Book of the Week
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The DNA of Relationships, by Dr. Gary Smalley. Tyndale House, 2004.
Smalley tells the hows and the whys of relationships in a book intended for those in relationships with themselves, with others, and with God. He maintains that
humans are designed for relationships; it is part of their DNA.
But sometimes relationships are broken or strained, causing deep pain. At times one's bad habits cause relationships to flounder and even break apart, even the most treasured relationships. Most often this happens when one's relationship
with God becomes fractured.
Smalley has experience with fractured relationships in his personal life. He knows how important relationships are to help one function successfully. In this book he points out what goes wrong and how the ruptures can be mended.
The main section of this book deals with
these five topics:
a) take personal responsibility
b) create a safe environment
c) keep your battery charged
d) listen with the heart
e) adopt a no-losers policy
Appendix A gives suggestions on how to have a relationship with God. He begins by asking these questions: "How would you describe your relationship with God? Is it distant? Is it intimate? Do you ignore him? Is he
the center of your life? Do you know God personally? "
"A relationship with God is not based on what you do or abstain from doing. It is not about your best efforts. It is about a God who loves you and wants a relationship with you. ...He loves you right where you are. He loves you despite your past. He wants a relationship with you no matter who you are or what you have done."
The entire book is interspersed with scripture quotes and suggestions how God must enter into healthy relationships.
(Thanks to Sr. Irene Hartman OP for this review)
Paperback, Kindle, Hardcover, DVD series
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Saint of the Week
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St. Alphonsus Liguori: (1696-1787) August 1 In his day, Alphonsus fought for the liberation of moral theology from the rigidity of Jansenism. His moral theology, which went through 60 editions in
the century following him, concentrated on the practical and concrete problems of pastors and confessors. If a certain legalism and minimalism crept into moral theology, it should not be attributed to this model of moderation and gentleness.
At the University of Naples he received, at the age of 16, a doctorate in both canon and civil law by acclamation, but she soon gave up the practice of law
for apostolic activity. He was ordained a priest and concentrated his pastoral efforts on popular (parish) missions, hearing confessions, forming Christian groups.
He founded the Redemptorist congregation in 1732. It was an association of priests and brothers living a common life, dedicated to the imitation of Christ, and working mainly in popular missions for peasants in rural areas. Almost as an
omen of what was to come later, he found himself deserted, after a while, by all his original companions except one lay brother. But the congregation managed to survive and was formally approved 17 years later, though its troubles were not over.
Alphonsus' great pastoral reforms were in the pulpit and confessional--replacing the pompous oratory of the time with simplicity, and the rigorism of
Jansenism with kindness. His great fame as a writer has somewhat eclipsed the fact that for 26 years he traveled up and down the Kingdom of Naples, preaching popular missions.
He was made bishop (after trying to reject the honor) at 66 and at once instituted a thorough reform of his diocese.
His
greatest sorrow came toward the end of his life. The Redemptorists, precariously continuing after the suppression of the Jesuits in 1773, had difficulty in getting their Rule approved by the Kingdom of Naples. Alphonsus acceded to the condition that they possess no property in common, but a royal official, with the connivance of a high Redemptorist official, changed the Rule substantially. Alphonsus, old, crippled and with very bad sight, signed the document, unaware that he had been betrayed.
The Redemptorists in the Papal States then put themselves under the pope, who withdrew those in Naples from the jurisdiction of Alphonsus. It was only after his death that the branches were united.
At 71 he was afflicted with rheumatic pains which left incurable bending of his neck; until it was straightened a little, the pressure of his chin caused a raw wound on his chest. He suffered a final 18
months of "dark night" scruples, fears, temptations against every article of faith and every virtue, interspersed with intervals of light and relief, when ecstasies were frequent.
Alphonsus is best known for his moral theology, but he also wrote well in the field of spiritual and dogmatic theology. His Glories of Mary is one of the great works on that subject, and his book Visits to the Blessed
Sacrament went through 40 editions in his lifetime, greatly influencing the practice of this devotion in the Church.
americancatholic.org site
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