Our priest gave a homily a few years ago and spoke about how the Holy Spirit poured into us is a lot like the chocolate syrup that is poured into a glass of milk. It pretty much sits there and doesn’t flavor the milk unless it is stirred up. He was addressing his remarks toward three little boys who were about to receive the Sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation, but all of us present were listening intently as he described ways we can stir up the Spirit within us such as praying every day, engaging the Word, coming to Mass and receiving Jesus into our hearts, frequent confession etc. It was delightful and very effective and, several years later, I still think of stirring up the Spirit whenever I see a glass of chocolate milk!
One of the great ways to enflame the Spirit living within us is spiritual reading. The value of it cannot be underestimated. Reading about the good things of God lifts our hearts up and expands them. It gives us knowledge of ourselves and of our Creator and gives us zeal in serving God and helping to build up His Kingdom. We are so blessed to have over two thousand years of writings from Christians. It is a wonderful patrimony! We have available to us the teachings of the Church from the very beginnings to the present...the lives of the saints, the witness of the martyrs, testimonies from holy bishops, and homilies from saints. We have books on meditations, books on philosophy, books on theology, books on the liturgy, about the Scriptures…so many books! In our time of technology, all of these books are available with virtually a click of a button. If we want to know more about a certain saint or want advice on overcoming a moral weakness, we can find out. If we want to learn about what the Church teaches about any given subject, we can easily discover it. The Church has safeguarded her treasure of the written word because she knows it is a gift from God and meant for all peoples of all times. It is more than a historical record; it is God’s love made manifest to His people of every time.
It is fortunate for us that we live in this time. In an age when the culture seems to be sliding into the abyss due to relativism among other things, we are called to be God’s love and light in the world. We have the truth in the Catholic Church and we need to proclaim it boldly. Some new publishers are doing just that. They are making available the wisdom of the ages by republishing classic works of Christendom which are faithful to the Magisterium of the Church. It is an important mission in a time when there is much confusion in about what is truth. It is sad that in a religion section of a bookstore one finds books by television personalities spouting new age philosophies…new teachers with ever new ways to tickle our ears. If we are not informed in our faith, we are in danger of losing it. I once looked through a book which was virulently anti-Catholic. It had so many lies at the foundation, but was so persuasive in language that I could see how uninformed people could buy into it. How many of our brothers and sisters have fallen away from truth based upon a pack of lies they thought were true because they lacked solid formation? There is so much freedom and security in possessing the REAL truth…possessing Jesus Christ, Himself, who can never be separated from His Church.
Spiritual reading in my own life is very important. It is also, at times, providential, as God places in my hands what is most needed to help me love Him more. That is what all spiritual reading should do…help us to love Him more. So often we find the encouragement we need or the hope we are looking for or the comfort we long for in the pages of spiritual books and we realize that God loves us and always sees the tiniest of our needs and provides for them. How can our love not grow for Him? Recently, I have been reading books by Blessed Columba Marmion. I will be ever grateful to Zaccheus Press for republishing his works. Zaccheus Press is a small publishing house “devoted to publishing fine books for all readers seeking a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith. While remaining ever faithful to the Magisterium, we seek to publish books that will both satisfy and intensify the reader’s thirst for a deeper relationship with God.” They have succeeded in their mission with me because reading Blessed Columba’s books have made me melt with love for God and thirst ever more for Him. Plus, I have a new friend in Blessed Columba Marmion. I am looking forward to meeting such a kindred spirit in heaven where we will both be “in the heart’s embrace of the Father” with Jesus, covered by the love of the Holy Spirit. I’m also looking forward to receiving other books from Zaccheus as they are really good quality and full of the good things of God. Praise God, they have a new book on St. Joseph! We need to support these publishers by buying their books and giving them to our loved ones. More importantly, we need to keep them in our prayers so God’s holy work will be done through them. Let us all thank God for the many ways He nourishes us through the written word of so great a cloud of witnesses!
Thank you, Lord, for all the treasures of your love which I find in reading good spiritual books. Thank you for helping me to grow closer to you through them…for giving me the gifts of the spirit and for keeping the desire in my heart burning for you. Thank you for giving me such a wonderful mother who has always instilled in me a love for reading and has provided me with so many beautiful books. I am grateful to her for all of those visits to the library, to bookstores, and for telling us to make a list of what we wanted when the newest Catholic catalog would come in the mail. Through her, Lord, You have imparted to me the importance of good spiritual reading. What a gift it is and what a gift she is! How present your love is in my life, Lord! Thank you for giving us such a wonderful library at our Church. I beg you to inspire every single parishioner to make use of it and to find your love hidden in the pages of the thousands of books there. Thank you for sending such a good and faithful priest who makes sure we are given the truth. You are the Truth, Lord; how could we not choose you? I love you, Jesus, and I feel so full of gratitude for all of the ways you have spoken to me through the words of your saints. I ask you to help those who are not able to read or those who don’t like reading. Give them abundant graces and impart your love to them in different ways, but please, help them. They need the solid food of your love, too. Help them, Lord. And help me to show with my smile your goodness to those who don’t see your love in the pages of a book….to show with the warmth of my hand your tenderness. Forgive me for all of the times I don’t and help me to try again. Let me be you in the world. Amen.
Recommended Reading:
- Christ, The Life of the Soul by Blessed Columba Marmion
- The Treasury of Catholic Wisdom by Fr. John A. Hardon
