Peeking at my personal bookshelves.....Part one: Spiritual Edition
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I love a good story. It's one of the reasons that I have taken to blogging, and social media, sharing my own story. Stories bring connection. There are few things that make us feel connected like a book with great character description, a setting that you can picture yourself in, or a storyline that keeps you enthralled. A good writer can open our minds to beautiful places, expand our hearts to a new cause, or make us fall in love with a new country.
Long before there was a Goodreads, I remember texting my college friends and family for good book recommendations. Everyone needs to find themselves a few family or friends who share your love for a few genres. There are so many genres that I enjoy, and I wanted to share a few of my favorite genres with this series: Peeking at my personal bookshelf. In this edition, I will be sharing my Top Five favorite inspirational and spiritual books to date.
Catholic Journaling Bible: I purchased this bible a few years back and it was a game changer for my deep dive into scripture. I love the journaling and notes section that allows me to write my thoughts, and expand upon my understanding each time I read a scripture passage. As a cradle Catholic, I would never have written in my bible before, but this bible encourages a "study" of scripture. You can make this journal more personal by adding bible tabs like I have in the picture below. I have often used the larger Scripture prints throughout the bible to share on Social Media as well.
The Devil in the Castle: My brother sent me this book knowing of my love for St. Teresa of Avila. If this wasn't his, I would have highlighted the majority of this book. Definitely, I would recommend purchasing this one. Dan Burke, the author, gives extensive and practical advice in the study of spiritual warfare and preparing ourselves for the spiritual journey. It took me a while to read because it just has so much information to digest and incorporate into your spiritual journey. Truly a must for your bookshelf!
I recommend any book by Fr. Jacques Philippe. I just started reading A Time for God, but I love my worn out copy of Searching for and Maintaining Peace. I have purchased this book for many people as I feel like it inspires holiness and deep love for the Lord and His peace. Fr. Philippe's advice is encouraging and motivates us to turn to the Lord with all our needs and desires. These short books are perfect additions to personal adoration time, or short morning reflections. These books are small enough to keep in a purse for quick reflections at appointments, or on the go.
Roses Among Thorns was a Christmas gift from one of my sister in laws. I have read this book numerous times. I love that it is a short book of reflections from St. Francis DeSales. This book has inspired me to consider writing my own devotional book as it covers concepts about the faith and is not time specific. These reflections are simple and yet encourage the reader to pursue holiness in the everyday.
The Power of Silence became a powerful part of my Lenten journey years ago. When the Lord had invited me to focus on creating more pockets of silence into my day, I had several friends recommend this book to me. Cardinal Sarah breaks down the importance of silencing the noise in our everyday life. Silence was the key to the greatest spiritual growth along my journey. This book illustrates the importance of creating that silence.
These few books are just a small assortment of my spiritual books collection. I pray that one or more of these books blesses your library as it has mine. Do you have a favorite spiritual book to recommend to me? I would love to hear about it!
