The Queue

"Any book which inspires us to lead a better life is a good book."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

I've paused After the Pogrom because it is a frustrating read. Not the content, but the physical book. I knew what the content would be, a laundry list of the moral failures of the West after the 7 October 2023 pogrom; it's tough, but that's what I signed up for. But the physical book has very light text; it's small, but the issue is that it is light, has insufficient contrast with the paper on which it is printed for the low-light conditions in which I do most of my reading. I have yet to devise a solution.

Recently
Pope Leo XIV, Dilexi Te: On Love for the Poor
Bishop Robert Barron, An Introduction to Prayer
Yaakov Katz & Amir Bohbot, While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East

Currently
Bernard-Henri Lévy, Israel Alone
Brendan O'Neill, After the Pogrom: 7 October, Israel, and the Crisis of Civilization ***paused***

Presently
Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence
Kiel Phegley & Jacques Khouri, Strikers: A Graphic Novel
Andy Saunders, Apollo Remastered: The Ultimate Photographic Record *
Andy Saunders, Gemini and Mercury Remastered *
Joe Heschmeyer, The Eucharist Is Really Jesus: How Christ's Body and Blood Are the Key to Everything We Believe
Mike Aquilina, Understanding the Mass: 100 Questions, 100 Answers
Pope Leo XIII, The Leonine Encyclicals: 1878-1902

*Coffee table books.

The Queue

"Any book which inspires us to lead a better life is a good book."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

While Israel Slept is a journalistic account of how & why the State of Israel fell into complacency, allowing Hamas to carry out the October 7th massacres (2023), the worst pogrom since the Shoah during the Second World War. While Israel Slept is somewhat comparable to the 9/11 Commission Report, which I read twenty-plus years ago, though it is the fruit of private investigations, not a governmental inquiery. Katz & Bohbot are unsparing in their criticisms, except for their bizarre & fawning approval of the Biden Administration & all its works. They heavily criticize Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without giving in to hysterical Bibi Derangement Syndrome; of course they criticize Netanyahu, he's Israel's longest-serving & incumbent P.M., in office for nineteen of the past twenty-nine years, including on 7 October 2023. No one in the Israeli security & defense establishment comes out of the evaluation of what went wrong looking good, except for a handful of lower-echelon Cassandras (whose warnings were, of course, not heeded).

While Israel Slept is a sad & frustrating read, because Katz & Bohbot paint of picture of decisions that look foolishly naïve & cynical, even without the lens of hindsight. After the Pogrom is going to be even more sad, because O'Neill is an incisive critic of madness, cowardice, & depravity. I take his criticims of the West's moral failure after the October 7th progrom all the more seriously because he & I have profound disagreements, especially about the Church & the positive rôle religion can play in society. He doesn't just "confirm my priors." He criticizes the Left as a man of the Left.

Recently
Pope Leo XIV, Dilexi Te: On Love for the Poor
Bishop Robert Barron, An Introduction to Prayer
Yaakov Katz & Amir Bohbot, While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East

Currently
Brendan O'Neill, After the Pogrom: 7 October, Israel, and the Crisis of Civilization

Presently
Bernard-Henri Lévy, Israel Alone
Kiel Phegley & Jacques Khouri, Strikers: A Graphic Novel
Andy Saunders, Apollo Remastered: The Ultimate Photographic Record *
Andy Saunders, Gemini and Mercury Remastered *
Joe Heschmeyer, The Eucharist Is Really Jesus: How Christ's Body and Blood Are the Key to Everything We Believe
Mike Aquilina, Understanding the Mass: 100 Questions, 100 Answers
Pope Leo XIII, The Leonine Encyclicals: 1878-1902
Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence

*Coffee table books.

The Queue: Easter Edition

"Any book which inspires us to lead a better life is a good book."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

I listen to both of Bishop Barron's weekly podcasts & many other Word on Fire resources. There was nothing particularly new in reading An Introduction to Prayer, but it was vivifying reading the bishop's reflections in front of the Blessed Sacrament during Eucharistic Adoration.

While Israel Slept is a journalistic account of how & why the State of Israel fell into complacency, allowing Hamas to carry out the October 7th massacres (2023), the worst pogrom since the Shoah.

