Last Updated: April 23, 2025 by St. Placid

SISTER LAURA’S SCRIPTORIUM

BOOKS THAT MERIT ATTENTION

Life After Doom. Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart, Brian McLaren, St. Martin’s Press, 2024. This may be the most important read at this particular time: to breathe hope into our inner  spirit during this soul-crushing time. Through four ‘movements’ of Letting Go, Letting Be, Letting Come, and Setting Free. Life After Doom is practical, pastoral, and written really well. Not theory,  rather holy praxis (right practice). Each chapter ends with suggested questions for us to ponder in light of our own questions and  awareness. He manages to be honest about our situation while showing us the path to courageous hope.

 

We Cry Justice. Reading the Bible with the Poor People’s Campaign, edited by Liz Theoharis,  Broadleaf Books, 2021. This is an excellent  source for lectio divina and reflective contemplation. Each short entry brings in the voice of a prophet alongside a short scripture  passage, a reflection, another short scripture passage that dovetails the first, and concludes with a short prayer. Begin each day with  one entry.

 

 

A Midwinter God. Encountering the Divine in Seasons of Darkness, Christine Valters Paintner, Sorin Books, 2024. For too long “dark” and “black” were associated with something to be feared or with “sin.” Paintner helps us befriend the deep life found in the darkness  of winter: of our grief, of compassion, of the unknowing of God, and of our mythic  journeys. She begins by sharing some of her own
personal story that led her to see the deep life found in darkness while also doing her own grief work. I recommend this for all, but especially those who hold “darkness” as something to fear, or are facing truly hard times in their lives and wonder: where is God?

White Poverty. How Exposing Myths about Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy, Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II, Liveright Publishing, 2024. Barber, a pastor, professor, and cochair of the Poor People’s Campaign, seeks to shed light on the depth of poverty among white folk – a “silent majority.” Through anecdotes balanced with the realities that keep while folk poor, he seeks to wake us up to the reality that white folk, who’ve been taught to distrust leaders of color, have few white leaders who will give voice to their situation. Barber is one of our modern prophets giving voice to God’s pain, anguish, and despair (Rabbi Heschel’s definition of a prophet).

 

 

Category: Books to Read, News, Scriptorium, St. Placid

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