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If you are an Amazon prime member, buy a $50 Amazon gift card and you get $10 for free. One book I really recommend buying with that $10 is Healing After Loss: Daily Meditations For Working Through Grief
> If you are an Amazon prime member, buy a $50 Amazon gift card and you get $10 for free. One book I really recommend buying with that $10 is Healing After Loss: Daily Meditations For Working Through Grief
L O L O O L O L
The Story is a pretty good resource, it essentially condenses the NIV translation of the Bible down into, well, a story.
As others have said, don’t read it like a novel. It’s not intended to be understood in that way.
What I would do is use bible.com or the Bible app and sign up for one of the whole Bible plans. That will also give you context into what you’re reading and they present themes or sections that go together well.
I personally use ESV as it’s the closest readable translation to what the original was. A lot of Protestant churches use the NIV.
If you do want to get the ideas in a novelization type format, you can use The Story but you’re not directly reading the Bible when doing that.
This site has the basic information. You can find a nice devotional for the preparation as well as de Montfort's "True Devotion" on Amazon here. As for me, the day I chose didn't allow for a full 33 days of preparation, so I intend to repeat the consecration next year with the full 33 days of prayer, though I know many Catholics renew their consecration with an abbreviated prep formula. After the consecration, it is a good idea to be enrolled in the brown scapular and wear a miraculous medal if you don't already as a reminder of your special devotion to Our Lady.
Hope this helps!
Hi there! You are so right - all of our relationships with God are unique and that's what's so special! I think we all go through seasons where God feels distant, so you are not alone or doing anything wrong. I'd love to share some ways that I have found joy in reading the Bible. I used to get bored too.
One piece of advice that helped me at first came from my mentor. She told me she would read scripture back to God. Ex: Try reading those Psalms aloud to God. If God says He'll be your rock and refuge - ask him to be!
Another helpful thing is having a daily devotional. I really like New Morning Mercies. Looks like its about $15 on Amazon, and cheaper at other places! I highly recommend it as an easy daily starting point to lead your spiritual life and relationship with God! https://www.amazon.com/New-Morning-Mercies-Gospel-Devotional/dp/1433541386
I'm also super into just worshipping while I get ready in the morning or drive in the car. If you're looking for an easy way to memorize scripture, a band called Shane & Shane usually turn Scripture into songs. So if you memorize a song... you're memorizing scripture! How cool!
You can't mess up trying to worship Him. So keep trying to figure out what works for you! He loves when his sons and daughters want to connect, and He will meet you right where you're at! Praying for you :)
I always slow fade when I make Bible reading a habit. It can be hard to have that discipline. Right now I’m reading The Purpose Driven Life along with my Bible reading. The book is marked by days and not chapters so as I read a day I read a chapter of the Bible to go with it.
It’s really helped me stay focused so maybe it’ll help you! Here’s a link to the book
Meditation is a beautiful first step. Not only does it do what it’s intended to do but it also teaches at a young age that you don’t need a drug to relieve and accept pain (emotional or physical). It’s a step towards having power over your mind and body which results in power over the world, which is to say control over perspective.
It’s legal, it’s free and nobody can ever take it away from you.
EDIT: this book also has the ability to change anyone’s life. Reminds you that you’re loved as you are. Teaches you so much about letting go by inviting everything in. Depression and anxiety tend to occur from trauma (emotion or physical) and the need to try and control the future or inability to accept the past.
Emotion trauma (from my experience and from speaking with friends extensively) seems to fall down to an individual not feeling loved, not feeling worthy of love, and not feeling loved means not being accepted for who you are. When we force change on people that teaches them that they aren’t good enough at this very moment. Purchase this book and try to get your brother to try breath work. They’ll go hand in hand very well.
The Way to Love: The Last Meditations of Anthony de Mello (Image Pocket Classics)
It’s pocket sized so great to carry around and very very easy to read.
I’d highly recommend visiting a Greek Orthodox monastery if you can. The monastics have the answers in simple terms. It’s their every thought and they get inquisitive visitors so they’re experts in answering the most deeply mystical types of questions. I’ve put them to the test.
The BEST entry into orthodoxy book (since you’re a big reader) I can highly recommend, is Mountain Of Silence, by Dr. Kyriacos Markides Every person I know who’s read it, loved it.
Firstly, it is always mortally sinful. In the case of a wet dream, it's not even masturbation. Certainly not sinful as you had no control over your body.
As a solution, I strongly recommend that you consecrate yourself completely to Our Most Blessed Mother. Entrust to her your body, your soul, your good works, and your merits and graces. Give yourself completely to her as her property and possession. She is the Queen Of Heaven. She is our Most Loving Mother. She will never abandon or let go of anything that belongs to her.
I tell you, there is no better way of overcoming yourself than to entrust yourself to her. She is the entire cause of my own conversion. When you consecrate yourself to her there is what can only be called a miraculous conversion. Whether you cooperate with her or not. She will sooner or later, pull you under her loving mantle. After I consecrated myself, she showed me the true horror of sin and how much I had been hurting her Immaculate Heart and the Sacred Heart of her son, Jesus Christ. I simply could not help but fall deeper and deeper in love with Our Mother. Even my previous terribly strong inclinations against chastity began to fade away. Now I rarely struggle with them. If I ever do find myself under attack again, I throw myself at my Mother's feet and beg her to help me until the attack has been thwarted. She has never abandoned me in my pleas to her.
So give yourself to your Mother. Beg for her help every single moment of the day.
I include here a link to purchase St Luis De Montfort's 33 day preparation. Follow it prayerfully. Learn to love Our Most Loving Mother with all your heart and soul. She longs to save you and bring you into her loving embrace.
