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Anyone in the Parish of Saint Patrick's Church or Saint Rose of Lima is welcome to join the on-line version of the Book Club newly named St. Patrick's Everlasting Book Shelf. The new book is announced below. The books will be announced in the church bulletin and here on the WPC website. To participate in the book club: Read the book, Check this site for response questions, share your thoughts in writing and (to post them) email them to mspagnola@parishmail.com.

The books being read by the St. Patrick Everlasting Book Shelf are listed below. When the readers have finished reading the selection they submit their thoughts. Below are the response questions to the content of the book.

Choose any of the above questions to respond to, or feel free to just respond in your own way.

The book is to be read by March 31st. Blogging here may begin any time after you have finished the book. Submit your blog entry to mspagnola@parishmail.com

Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern Day Slave And an International Art Dealer And The Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together by Ron Hall

Same Kind of Different as Me, a book that is factual but could just as easily be fiction, tells the unlikely story of the unlikeliest of friends--Ron Hall and Denver Moore. Told in two voices, the book alternates between telling the story from the perspective of Ron and Denver.
At first unable to crack Denver's stony personality, Hall eventually prevails and strikes up a friendship with a man worlds apart. They become fast friends who endure a tragedy together and who soon grow in their love, respect and admiration of each other. Each man teaches the other about life and faith. Somehow the story of the relationship between these two men is fascinating and inspiring. It offers a glimpse into two worlds that are nearly opposite and shows what happens when these worlds come into contact with each other. I can still hardly believe this was not a novel.

While the book showcases a fun sense of humor, there is also plenty of heart.
This book challenges those of us who consider ourselves Christian - that we usually aren't as real as we say and certainly rarely have actions that are as revolutionary as Jesus paved the way for.

Book to be read by January 31st. Blogging here may begin any time after you have finished the book. Submit your blog entry to mspagnola@parishmail.com

"Clear some space on your bookshelf for Mitch Albom's, Have a Little Faith, the story of a faith journey that could become a classic. Those who were born into faith, have lost faith, or are still searching will all be engaged and challenged by this powerful story of "finding faith" in relationships with others and with something greater than ourselves. Never satisfied with easy answers or soft platitudes, Mitch explores some of life's greatest mysteries and unanswered questions with great honesty, depth and self reflection. "
--Jim Wallis, CEO and Founder of Sojourners and author of The Great Awakening

Book to be read by November 30th. Blogging here may begin any time after you have finished the book. Submit your blog to mspagnola@parishmail.com

From Publishers Weekly
Carthusians are contemplative monastics who live in community but spend most of their days alone in their private dwellings. With a lifestyle similar to that of their 11th-century French founder, they wear hair shirts, practice self-flagellation and eat just one meal a day from mid-September to Easter (though some monasteries reluctantly have begun allowing such luxuries as electricity, hot water and flush toilets). Maguire, a Renaissance scholar married to an ex-Carthusian, examines this living museum of a bygone age by following the lives of five young men who entered St. Hugh's Charterhouse in England between July 1960 and March 1961. As they work, pray and live in solitude, they discover not only God but also themselves. They do not, however, learn much about the rapid changes taking place beyond their walls, and the men who leave the monastery in 1965 find themselves in a strange new world. Through painstaking research including countless phone conversations, 5,000 pages of e-mails and a reunion of the five men in France, Maguire creates a personal, sympathetic and amazingly detailed description of an ancient order and its contemporary adherents, traveling "toward inner space within the confines of their solitary cells." (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
"Maguire has produced a vivid, gripping and deeply touching picture of a world that is now lost. For an outsider to enter such a closed society and to capture its essence is an astonishing achievement: this is a work of history, but it has all the best qualities of a psychological novel." Diarmiud MacCullogh "It is fascinating to enter, if only for a few hours, into this way of life, where extreme devotion forms at last a bit of a bulwark against humanity's digressions." Los Angeles Times"

Book to be read by September 30th. Blogging here may begin any time after you have finished the book. Submit your blog to mspagnola@parishmail.com

