My latest sampling from The Catholic Company (Mr. Government, I received a free copy of this book in return for this review) was Mercy Minutes: Daily Gems of St. Faustina to Transform Your Prayer Life. Compiled by the Rev. George W. Kisocki, CSB, it offers two or three short quotes from the Diary of St. Faustina for each day of the year.
Be warned: Faustina is intense. "Nothing disturbs my peace." "O Jesus, my heart stops beating when I think of you!" "I do not know how to love partially!" There were days when I would read the excerpts, eyebrows raised, and shelve it with an exasperated sigh. But that tells you more about my weaknesses than about the book.
This would be a great companion prayer-book for those of us with little time and who find brief excerpts inspiring and motivating. I have to admit that I prefer the whole thing--just buy the Diary! But that is 800 pages of overwhelming love; this smaller book is a good way to get to know Faustina a little more slowly.
This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Mercy Minutes.
3 comments:
Just a suggestion for another book you might like if you like St. Faustina... Jesus Appeals to the World by Lorenzo Sales is a book on the writings of Ven. Consolata Betrone, a Poor Clare Capuchin from Turin, Italy, who lived around the same time as St. Faustina. Her diary has not been translated into English yet, but this book really does let her kind of speak for herself. It's not too long, but it's message of the love of God for us. It's very beautiful... Jesus constantly reminds her that all he wants her to do is love Him, and He will take care of everything else. (He taught her the prayer 'Jesus, Mary, I love you! Save souls!' and the act of love is the main point of her writings).
The nice thing about it too is that while St. Faustina's diary is often very unique to her, the message to Consolata (at least what is included in this book) is something anyone can relate to, and yet it's very personal.(Don't get me wrong, I love Faustina... I actually was named after her in religious life.) I love your blog, by the way!
Thanks for the suggestion, Jennifer!
I agree that Mercy Minutes is worth the purchasing. Esp. with lots of children's needs to meet, you can read two lines to ponder the rest of the day!
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