June 2016 BOTM - Voting

[John]

It is time to vote for the June BOTM. You may vote for two of the books listed below. Enter your votes by replying in this thread. Voting will remain open until 5 PM, Central time on May 19. A book will be randomly selected for elimination from the list from those that don't receive any votes. Fatal Rhythm and Please Don't Remove Margreat's Glasses! are exempted as this is their first month on the list. The nominations are:

Cry of Wonder, by Gerard W. Hughes -
In Cry of Wonder Gerard W. Hughes, celebrated author of God of Surprises, encourages his readers to reflect deeply on their own experience. In our time, this is considered counter-cultural, subversive of law and order and anarchic. But the truth becomes manifest in our words and in our actions. There is an appalling rift today between our words and the truth of things, yet contemplation can be the key to peace in the world and peace within ourselves. In this compelling new spiritual work, Hughes explores how self-reflection can provide the remedies of our ills.

Fatal Rhythm, by R.B. O'Gorman -
In the pre-dawn hours of the graveyard shift, the ICU at the Houston Heart Institute is quiet, and quietly patients are dying. Surgery resident Joe Morales dreams of becoming a rich heart doctor. First, he must survive his assignment to an ICU rife with land mines--unexplained patient deaths, rival faculty, fellow resident saboteurs, a cost-slashing administrator, a ruthless insurance executive, a seductive head nurse, a jealous wife, a critically ill son, an overprotective mother, and an orderly distraught over his daughter's death. To salvage the career he thought he wanted, Joe must determine the cause of the suspicious deaths. In the process, he's forced to re-examine the ethnic and religious heritage that he had rejected.

The Jesus Prayer: A Cry for Mercy, a Path of Renewal, by John Michael Talbot -
An ancient prayer for every day: "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner." These words have strengthened and comforted believers for centuries. The Jesus Prayer comes to us from the Eastern Christian tradition. In these pages, John Michael Talbot explores more of the roots of the prayer along with the theological and practical meaning of each word in the lives of believers today. Readers are invited to meditate on the twelve simple words that lie at the heart of the Christian East. Complete with historical context and exercises for self-reflection, this book shows how a single prayer could sustain the spiritual life of a civilization. Each chapter ends with a brief practice using the prayer.

A Martyr for the Truth: Jerzy Popieuszko, by Grazyna Sikorska

On the God of the Christians:, by Rémi Brague -
[The book description on GR is in French. The following is from Amazon, which indicates it is from the back cover of the book.]
On the God of the Christians tries to explain how Christians conceive of the God whom they worship. No proof for His existence is offered, but simply a description of the Christian image of God.
The first step consists in doing away with some commonly held opinions that put them together with the other “monotheists,” “religions of the book,” and “religions of Abraham.”
Christians do believe in one God, but they do not conceive of its being one in the same way as other “monotheists,” like the first of them, the pharaoh Akhenaton (18th century before J.C.), like some philosophers, e.g., Aristotle, or like Islam.
Christians admit the authority of a Holy Book, but don’t consider it as being the peak of God’s revelation. For them, revelation culminates in the person, life, and doings of Jesus – including his passion and resurrection.
Christians acknowledge the exemplary figure of Abraham, but the stories they tell about him they share with Jews, but not with Muslims, who see in him the first Muslim.
The Trinity is not a way to loosen the exclusivity of the only God. It is the very way in which God is one, i.e., in the inner richness and fecundity of love.
The God of the Christians is Father, but not male. Human males become fathers through the mediation of a female. God is so radically the Father of everything and, in a very special sense, of the eternal Son, that He is not in need of a partner. His fatherhood can in no way legitimate the superiority of the male over the female sex.
The God of the Christians doesn’t want us to obey Him in order to enslave us; He expects us to act freely according to what is good for us. Now, the Good is not something that He has in store and bestows on His creatures. The Good is what He is and He is the Good of His creatures.
The God of the Christians is merciful, but He takes seriously man’s freedom, even
when man doesn’t accept Him. Hence, He doesn’t content Himself with forgiving from the outside. He has to contrive a system (technically speaking: salvation history or “economy of salvation”) that will enable Man freely to accept His love.

