Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The Liturgical Year-Book review


Wow. I picked this book "The Liturgical Year" by Joan Chittister as my next selection as a Nelson Book Review blogger. It is in the Ancient Practices series of books. I had absolutely no idea what this book was about but thought it might be an interesting read. It is written by a Benedictine nun. It follows and explains the liturgical year starting at Advent and continuing through November. It explains how to use the liturgical year and its meanings to draw closer to the life of Jesus.

This was a very interesting book to read. Growing up Lutheran I thought I would have a certain understanding of the liturgical year but reading this book made me realize even more that I grew up in a very very non-traditional Lutheran church. Ha! There were some definite truths in the book and I appreciate the yearning to grow closer to Jesus and to be true "followers of Jesus all the way to the heart of God." However, my beliefs don't really line up with this books teachings. The history presented in the book is captivating but the rest of it is not my cup of tea. I don't think this review should be about how our beliefs differ but it should be about the writing style and how the author, Joan Chittister, got her point across. I think she did a great job explaining the history of the liturgical calendar and how the different feasts and days came to be and how to implement them in modern days. I appreciate her heart and wanting to grow closer to her Creator. I would not read anything else in this series or by her simply because of our differing beliefs but think she is a great author for her specific demographic.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Yay for book reviews! I just signed up to do it, too! The first book I'm reading is "Fearless" by Max Lucado. I'm super excited. :)