This book, written by Cardinal Stanislaw Sziwisz, narrates his experience as a close friend of John Paul II. Sziwisz started his relationship with the then arch-bishop of Krakow as his secretary and had an intimate view into the awesome man that was JPII. It looks at everything from the second vatican council to John Paul's death - his inaguration, his visit to Poland, the attempt on his life, the new evangelization, the fall of communism, and the many other vastly important events that happened in and because of John Paul II. It's a facinating look "behind the scenes" at how John Paul II did things. I guess the point that kept coming back again and again was the immense amounts of time and energy JPII devoted to prayer. Everything he did was surrendered to God in prayer, every decision, every trip, every speech, every moment, was given totally to God. Prayer was where he got his stregnth, his motivation, his peace, his assurance, his love, etc. The motto for John Paul II's pontificate was Totus Tuus - Totally Yours. This book really shows that - jpii gave everything to God and really let God work through him totally. I thought he was fantastic before reading this book - now I think he was more fantastic. Very Recommended!
I have previously wrote a little bit about The Mystery of Joseph, by Fr. Marie-Dominique Philippe, OP (on the benefits of contemplation and his guarding the presence of Christ), but now that I've finished the book, I'd like to do a quick review of the entire thing. First of all, I do recommend this book. The book is split into two sections: I - The Mystery of Joseph and II - Living with Joseph. Both are good and both are deep (they require you to concentrate on what you're reading). The first section, written by the previously mentioned author, quickly delves into the profound connections between Joseph, as instrumental in bringing about the New Covenant, and characters in the Old Testament. Then he goes through the life of Jesus (which we know from the Gospels), specifically the parts that we know Joseph would have been around for, and pulls out what kind of man Joseph must have been. Basically, St. Joseph was awesome - he totally trusted God and gave his life to Him, by accepting the magnificent, though humbling, plan that God had put him into. Really, really profound stuff. In the second half of the book, composed of lectures/homilies given by the author he dives into how we, as people trying to follow God's will, can emulate St. Joseph in his humble working for God, his love for Mary, his trusting in God's plan, his prudence, his being a just, God fearing, man, his poverty, his humility, his silence, etc. As I said, this would be short - I'm not giving a synopsis of the book here, just letting you all know that it's a really good read. One of those books I'm going to have to read again...
Ignatius Link: The Mystery of Joseph
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