"Recently"
Josh Young, Expedition Deep Ocean: The First Descent to the Bottom of All Five of the World's Oceans
Pope Leo XIV, Dilexi Te: On Love for the Poor
Bishop Robert Barron, An Introduction to Prayer

Currently
Yaakov Katz & Amir Bohbot, While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East

Devotionally
Kevin Belmonte, editor, A Year with G.K. Chesterton: 365 Days of Wisdom, Wit, and Wonder
anonymous, Cultivating Virtue: Self-Mastery with the Saints

Presently
Brendan O'Neill, After the Pogrom: 7 October, Israel, and the Crisis of Civilization
Bernard-Henri Lévy, Israel Alone
Kiel Phegley & Jacques Khouri, Strikers: A Graphic Novel
Andy Saunders, Apollo Remastered: The Ultimate Photographic Record *
Andy Saunders, Gemini and Mercury Remastered *
Joe Heschmeyer, The Eucharist Is Really Jesus: How Christ's Body and Blood Are the Key to Everything We Believe
Mike Aquilina, Understanding the Mass: 100 Questions, 100 Answers
Pope Leo XIII, The Leonine Encyclicals: 1878-1902

*Coffee table books.

The Queue: Lenten Edition

"Any book which inspires us to lead a better life is a good book."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

The closing paragraph of Dilexi Te (№ 121):

Through your work, your efforts to change unjust social structures or your simple, heartfelt gesture of closeness and support, the poor will come to realize that Jesus' words are addressed personally to each of them: "I have loved you" (Revelation, 3:9)

"Recently"
Earl Swift, Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings
Josh Young, Expedition Deep Ocean: The First Descent to the Bottom of All Five of the World's Oceans
Pope Leo XIV, Dilexi Te: On Love for the Poor

Currently
Bishop Robert Barron, An Introduction to Prayer

Devotionally
Kevin Belmonte, editor, A Year with G.K. Chesterton: 365 Days of Wisdom, Wit, and Wonder
anonymous, Cultivating Virtue: Self-Mastery with the Saints

Presently
Kiel Phegley & Jacques Khouri, Strikers: A Graphic Novel
Andy Saunders, Apollo Remastered: The Ultimate Photographic Record *
Andy Saunders, Gemini and Mercury Remastered *
Joe Heschmeyer, The Eucharist Is Really Jesus: How Christ's Body and Blood Are the Key to Everything We Believe
Mike Aquilina, Understanding the Mass: 100 Questions, 100 Answers
Pope Leo XIII, The Leonine Encyclicals: 1878-1902

*Coffee table books.

The Queue

"Any book which inspires us to lead a better life is a good book."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

The Wayback Machine
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCLXVIII: The Five Deeps Expedition

Expedition Deep Ocean is a fascinating read, in part because it relates how fractious the Five Deeps Expedition was & how inattentive to detail so many senior members of the expedition were. These people are the best in the world at what they do? This reinforces my growing belief that competence is one of the human qualities in shortest supply. It's all the more astonishing that Victor Vescovo achived the goal of the Five Deeps Expedition, & survived ten dives to the Challenger Deep.

Of course, compared to the 18 June 2023 implosion of the Oceangate submersible Titan during an attempted dive to the wreck of the R.M.S. Titanic, the Five Deeps Expedition evinced an impressive degree of competence.

"Recently"
Earl Swift, Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings
Heather Augustyn, Ska: An Oral History *
John MacArthur, Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness, & What He Wants to Do with You †
Josh Young, Expedition Deep Ocean: The First Descent to the Bottom of All Five of the World's Oceans

Currently
various, Superman vs. the Revenge Squad (re-reading)
Kiel Phegley & Jacques Khouri, Strikers: A Graphic Novel

Devotionally
Kevin Belmonte, editor, A Year with G.K. Chesterton: 365 Days of Wisdom, Wit, and Wonder
anonymous, Cultivating Virtue: Self-Mastery with the Saints

Presently
Andy Saunders, Apollo Remastered: The Ultimate Photographic Record **
Andy Saunders, Gemini and Mercury Remastered **
Joe Heschmeyer, The Eucharist Is Really Jesus: How Christ's Body and Blood Are the Key to Everything We Believe
Mike Aquilina, Understanding the Mass: 100 Questions, 100 Answers
Pope Leo XIII, The Leonine Encyclicals: 1878-1902

Commentary: *Abandoned, †Heretical nonsense: for research purposes only, **Coffee table book.