When Anne Rice stopped crafting stories about vampires and began writing about Jesus, many of her fans were shocked. This autobiographical spiritual memoir provides an account of how the author rediscovered and fully embraced her Catholic faith after decades as a self-proclaimed atheist. Rice begins with her childhood in New Orleans, when she seriously considered entering a convent. As she grows into a young adult she delves into concerns about faith, God and the Catholic Church that lead her away from religion. The author finally reclaims her Catholic faith in the late 1990s, describing it as a movement toward total surrender to God. She writes beautifully about how through clouds of doubt and pain she finds clarity, realizing how much she loved God and desired to surrender her being, including her writing talent, to God. Covering such a large sequence of time and life events is not easy, and some of the author's transitions are a bit jarring. Fans of Rice's earlier works will enjoy discovering more about her life and fascinating journey of faith. (Oct. 7)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book to be read by August 31st. Blogging here may begin any time after you have finished the book. Submit your blog to mspagnola@parishmail.com

Starred Review. In the New Testament, the miracle at the wedding at Cana-where Jesus turned water into wine-marks the commencement of his tumultuous three-year ministry. In Rice's beautifully observed novel, a sequel to 2005's Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, however, the wedding miracle is in fact the culmination of an intimate family saga of love, sorrow and misunderstanding. As the novel opens, Yeshua (Jesus) struggles with a sense of restlessness of purpose and a deep love for a comely kinswoman. Waves of isolation sweep over him as he comes to understand that serving the Lord's will takes precedence over the desires of his own heart. Whereas the first novel in this series hewed so closely to Scripture and to the author's meticulous research as to be somewhat arid as fiction, this book, imagining the "lost" young adulthood of Jesus, offers wise and haunting speculation where the Bible is silent. And the final chapters, which pick up the story with the New Testament's accounts of Jesus' baptism, temptation and early miracles, manage to be soulfully insightful even while faithfully tracking the Gospels. Rice undertakes a delicate balance: if it is possible to create a character that is simultaneously fully human and fully divine, as ancient Christian creeds assert, then Rice succeeds. (Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book to be read by June 30th. Blogging here may begin any time after you have finished the book. Submit your blog to mspagnola@parishmail.com

Rice departs from her usual subject matter to pen this curious portrait of a seven-year-old Jesus, who departs Egypt with his family to return home to Nazareth. Rice's painstaking historical research is obvious throughout, whether she's showing the differences among first-century Jewish groups (Pharisees, Essenes and Sadducees all play a part), imagining a Passover pilgrimage to Jerusalem or depicting the regular but violent rebellions by Jews chafing under Roman rule. The book succeeds in capturing Jesus' profound Jewishness, with some of the best scenes reflecting his Torah education and immersion in the oral traditions of the Hebrew Bible. As fiction, though, the book's first half is slow going. Since it is told from Jesus' perspective, the childlike language can be simplistic, though as readers persevere they will discover the riches of the sparse prose Rice adopts. The emotional heart of the story—Jesus' gradual discovery of the miraculous birth his parents have never discussed with him—picks up steam as well, as he begins to understand why he can heal the sick and raise the dead. Rice provides a moving afterword, in which she describes her recent return to the Catholic faith and evaluates, often in an amusingly strident fashion, the state of biblical studies today. (Nov. 7) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Book to be read by March 31st. You may obtain the book from the parish office. Blogging here may begin any time you have finished the book. Submit your blog to mspagnola@parishmail.com .

