a great job of translating the depth and passion of spiritual friendship in Catholic tradition as something good and beautiful for twenty-first century readers. As a Protestant/evangelical, I highly recommend this accessible book. When I was looking for resources on cross-gender friendship as I was writing my own book, I could hardly find any books or material written from an evangelical perspective. However, I did come across a reference to the friendship between St. Francis de Sales and St. Jeanne de Chantal. That discovery opened the doors for me to discover the rich history of spiritual friendships in Catholic Tradition.
Walking Together is a very good book that introduces us to that history and what spiritual friendship looks like in our superficial and shallow culture today. Poust does an excellent job of helping us understand the beauty of friendship love for us today. Something so beautiful requires nurturing, communication, transparency, and intentionality. Poust gets that. I recommend this book for all Christians who are hungering after something more deeper than what the media portrays in popular friendships.
I will be a guest on “In the Heartland with Bishop Pates” of Des Moines at 10 a.m. CT today. You can catch the show live online at www.kvss.com, or listen on KWKY 1150 AM in Des Moines and KVSS 102.7 FM in Omaha.
Also, for those of you looking to buy my new book “Walking Together: Discovering the Catholic Tradition of Spiritual Friendship,” please let me know if you have trouble getting a copy. Word on the street is that smaller bookshops cannot get the books in stock because the larger distributors are back ordered. Folks in New York’s Capital Region should contact me directly and I will get you books in time for Christmas. Other folks can send an email and we can work something out by mail.
Or visit the usual spots, including Amazon, and, of course, my publisher, Ave Maria Press. (B&N and Borders are back ordered at the moment.) And, remember, if all else fails, please contact me directly for signed copies.
UPDATED: Just found out that my book tops the list of Christmas gift suggestions over at The Anchoress. Plus lots of other friends have books on the list. Check it out HERE.
Every Advent I set out with the best of intentions. I will pray more, and I will not allow the secular world’s clarion call of “Buy, buy, buy” to drown out the less flashy but more important scriptural message of “Stay awake!” I vow not to go to shopping malls. I refuse to put up decorations too early. I take tags off the parish Giving Tree. I talk to the kids about asking for reasonable gifts and not expecting everything on their lists. But inevitably, by the time we’re one week out from Christmas, I find we’ve blown our budget and bought way more than anyone needed — or wanted, for that matter.
I just got off the phone with a friend and I talked about my issues with this season. Most people I know are almost done with their Christmas shopping. I haven’t even started. So I told him, “Don’t expect too much. I’ve decided I’m just not going to try that hard this year.” I do not mean that in a Bah-Humbug! sort of way. I mean that I’m just not going to let worries over meaningless gifts that will probably get tossed in a closet become the focus of the next few weeks.
Then I saw the video clip above. (Big h/t to Mike Hayes over at Googling God for bringing this one to my attention.) It says it all. Watch it, and then join me in not trying so hard — or spending so much — this season.
And while you’re at it, check out the second part of Patrice Athanasidy’s Advent series over at Fathers for Good. Click HERE to read about how her family counters the focus on material stuff at Christmas.
Then click HERE to read Jesuit Father James Martin’s post on Advent “desire” and how it’s not all bad.