The Queue

"Any book which inspires us to lead a better life is a good book."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

From "The Queue: Post-Christmas Edition," published ten days hence, not "The Queue: Advent Edition" (a "Better Late than Never" post), also published ten days hence.

I met the authoress, Sara Shanning, at the green gorcer… & bought Rise of the Antichrist as an impulse purchase… When we were chatting, she referenced the Left Behind series; so, reading this book, let alone buying it, might well turn out to be a terrible mistake. We shall see.

Reading Rise of the Antichrist was a terrible mistake, buying it an even more terrible mistake. The characters are broadly drawn & one dimensional, even the protagonist, who careens from being a staggering moron to a sublime genius & back again, as the plotholes demand. There is a sense of neither time nor place in the narrative, not in a way that suggests timelessness & universality, but in a way that suggests incompleteness & incoherence, as if the fictional world is not thoroughly thought through. Even if thoroughly thought through, Seal One's fictional world is certainly not thoroughly realized, but left vague & undefined. The antagonist is almost invariably referenced by his given name not his surname, even in in-story media accounts, a jarring authorial choice that took me right out of the narrative each of the innumerable times I encountered it.

The book's theology is also dodgy. Rise of the Antichrist presents a generic "God" without a Christ. Good angels & bad demons—only once described as "dark angels"—appear throughout the narrative as cartoonish verifications of characters being good or bad. These caricatures are maybe half a step up from the pop-cultural image of an angel in white on one's right shoulder & a devil in red on one's left shoulder. The protagonist identifies himself as a "good guy," without irony & without any admission of fault or act of reparation for his own conscious & active participation in the antagonist's evil scheme. Why explicitly Christian media (literature & film) has the baleful reputation it does is on full display herein.

There is a classic joke, of which I am very fond.

Restaurant-goer 1: "The food here is terrible!"
Restaurant-goer 2: "Yes, & such tiny portions!"

Thus, yes, I am aware of the tension, if not outright contradiction, in my last beef: Rise of the Antichrist is less than two hundred pages. A seven-volume series of books, none of which are actually book-length? I call shenanigans! Just because one is writing a series of books "inspired by" the Seven Seals from the Apocalypse of John/the Book of Revelation, does not require that that series be seven books long, not if one doesn't have enough plot for seven books. Less than two hundred pages for the purchase price of $14.95 is fraud.

Seal One: Rise of the Antichrist is a terrible book. We shall never speak of it again.

Recently
Fathers of Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium (from The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection)
Earl Swift, Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings
Fathers of Vatican II, Luman gentium (from The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection)
Fathers of Vatican II, Dei verbum (from The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection)
Sara Shanning, Seal One: Rise of the Antichrist

Currently
Pope Benedict XVI, The Pope Benedict XVI Reader

Devotionally
Kevin Belmonte, editor, A Year with G.K. Chesterton: 365 Days of Wisdom, Wit, and Wonder
Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings—Cycle A

Presently
Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love)
Pope Benedict XVI, Sacramentum Caritatis (The Sacrament of Charity)
Fathers of Vatican II, Gaudium et spes (from The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection)
Heather Augustyn, Ska: An Oral History (SKApril 2023)
John W. O'Malley, What Happened at Vatican II
Xavier Rynne, Vatican Council II
Christopher Carstens, A Devotional Journey into the Easter Mystery

The Queue: Post-Christmastide Edition

My reading plan has changed in light of the death of Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, 16 April 1927-31 December 2022). I've had The Pope Benedict XVI Reader from Word on Fire & two of his papal encyclicals on my shelf for years, & it is long past time that I dive into his thought myself, having received much of it secondhand through self-professed "Ratzinger fanboys" in Catholic media.

Requiescat in pace.

After finishing Luman gentium ("Light of the nations"), I made the impulsive decision to read Dei verbum ("Word of God"), by far the shortest of Vatican II's four constitutions. I don't know if I'll finish the whole Pope Benedict XVI Reader & both encyclicals, Deus Caritas Est & Sacramentum Caritatis, before starting Gaudium et spes ("Joy and Hope"), by far the longest of Vatican II's four constitutions.