I'm an old man now. And an old man is entitled to savor his memories and reflections. I live now in hope of a life yet to come when I will once again see the Teacher. So begins the memoir of the Shoemaker of Capernaum, a sharp-eyed, pious craftsman whose most cherished memories are those of Jesus, the captivating teacher who profoundly affected everyone who met him. Jesus changed the shoemaker’s life—and the shoemaker kept a journal of what he saw and heard in the midst of Jesus’ circle of friends and followers. At the end of his life he puts his notes in order. I can feel him here still. He is telling us about the steadfastness of his Father’s love. He is challenging us to attend to the widow and the poor and the orphan and the sick. He is reminding us of a kingdom that we are destined to inherit as his brothers and sisters. And he is embracing us still with those deep eyes and that resonant voice. Brent’s remarkable “fable” is born of the author’s own deep desire to encounter Jesus for himself. His imagined first-century world on the shores of the Sea of Galilee is a colorful place where an extraordinary teacher brings love, joy, and meaning to the ordinary people who are irresistibly drawn to him. The Shoemaker’s Gospel takes readers on an inspiring journey where they ask and answer: Who is Jesus? What does he mean for me?

Book to be read by January 15th. You may order the book from the parish office. Blogging here may begin any time you have finished the book. Submit your blog to mspagnola@parishmail.com .

In the Gospel of John, Jesus promised that even the most ordinary believer could work the mightiest miracles: "Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing." In Mystics and Miracles, author Bert Ghezzi chose saints that are close to his heart and describes their lives and miracles. He kept saying over and over that these saints were just ordinary people who did extraordinary things and it gives him the hope that he too has the capacity to become a saint. I felt just the opposite. I felt that their prayer life and devotion to Jesus were so exemplary that there is no way I could even hope to attain the same graces that these saints did. With that said, I did enjoy reading about the Saints. I would, however, have liked it if he had chosen some of the more obscure Saints so that I could have learned about other saints. The Saints that Ghezzi chose were well known saints that we are all mostly familiar with. The book was a good read. Even though unlike Ghezzi I was not inspired to become a saint, I did experience awe at what common people are able to accomplish through Jesus when they devote their lives to Him. It is something you always know but it is never untimely to be reminded again and again. Marietta

Book to be read by October 30th. You may order the book from the parish office. Orders will be taken until September 19th. Blogging here may begin any time you have finished the book. Submit your blog to mspagnola@parishmail.com .

This book reached me on so many levels. I don't know that I can verbalize all of them and still fit my blog on this page. I am going to attempt being clear and not to ramble on and on. I would like to talk about the part of the book when Mack was at the Shack.

At first I was perplexed about the way the Blessed Trinity appeared to Mack. Then I came to realize that they appeared to Mack in a way that he was able to process and accept their reality. What struck me about that is that they accepted Mack for who he is. So too, does God accept and love each of us for who we are. He is everything that we need Him to be and more.

As I continued to read it occurred to me that Mack is "Everyman". His feelings, attitudes and reactions were universal. We have all experienced them at some time or another in our lives. So as God reached out to Mack we can be assured that he reaches out to all of us in the same non-judgmental way. The catch is we have to be aware of and open to it.

While Mack one only one man in all of God's creation, God was not about to let him go. God was not going to settle for losing the love of one mere man. This underlines the truth that we are all important and special in the eyes of God. He is willing to go to great lengths to retrieve even one "lost sheep".

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Shack". There is so much to be gleaned from this book. I know I will have to go back and read it again and again in order to digest all that Young has packed into his book. Marietta

I absolutely loved this book. My sister had insisted that I read it and I am so glad that she did. This man just amazes me. He has devoted so much of his life to helping others, much like the disciples did. In so many ways he literally up and left his family to follow his mission. What impressed me the most was how he treated everyone he met with such dignity. In that respect he is much like Jesus. No matter what their status in life, how offensive their body odor, or how repulsive their food, he treated them with the utmost respect. In the eyes of Greg Mortenson every human is equal and deserving of respect, dignity and equal opportunities in life. Without much thought this man is following in Christ's Footsteps. What an example for us all.

