The St. Francis Book Sale begins tonight with the Preview Party for parishioners before opening to the public at 10am on Thursday. I'm guessing here, but if I had to guess which subject has had the most written about it, I would say it has to be religion and theology. For thousands of years, we have written about religious topics. I remember a seminary professor who used to be a lawyer comment that when she was moving, the movers said that the professors that are the hardest to move are professors, clergy, and lawyers, because of the amount of books that they have. To which she replied, "yes, yes, and yes."
Now to be sure, there is a lot that you'll find in the "Religion and Spirituality" section of bookstores that isn't worth the paper it's printed on, but such writings are but a small sea in the oceans of thoughtful religious writing. So many of us have been formed by what we have read over the years, and I thought it would be fitting to give thanks in our prayer lives today for these authors and their works, but for all authors, and especially those who risk their lives for their writing (thinking of journalists in war zones). Reply in the comments with some of those books that have truly formed you. A few of mine- Mere Christianity & The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis; Christ of the Celts by J Philip Newell; Pastoral Theology by Thomas Oden; The Case for God by Karen Armstrong. Happy reading!