Reading A Devotional Journey into the Easter Mystery has been tentatively postponed 'til Lent 2024, should the world perdure, but I still intend to read Ska: An Oral History during this SKApril.

I met the authoress, Sara Shanning, at the green gorcer on Sunday, quite unintentionally, & bought Rise of the Antichrist as an impulse purchase. There are seven books in the "Chosen Angel Series," inspired by the seven seals in the Apocalypse of John (the Book of Revelation). From the title page:

This book is fiction. Biblical reference was used to fuel the imagination. ISV may be quoted or referenced. Any resemblance to person, place or event was used fictitiously. I do believe angels are real, but living among us as The Seven do is highly unlikely. The truth shall be revealed in heaven.

When we were chatting, she referenced the Left Behind series; so, reading this book, let alone buying it, might well turn out to be a terrible mistake. We shall see.

Recently
Father Blake Britton, Reclaiming Vatican II: What It (Really) Says, What It Means, and How It Calls Us to Renew the Church
Fathers of Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium (from The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection)
Earl Swift, Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings
Fathers of Vatican II, Luman gentium (from The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection)
Fathers of Vatican II, Dei verbum (from The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection)

Currently
Sara Shanning, Seal One: Rise of the Antichrist
Pope Benedict XVI, The Pope Benedict XVI Reader

Presently
Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love)
Pope Benedict XVI, Sacramentum Caritatis (The Sacrament of Charity)
Fathers of Vatican II, Gaudium et spes (from The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection)
Heather Augustyn, Ska: An Oral History (SKApril 2023)
John W. O'Malley, What Happened at Vatican II
Xavier Rynne, Vatican Council II
Christopher Carstens, A Devotional Journey into the Easter Mystery

The Queue: Advent Edition

Better Late than Never | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Commentary: I finished Across the Airless Wilds back in December, during the fiftieth anniversaryof Apollo 17 (7-19 December).

Across the Airless Wilds is right up my alley, a book I should have loved, a popular-level dive into the origin & engineering of the Lunar Roving Vehicle, A.K.A. the "Moon buggy," used on half the Apollo Moon landings: Apollo 15, Apollo 16, & Apollo 17. A book I should have loved but didn't, because of the bizarre, unnecessary asides by the author, Earl Swift, that are scattered throughout the book. These asides are apropos of nothing in the narrative & add nothing to the narrative; I found them quite distracting, as I would be continually taken out of the story of the Lunar Roving Vehicle—the very reason I was ever reading the book—& transported without context to a dank & dark corner of Swift's mind, such as it is. I blame both Swift & his editor, who ought have reined in Swift's terrible instincts.

The story of the Lunar Roving Vehicle is fascinating & that magnificent machine helped to make the final Moon landings the triumphs they were, but I do not recommend Across the Airless Wilds. I hope to find a popular-level book on the Lunar Roving Vehicle that I can recommend to you, dear readers.

The plan is now to finish Lumen gentium ("Light of the nations"), the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church & then start A Devotional Journey into the Easter Mystery before circling back to Dei verbum ("Word of God"), the Dogmatic Constitution on Revelation.

Recently
Robert Barron, Eucharist
Father Blake Britton, Reclaiming Vatican II: What It (Really) Says, What It Means, and How It Calls Us to Renew the Church
Earl Swift, Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings

Currently
Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection

Presently
Christopher Carstens, A Devotional Journey into the Easter Mystery (Lent 2023)
Heather Augustyn, Ska: An Oral History (SKApril 2023)
Xavier Rynne, Vatican Council II
John W. O'Malley, What Happened at Vatican II

The Queue

I was making progress through The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection even more slowly than anticipated; so, I decided to stop alternating that book with Reclaiming Vatican II & focused on finishing Reclaiming Vatican II, which I did at the end of last week. I highly recommend Reclaiming Vatican II to one & all.

I've begun Across the Airless Wilds in anticipation of the fiftieth anniversary of Apollo 17, the sixth & final Moon landing (7-19 December). The book is off to a very bad start, the author writing on page seventeen:

No other explorer has been in circumstances so remote, or so extreme in their hazards. No expedition had before, or has since, pushed adventure farther or further. Cernan and Schmitt were out at the edge of man's travels as a species. By comparison, Roald Amundsen's trek to the South Pole was a run to the corner grocery.

