After getting Andy’s email Monday I realized it’s been several weeks since I last logged on to this great website Andy created and noticed we’ve been letting Andy have all the fun writing in it so I thought I put in a few thoughts. Everyone should check out Andy’s blog and Polycarp Ministries site. We especially enjoyed the ‘Redneck 4th of July’ Youtube clip. I’m not nearly as talented as Andy at writing but thankfully that’s not a prerequisite.
Father Denis in his homily Saturday mentioned the book “The Road Less Traveled” by M. Scott Peck. I read this book about 15 years ago and started rereading today. It made a big impression on me 15 yrs ago and even though it’s not a Catholic book I highly recommend it. I mentioned in the meeting a couple of weeks ago that I got a book from the library called ‘Trusting God’ by Jerry (not Jeff) Bridges. Again, he’s not a Catholic author but he helped me have a better understanding of the sovereignty of God. I had always had trouble understanding how God works in a world that is so full of evil and suffering. I wrote it all off to the effects of free will and sin but that still didn’t explain natural disasters, disease, etc, etc…. This book helped me see that everything, no matter how evil we perceive it to be at the time, can be used for the further glory of God and our own good and that God is always in control. Our own good is not always what we think it is but is God’s will for us to become more like His son. We don’t always understand because we can’t see the big picture but we have to have faith and trust in God’s infinite love and wisdom. Trust is easy when life is good but can be very hard in the painful times when God tests our faith.
If anyone has read any books that have had an impact on their life (I already know about the bible) I’d like to hear about them. There are so many books out there but it’s hard to sort the wheat and the chaff. Rebecca mentioned to me the ‘Interior Castel’ by St. Teresa of Avila. I’m looking forward to reading it.
I feel really fortunate to be in this group and definitely feel like it’s an answer to prayers. I pray for those in the group and especially about concerns that members bring up in our meetings. I pray that there will be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the group that will bless our lives, our families, and community.
God bless,
Tony
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