Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Book Review: Take Five-Meditations with Pope Benedict XVI

I recently had the opportunity to read Mike Aquilina & Fr. Kris D. Stubna's Take Five-Meditations with Pope Benedict XVI for The Catholic Company as part of their Book Reviewer Program. For it's diminutive size, the book packs a nice punch. I found the book to be thought provoking and certainly inspirational.

The introduction of the book includes a short note on how to use the book. It's a book you can easily skip around in and still benefit from it just as much as you would if you read each meditation in order. Also included in the introduction is a summary of Pope Benedict's background. I actually found his backstory to be quite interesting.

There are seventy-two meditations in this book. Each meditation begins with a quote from the Pope's teachings or written work. Following that are three sections entitled "Think About It", "Just Imagine", and "Remember". The "Think About It" section offers three prompts or questions to get you on the right track. In "Just Imagine", you'll see a scripture quote that ties in nicely with the meditation. The "Remember" section offers a statement that you can reflect on throughout the day.

I liked the simplicity of the format of this book. It is a book where you could read one meditation each day and then reflect and pray on it. What is nice about this book is you can read the short chapter on a specific meditation in the morning before starting your day and take the rest of the day to incorporate the clarity learned in that meditation into your day. Most of the chapters are about two pages long so you're not looking at a huge time investment. Just a few minutes a day focused on these meditations will help to put you or keep you on the right track.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who's looking for spiritual inspiration but doesn't want something that's over the top. The simplicity of this book will make you want to turn back to it again and again.

To purchase this book or to get more information, please visit The Catholic Company. As a reviewer for The Catholic Company Catholic Book Reviewer Program, I was supplied with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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