Long time readers of The Secret Base are no strangers to my enthusiasm for human spaceflight & my own penchant for hyperbole. I'm on board with the first three sentences, but I reject utterly the attempt to build up the heroes of Apollo by denigrating the giants on whose shoulders they stood, such as Amundsen. (The "corner grocery"? If the author had taken such an unnecessary cheap shot at Ernest Shackleton, I would have stopped reading the book immediately & put it in the paper recycling bin.) I'm still reading Across the Airless Wilds, which means I still hold out hope it will prove worthwhile.

Recently
Tim Gray & Jeff Cavins, Walking with God: A Journey through the Bible
Robert Barron, Eucharist
Father Blake Britton, Reclaiming Vatican II: What It (Really) Says, What It Means, and How It Calls Us to Renew the Church

Currently
Earl Swift, Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings

Presently
Second Vatican Council, The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection
Christopher Carstens, A Devotional Journey into the Easter Mystery (Lent 2023)
Heather Augustyn, Ska: An Oral History (SKApril 2023)
Xavier Rynne, Vatican Council II
John W. O'Malley, What Happened at Vatican II

The Queue: Summer Reading

Commentary: This post is very late. I initially saved it on 20 May, over two months hence.

Of Eucharist's three chapters, I liked chapters two & three, "The Eucharist as Sacrifice" & "'If It's a Symbol, to Hell with It'" more than chapter one, "The Eucharist as Sacred Meal." As a frequent reader, watcher, & listener of Word on Fire content, I was not surprised by Eucharist, but I was delighted by much of it. Bishop Barron is a talented communicator. Of course, I'm a convinced believer, a daily communicant; I do not know how the book would affect my old, nominally Catholic self or a seeker from outside the Christian tradition. Of course, I'm always stress that "preaching to the choir" is not a bad thing—choristers need formation & encouragement, too.

I've been making snail's paced progress through Reclaiming Vatican II, but I've been thrilled & encouraged by everything I've read. I'm more than halfways through the book & am now ready to set it aside to take up The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection. Yesterday, I finished chapter three, "The Sacred Liturgy;" so, it is now time to read Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. I am very excited to be diving into the doscuments of Vatican II, having before only committed the mistake of reading commentaries on the documents (in the case of one book I read, from a very "liberal" paraconciliar perspective) instead of reading the documents themselves. Primary sources? Let's go!

Ch. 3, "The Sacred Liturgy" >>> Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
Ch. 4, "The Church" >>> Lumen gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
Ch. 5, "Divine Revelation" >>> Dei verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation
Ch. 6, "The Church and the Modern World" >>> Gaudium et spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World

My initial thought was to interrupt my reading of Reclaiming Vatican II & The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection to read Ska: An Oral History during SKAugust, but upon further reflection, I think I'll aim to start Ska: An Oral History during SKApril 2023, should the world perdure.

I do want to read, or at least start, Across the Airless Wilds by the fiftieth anniversary of Apollo 17, the final Moon landing, in December 2022.

Recently
Pope Saint John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint: On Commitment to Ecumenism
Tim Gray & Jeff Cavins, Walking with God: A Journey through the Bible
Robert Barron, Eucharist

Currently
Father Blake Britton, Reclaiming Vatican II: What It (Really) Says, What It Means, and How It Calls Us to Renew the Church
Second Vatican Council, The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection

Presently
Earl Swift, Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings
Xavier Rynne, Vatican Council II
John W. O'Malley, What Happened at Vatican II
Christopher Carstens, A Devotional Journey into the Easter Mystery
Heather Augustyn, Ska: An Oral History

The Loot: 43 Jahre

I received a card from The Human Fund; the good news being that the card did not say a donation had been made in my name to The Human Fund.

The Human Fund
"Money for People"

Books
Heather Augustyn, Ska: An Oral History
Dara Horn, People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Past
Ben Macintyre, A Spy among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal*
Ben Macintyre, The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War*
Earl Swift, Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings

Motion Pictures
Top Gun (1986)
Behind Enemy Lines (2001)
Hail Columbia! (1982)
The Dream Is Alive (1985)
Destiny in Space (1994)

Commentary: Hail Columbia, The Dream Is Alive, & Destiny in Space are all IMAX documentaries, about STS-1; the heady days of 1983-1985, before the Challenger disaster; & a repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, respectively.

