Lil Bean Book Recs: February 2018

One of my lifestyle changes for 2018 was to always have a book on my nightstand and to read 30 minutes minimum daily. I didn't read as much as I planned in February because of my surgery, but these are the Christian titles I finished in February 2018.

The Church of Mercy

The Church of Mercy is a collection of homilies given by Pope Francis in 2013. I have liked Pope Francis' ideas since he came into papacy, and I didn't start attending Catholic services until two years later. I appreciate that he is allowing the Church to openly accept more types of members (one of his biggest was letting divorced women be treated better despite their status), but I also think he can do good in a world that is falling apart.

We all need to go out and help others. That is what constitutes his homilies. He doesn't want us to hole up and become academics, or theologians, of the faith. No, that won't help anyone. He wants more people out in the battlefield to feed the poor, to assist the shelters, and show through action how a Christian is supposed to live.

This is a very short read, but it took me a few weeks to get through it because I would be hit by a message and then meditate on it. Pope Francis is a positive influence for the world, and right now, we don't have a whole lot.

I definitely recommend this title because of its strength in brevity. If you can push individuals to help their community with only a fifteen minute speech, you must be saying something right. What we wait for now is whether we stand up and fight against this poverty and violence consuming our society, or settle for feeling "better" with a few pretty words.