Please Don't Remove Margreat's Glasses!, by Josh Baker -
“Please Don't Remove MarGreat's Glasses!” is an inspirational coming of age story that follows the trials and tribulations of privileged teenager, Timothy Clement, as he prepares for his first year of law school.

Timothy and his two closest friends embark on one last adventure before heading to college which puts them in the middle of Miami’s seedy nightlife, complete with partying, wild girls and various illegal activities.

Things go horribly wrong when Timothy crosses the wrong people and his younger brother Stephen pays for Timothy's reckless behavior with his life. Stripped of his status, abandoned by his friends and family, and incarcerated, Timothy is forced to reevaluate his life, and in particular, his atheist beliefs.

After being paroled, Timothy reluctantly accepts the charity of a God fearing man named Jude who takes him in and helps him assimilate back into society. Jude patiently offers his support while Timothy endures prejudice, poverty, and physical disfigurement after a freak accident. Jude remains steadfast in his attempts to persuade Timothy to put his faith in God, but Timothy will hear nothing of the sort.

Can Jude show this young atheist that it is never too late for salvation?

The Spiritual Combat, by Dom Lorenzo Scupuli -
The Combat is a practical manual of living. At first it teaches that the sense of life is incessant fighting against egoistic longings and replacing them with sacrifice and charity. The one who does not do this loses, and suffers in Hell; the one who does it, trusting not in his own, but God's power, triumphs and is happy in Heaven. The work of Scupoli analyses various usual situations and advises how to cope with them, preserving a pure conscience and improving virtue. It emphasizes also the boundless goodness of God, which is the cause of all good. What is bad originates from the human who rebels against God.

Staggerford, by Jon Hassler -
It is only a week in the life of a 35-year old bachelor school teacher in a small Minnesota town. But it is an extraodinary week, filled with the poetry of living, the sweetness of expectation, and the glory of surprise that can change a life forever....

Stay with Me, by Carolyn Astfalk -
With her sister Abby's encouragement, Rebecca has moved out of their overbearing father's home. When a chance encounter with Chris ends with an invitation, Rebecca says yes. The authentic way Chris lives his life attracts Rebecca and garners her affection. Chris loves Rebecca and her innocence, but he's confounded by the emotional scars she bears from her parents and an attempted assault. Her father's disdain for Chris's faith and career only make matters worse. With the counsel of their friend Father John, can Rebecca and Chris overcome every obstacle and bridge the deepening gulf between them and her dad? Or will a crucial lapse in judgment and its repercussion end their relationship?

Way of the Ascetics: The Ancient Tradition of Discipline and Inner Growth, by Tito Colliander -
Written for lay persons living in the world, this is an excellent resource for daily meditation, spiritual guidance and a revitalized religious life.

[C.D.]

I vote for .

[Nicole]

I vote for Please Don't Remove MarGreat's Glasses.

[John]

Posting Jill's votes, which she emailed to me.

Jill said to you:
Links weren't working well for me.
I want to vote for Martyr for Truth and God of the Christians, but I like the new additions as well.

[Gina]

I vote for Please Don't Remove MarGreat's Glasses.

[Jane]

Spiritual Combat.

[John]

Posting Celia's vote, which she emailed to me.

Celia said to you:
I vote for A Martyr for the Truth
A Martyr for the Truth Jerzy Popieuszko by Grażyna Sikorska

[John]

There are at least five of these that I really want to read. If I can't push them over the top, I guess I can at least try to keep them from being ejected by the randomizer, so I will vote for:

The Jesus Prayer: A Cry for Mercy, a Path of Renewal

and

Staggerford

[John]

Voting is closed - results will be posted shortly.

[John]

:-)