Miscellany
narwhal statue*
Pillow Cube pillow
N.A.S.A. baseball cap*
Catholic Balm Co. Holy Smokes beard balm
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan movie poster*
ThunderCats Thunder Tank*
Soylent Green keychain*
false Barbasol can*
genuine Barbasol can*

Commentary: The false Barasol can is empty & has a detachable bottom. It is meant to be evocative of the false Barbasol can used to smuggle dinosaur D.N.A. samples in the film Jurassic Park, though without the rack & the cooling system needed to preserve biological samples. The genuine can of Barasol shaving cream alongside the false can? That's my dad's sense of humor.

*Off-list, meaning not requested on my birthday gift wish list. I am thankful for all the presents I was given, but I am also persnickety enough to raise a quizzical eyebrow when I receive a gift that was not on my wish list without having received all the gifts that were on my wish list. Among my immediate kin, the wish list has always been a courtesy to the gift-givers, to make their choosing of gifts simpler.

The Queue: Pascha Edition

I wholeheartedly recommend The Bible Timeline: The Story of Salvation to one & all, believers & unbelievers alike, & I further recommend Walking with God: A Journey through the Bible to prepare for &/or to accompany a Bible Timeline study. I facilitated a study of The Bible Timeline some years ago at Holy Redeemer & again this past year at Saint Matthew. It strikes me as something I should consider doing again, perhaps once a decade.

I ought to finish Eucharist before I embark upon the paired Reclaiming Vatican II & The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection. A Devotional Journey into the Easter Mystery will be shelved until Lent/Easter 2023 (Quadragesima/Pascha MMXXIII), Heaven permitting & should the world perdure.

Recently
Robert Barron*, Centered: The Spirituality of Word on Fire
Pope Saint John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint: On Commitment to Ecumenism
Tim Gray & Jeff Cavins, Walking with God: A Journey through the Bible

Currently
Robert Barron, Eucharist

Presently
Father Blake Britton*, Reclaiming Vatican II: What It (Really) Says, What It Means, and How It Calls Us to Renew the Church
Second Vatican Council†, The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection
Xavier Rynne, Vatican Council II
John W. O'Malley, What Happened at Vatican II
Christopher Carstens, A Devotional Journey into the Easter Mystery

*I identify Bishop Robert Barron as simply "Robert Barron" because that's how he's listed as the author of his books. I identify Father Blake Britton as such because that's how he's listed as the author of his book.

†"Foreward by Bishop Robert Barron with commentary by the postconciliar popes" (Pope Saint Paul VI, Pope Saint John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, & Pope Francis)

The Queue: Quadragesima Edition

I finished Ut Unum Sint three weeks ago, on the eve of the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter. I found this very poetic, especially in light of one of the closing articles of the encyclical (№ 97):

The Catholic Church, both in her praxis & in her solemn documents, holds that the communion of the particular Churches with the Church of Rome, & of their Bishops with the Bishop of Rome, is—in God's plan—an essential requisite of full & visible communion… This function of Peter must continue in the Church so that under her sole Head, who is Jesus Christ, she may be visibly present in the world as the communion of all his disciples.

I'm glad I live in an era when the Church is so committed to Christianity unity & highly recommend Ut Unum Sint to all persons of good will, especially Christians—Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Protestant, & Evangelical.

Depending on how slowly I read Eucharist, which I should have already finished by now, I might read A Devotional Journey into the Easter Mystery during the fifty days of the Eastertide. I'm reading Walking with God along with The Bible Timeline study I'm facilitating, which will also wrap up during Easter.

I plan to pair Reclaiming Vatican II with The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection, reading the major documents of the Council as Father Britton discusses each. This plan is the fruit of an interview with the author, who endorsed this very scheme. Depending on how all that goes, I may also jump two others books to the top of the queue, Xavier Rynne's Vatican Council II, an eyewitness account, & John W. O'Malley's What Happened at Vatican II, a contemporary (2008) assessment.