It is truly eye opening to me to see what others must endure in their lives. I feel truly Blessed to have had such a stable, loving and secure upbringing and my heart goes out to Melanie for all she physically endured…..yet perhaps a price to be paid for her priceless encounters with the Lord……Melanie was Blessed to have experienced visions, apparitions and the love of Jesus….something we all would love to experience……I call it the Holy Longing….looking for God’s love, yearning to feel it….it is often hard to have the yearning for our Lord and still be able to “fit in” with what we must do in our ordinary daily lives. Jesus was with her, comforting and healing her wounds yet still she experienced physical pain. I’m sure we can all relate that to our own lives. It is also distressing for me to believe that child abuse does exist. Clearly Melanie lived in a different era with different forms of abuse but abuse exists in today’s society. I want to reach out and put an end to it all and comfort and heal the afflicted, be Jesus’ hand in the world today…….hopefully I do so in small ways every day…the message of Our Lady of LaSalette is one that needs to be explored more deeply in my life and I don’t think was the focus of this book….so we will leave that to another blog session!

i thought this was a simple book to read. I found all the details to be a little tedious, and I kept wondering how the author could have come to know all the tiny details of Melanie's life. This made me a little skeptical of the authenticity of the information in the book. I think this detracted from the enjoyment of the book for me. I felt a little guilty after reading the other response to the book. I didn't come away with the same feelings. I was also impressed with the suffering s of her life, but I think too much was made of the secret. I kept expecting some amazing life changing information, and it was only about the corruptness of the French clergy. I found myself feeling doubtful about the whole thing. I'm not sure why. Having said this, I will say that Melanie's life was inspirational. We are so comfortable today as a culture, it seems almost unthinkable that only 150 years ago, the world was so awful to children and very little was done about it. Melanie had such amazing faith in the face of a harsh existence! It is all very difficult for me to make any parallels with Melanie in my own life. I focused on her relentless in pursuing a holy life. Am I even attempting such devotion? Sadly, I have the intention, but fall so far short of the mark that it is truly pitiful. I will be thinking of her sacrifices and suffering when the air conditioning isn't cold enough, or gas prices are too high. It is embarrassing to think that my little inconveniences bother me. Having the memory of the apparition of the Blessed Mother must have been an incredible consolation for her. I'm sure none of us can even imagine the effect that would have on a life. God Bless you, Melanie!
Donna

When I first began reading the book, I have to admit, I was a bit of a skeptic. The first descriptions of Melanie, as a three year old, had her speaking quite fluently with complicated sentence structures. I found it hard to take seriously. Then as I kept reading I realized that through Jesus and the Blessed Mother anything is possible. Obviously, Melanie was blessed by the Spirit in order to endure her trials and to accept and welcome them freely. I try to remember every day before my feet hit the floor to offer my day up to Jesus. My trials are meager compared to Melanie but Jesus accepts all offerings.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Some failures lead to phenomenal successes, and this American nurse's unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, the world's second tallest mountain, is one of them. Dangerously ill when he finished his climb in 1993, Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeks by the small Pakistani village of Korphe; in return, he promised to build the impoverished town's first school, a project that grew into the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. Coauthor Relin recounts Mortenson's efforts in fascinating detail, presenting compelling portraits of the village elders, con artists, philanthropists, mujahideen, Taliban officials, ambitious school girls and upright Muslims Mortenson met along the way. As the book moves into the post-9/11 world, Mortenson and Relin argue that the United States must fight Islamic extremism in the region through collaborative efforts to alleviate poverty and improve access to education, especially for girls. Captivating and suspenseful, with engrossing accounts of both hostilities and unlikely friendships, this book will win many readers' hearts. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Bookmarks Magazine
While critics agree that Three Cups of Tea should be read for its inspirational value rather than for its literary merit, the book's central theme, derived from a Baltistan proverb, rings loud and clear. "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger," a villager tells Greg Mortenson. "The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time you become family." An inspirational story of one man's efforts to address poverty, educate girls, and overcome cultural divides, Three Cups, which won the 2007 Kiriyama Prize for nonfiction, reveals the enormous obstacles inherent in becoming such "family." Despite the important message, critics quibbled over the awkward prose and some melodrama. After all, a story as dramatic and satisfying as this should tell itself.