Love Letters to Lukewarm Souls

THIS BOOK with a straight-forward title caught my eye right away when I saw it in our church's little book corner weeks ago. Because, you know, if you put together St. Augustine + his answers to questions + in a Q&A format that's readable and + the questions are of the classics such as "How do I know God hears my prayers?" or "Why must I ask for things God already knows I need?" etc., you can bet this is going to be a keeper. So far after a month of on and off reading (jumpin g from one book to another), I'm at around #63, some Q&A are not as breezy reading as I thought it would be and may require some repeat reading to comprehensively get the rich theology and philosophy of this old man. Especially when you are no theologian or philosopher and most especially to be reading the works of, many considered, the Grand Daddy of theology, the Theologian of theologians (alongside St. Thomas Aquinas). Yet knowing who St. Augustine a b...

Weeks ago, I was finally able to picked up the pace and finished reading the book by the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin called “The Gift of Peace.” The book is basically about his reflections and insights of the events and happenings in the final 2 months of his life when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He began in his book by recounting 3 years back of how he forgave the person face to face who wrongfully accused him of sexual misconduct that went public in the media. But for the most part, the book was about discovering his new personal ministry of how, as a man of God, he can continue to strive to courageously and consistently be a living witness and example to others in living out his faith even in the face of death, and even in the midst of all his fears, anxieties and exhaustion, so that whether in good times or bad, God’s power still manifest, and eventually him finding God’s gift of Peace in the process in embracing death. One of the things that struck me i...