Recently
Ralph Martin, A Church in Crisis: Pathways Forward
Robert Barron, Centered: The Spirituality of Word on Fire
Pope Saint John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint: On Commitment to Ecumenism

Currently
Robert Barron, Eucharist

Studiously
Tim Gray & Jeff Cavins, Walking with God: A Journey through the Bible

Presently
Christopher Carstens, A Devotional Journey into the Easter Mystery
Father Blake Britton, Reclaiming Vatican II: What It (Really) Says, What It Means, and How It Calls Us to Renew the Church
various, The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection
Xavier Rynne, Vatican Council II
John W. O'Malley, What Happened at Vatican II

The Queue

Centered is a collection of aphorisms, excerpts from Bishop Barron's writings, speeches, podcasts, & videos. I regularly listen to two of those podcasts—The Word on Fire Show & Bishop Barron's Sermons—& watch Word on Fire's YouTube videos; so, I was very familiar with virtually everything presented in Centered, but it was enjoyable & edifying to see it collected in this way.

I strive to pray daily for Christian unity, having been convicted that Christian disunity—Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism & Evangelicalism, weird quasi Christian sects—is a profound obstacle to the Gospel. As the Lord Jesus Himself said:

"I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me, & I in You, that they also may be in us, so that rthe world may believe that You have sent Me."
—The Gospel according to John, 17:20-21

I've never before read one of Pope Saint John Paul II's writings. I'm excited to dive into Ut Unum Sint.

Recently
Cy Kellett, A Teacher of Strange Things: Who Jesus Was, What He Taught, & Why People Still Follow Him
Ralph Martin, A Church in Crisis: Pathways Forward
Robert Barron, Centered: The Spirituality of Word on Fire

Currently
Pope Saint John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint: On Commitment to Ecumenism

Studiously
Tim Gray & Jeff Cavins, Walking with God: A Journey through the Bible

Presently
Robert Barron, Eucharist
various, The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection
David Russell Mosley, The Green Man

Saints + Scripture: Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

Simplex Edition | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

The Popish Plot
"A Teacher of Strange Things by Cy Kellett"

'Tis the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (324; formally, the Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior & of Saints John the Baptist & John the Evangelist in the Lateran, A.K.A. the Papal Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran).

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

The Queue

Life Is Messy is a self-help book. God is mentioned, but He is peripheral to what Matthew Kelly describes as an essentially human project. This is anathema to the Christian faith, the core of which is that we cannot help ourselves, cannot save ourselves. If we could, we would not need a Savior. The Cursillo Movement exhorts us to read only the best books; a lifespan of a thousand years would not be enough to read all the books one might desire to read, so only reading the best books is an act of self-care & a manifestation of wisdom. To continue reading claptrap like Life Is Messy would be both self-destructive & foolish. Life Is Messy is thus the last of Kelly's books I will read.

Last week, I started co-facilitating a study of The Bible Timeline: The Story of Salvation at our parish, Saint Matthew. Walking with God, co-written by Bible Timeline creator & presenter Jeff Cavins, follows & expands upon the Bible Timeline's mnemonic device of parsing the story of salvation into twelve color-coded periods, & I thus thought it would be an excellent companion to the study. The Bible Timeline study is scheduled to last until May; so, I ought to be reading Walking with God bit by bit until then.

Centered is a gift I received as a result of signing up for a free month of the Word on Fire Institute. The only extended writing of Bishop Barron's I've read is his Letter to a Suffering Church. I routinely enjoy his weekly sermons, podcasts, films (both the shorter YouTube reaction videos & the longer film series, such as Catholicism & The Pivotal Players), & Gospel reflections, & I have a couple of his books in the queue; so, I'm looking forward to delving into his literary output.