>Are my feelings ill-directed, and am I falling to wrongful feelings of idolatry?
No, you are doing great.
If you want to deepen your relationship with Our Lady and know how to venerate her, read True Devotion to Mary by Saint Louis de Montfort.
I think what you might be looking for is The Story. It is however, not just the first five books but the whole Bible - written to read like a full story.
Bruh when I first read this it sounded like St. Teresa of Avila describing mystical contemplation. I remember reading in a book called The Ways Of Mental Prayer. where she described how she should spend an hour just going over the idea of the just the first words of the "Our Father"!
Bruh, what you are getting angry about is a gift from The Holy Spirit 😄 Be Happy homie there is no need to be angry. I guess you are worried about saying it perfectly but don't worry about that. It sounds like you are going into a deeper form of prayer!
You can talk to your favourite saint right now just begin with the Sign of the cross and end with a Glory Be. If you really want to learn how to talk to Jesus and then to him I recommend this book, it was recomended by Fr Chad Rippeger. The book is called The Ways Of Mental Prayer.
God Bless you OP.
Don't know if you'd be willing to accept a particularly difficult to swallow Catholic book on the subject, but if you are:
Humility of Heart, by Father Cajetan Mary Bergamo
I read this one, and at times it almost feels brutal. Rough read, not for the faint of heart. But if you're serious about a need for a bit of humility, this books lays out all the tricks the mind and heart play to keep you from attaining it.
I’m so sorry that you lost your mom. I have also lost a parent, and although the grief never truly goes away, it gets easier to bear, and you will get used to the weight of it.
I think the most important thing when grieving is to feel your feelings. Do not try to push them away, even though sometimes it feels like you’ll drown in them. Just breathe and let the tears come. Feel the sadness, accept it, and it will pass through you, instead of staying and getting stuck. I think that grief, if you don’t allow yourself to feel the feelings that come up, can fester and come back later and much worse if you don’t allow yourself to grieve. Be kind and gentle to yourself. It’s ok to be sad, angry, guilty, regretful, frustrated- any feelings are ok. Name them, and breathe into them.
I also really, really appreciated a grief support group I went to for a few months after my dad passed. It was so helpful to be around other people who had lost a loved one, to know they understood the feeling, and to hear their stories. It really helped to hear their journeys through grief, to know that it will get more bearable one day.
I also found this book to be extremely helpful, it’s a series of quick daily meditations. I really liked the format and found it super helpful to work through my grief in short chunks:
https://www.amazon.com/Healing-After-Loss-Meditations-Working/dp/0380773384
I often would write in my journal afterward, too.
My church is going through New morning mercies by Paul Tripp starting on the 1st
Many pointed out that the Bible is quite hard to read from start to finish as the story parts are spread out and the genealogy/legal chapters can drag on quite a bit. In that case, has anyone read or heard about The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People? Seems like a spliced version of the NIV that focuses on the overarching “mythology” of the Bible — which is really what I’m actually interested in.
Eastern Orthodoxy. I highly recommend the book The Mountain of Silence by Kyriacos Markides, which covers the mystical tradition within the church.
https://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Silence-Search-Orthodox-Spirituality/dp/0385500920/
I have no interest in rehashing the basics of Christianity with you, no. The paper does a good enough job. If the academic nature of it is too much, you might like the popular level book of his on the same theme The Mountain of Silence but alas, it’s not free.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
I’m so sorry. One thing that comes through in your writing is how very much he was loved. People can have very hard lives and setbacks that make them feel worthless and alone. That was clearly not the case here — in spite of being buffeted by his hard life, it’s evident that he felt loved and held in sway by you and your warm family. That kindness and support are undoubtedly the reason he was capable of growing through the cracks and sharing his kindness with animals and people. The loved among us are the best able to give love. ❤️ I lost my younger sister when she was in her mid-twenties. She was a shining light, and captured the hearts of everyone who knew her. The anniversary of her death was December 28th. It has been two decades and the pain still comes and goes. It’s hard not to be able to share things with her. But she knew she was loved. Your cousin undoubtedly knows the same, if you don’t mind me saying so. My family relied on this book when we lost my sister. It may bring some comfort to your family. In any case, thank you for sharing and I’m sending you and your family peace and heartfelt condolences.
I really enjoyed “The Mountain of Silence” by Kyriacos C. Markides.
Humans are made for a purpose. Money has value for its utility, but is otherwise worthless. You can’t take it with you. Money can’t give you purpose, and you have realized that.
I come at this from a religious perspective. I think Rick Warren’s book Purpose Driven Life is great for sorting through these ideas and understanding God’s purposes for one’s life. You might get something out of it. Here’s the Amazon link.
>What is the actual point
The point is to discover a purpose for yourself, and then to continue to achieve that purpose. Check out Purpose-driven Life from a library or on Kindle for a full explanation.
Read this book by de Mello and you'll be fine (promise). All about understanding attachments and how to deal and set yourself (and everyone else) free. https://www.amazon.com/Way-Love-Meditations-Anthony-Classics/dp/038524939X
I too am an engineer trying to navigate growth in personal prayer and perfection. You might try the books The Ways of Mental Prayer and Practice of Christian and Religious Perfection. Both books have been extremely helpful for me personally, and they were both recommended by Fr. Ripperger.
Two of the things that have helped me a ton are these two books.
Healing After Loss: Daily Meditations for Working Through Grief
On Grief & Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss
The daily meditations have been a god send, especially since when grief hits you hard it can be hard to function and the little words of wisdom can ease your heart.
The other book can really help you understand what you're going through, and how to navigate it.
I'm sorry you lost your mom. Just today everything was reminding me of my mom, I can relate.
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Healing After Loss: Daily Meditations For Working Through Grief
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