Recently
Cy Kellett, A Teacher of Strange Things: Who Jesus Was, What He Taught, & Why People Still Follow Him
Ralph Martin, A Church in Crisis: Pathways Forward
Matthew Kelly, Life Is Messy

Currently
Robert Barron, Centered: The Spirituality of Word on Fire
Tim Gray & Jeff Cavins, Walking with God: A Journey through the Bible

Presently
Pope Saint John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint: On Commitment to Ecumenism
Robert Barron, Eucharist
various, The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection
David Russell Mosley, The Green Man

The Queue

Recently
Matthew Kelly, I Heard God Laugh: A Practical Guide to Life's Essential Daily Habit
Cy Kellett, A Teacher of Strange Things: Who Jesus Was, What He Taught, & Why People Still Follow Him
Ralph Martin, A Church in Crisis: Pathways Forward

Currently
Matthew Kelly, Life Is Messy

Presently
Pope Saint John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint: On Commitment to Ecumenism
Robert Barron, Eucharist
various, The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection
David Russell Mosley, The Green Man

The Queue

I am setting aside A Church in Crisis in order to read A Teacher of Strange Things for a review on The Popish Plot. For the same purpose, I will read The Green Man, a contemporary collection of poetry. Then, I intent to finish up A Church in Crisis & read Saint John Paul the Great's 1995 encyclical letter on ecumenism, Ut Unum Sint (the Latin title means, in English, "That they may be one").

My copy of Ut Unum Sint arrived in a distressed condition, bend & soiled in an opaque plastic bag from the shipper, wrapped inside a transparent plastic bag from the United States Postal Service bearing the following message:

WE CARE

Dear Postal Customer:

We sincerely regret the damage to your mail during handling by the Postal Service. We hope this incident did not inconvenience you. We realize that your mail is important to you and that you have every right to expect it to be delivered in good condition.

Although every effort is made to prevent damage to the mail, occasionally this will occur because of the great volume handled and the rapid processing methods which must be employed to assure the most expeditious distribution possible.

We hope you understand. We assure you that we are constantly striving to improve our processing methods in order that even a rase occurrence may be eliminated.

Please accept our apologies.

Sincerely,

Your Postmaster

Recently
David Hobbs with Andrew Marriot, Hobbo: Motor Racer, Motor Mouth—The Autobiography of David Hobbs
John O'Neill, The Fisherman's Tomb: The True Story of the Vatican's Secret Search
Matthew Kelly, I Heard God Laugh: A Practical Guide to Life's Essential Daily Habit

Currently
Cy Kellett, A Teacher of Strange Things: Who Jesus Was, What He Taught, & Why People Still Follow Him
David Russell Mosley, The Green Man
Ralph Martin, A Church in Crisis: Pathways Forward ***paused***

Devotionally
Matthew Kelly, Dig the Well Before You Get Thirsty: The Ultimate Prayer Journal to Prepare for the Inevitable and Explore the Possible—A Practical Guide to Life's Essential Daily Habit

Presently
Pope Saint John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint: On Commitment to Ecumenism
Fulton J. Sheen, Life of Christ
Flannery O'Connor, Flannery O'Connor Collection
Michael Gorn, N.A.S.A.: The Complete Illustrated History

Bonus! Song o' the Postal Service's Care
Reel Big Fish, "We Care" from Why Do They Rock So Hard? (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Queue

Dig the Well Before You Get Thirsty is a companion workbook to I Heard God Laugh. Many sources, including my spiritual director, urge me & indeed all of us to "pray" rather than just "say prayers." Reading the book & now working through the workbook is meant to help build a habit of prayer to compliment my established routine of saying prayers.

I've heard & watched several interviews of Ralph Martin discussing A Church in Crisis. I'm looking forward to reading the book, which features a photograph of Notre Dame aflame as a poetic image of the crises in the Church.

Recently
David Hobbs with Andrew Marriot, Hobbo: Motor Racer, Motor Mouth—The Autobiography of David Hobbs
John O'Neill, The Fisherman's Tomb: The True Story of the Vatican's Secret Search
Matthew Kelly, I Heard God Laugh: A Practical Guide to Life's Essential Daily Habit

Currently
Ralph Martin, A Church in Crisis: Pathways Forward
Matthew Kelly, Dig the Well Before You Get Thirsty: The Ultimate Prayer Journal to Prepare for the Inevitable and Explore the Possible—A Practical Guide to Life's Essential Daily Habit

Presently
Fulton J. Sheen, Life of Christ
Flannery O'Connor, Flannery O'Connor Collection
Michael Gorn, N.A.S.A.: The Complete Illustrated History
Brandon Vogt, What to Say and How to Say It: Discuss Your Catholic Faith with Clarity and Confidence

Saints + Scripture: Pascha — Please Stand By

The Popish Plot
"The Fisherman's Tomb by John O'Neill"