My lovely partner has been reading the same small prayer book for the past 18 years. Really. Every night. It's a short, short book. She must get through it once a week. She's a devoted catholic - though she knows very little about catholic doctrine.

Seriously, the little book doesn't seem to be working very well. It doesn't seem to be helping her in her daily life, particularly in her relationship with family.

I'd like to get her something new. Something very simple as english is her third language. Something that might help her think about (inspire her) how her own loving actions can create a peaceful existence.

Any ideas?

If it doesn't have to be Catholic, get Oceans of Dharma. It has 365 (one for each day) things to think about, all uplifting.

I would suggest a modern language version of the Bible. Perhaps The Message or a copy of the J.B. Phillips version. Both are easy to read with simple, understandable narrative. Another possibility is a daily devotional. There are scads of these including one by well known Max Lucado.

My Catholic mom had a book in her library called "Quiet Thoughts" by Paul S. McElroy. It seems to fill the bill. There are short, 1-3 paragraph inspirational passages that address a variety of topics. He has other books as well.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/863399.Paul_S_McElroy

I also agree with Verilyverily that you might want to investigate Buddhist or Taoist works. Many Catholics are familiar with Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk who also had a deep interest in Buddhism and Taoism. His book, "The Seven Storey Mountain" was one of my mother's favorite works, although it would probably be a bit too much for your wife given her limited English skills (you can likely find it in her native language, though.) There are other Buddhist and Taoist books that might interest her.

Good luck and do let us know what you come up with.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2014 08:06PM by summer.

For a modern translation of the Bible, the New American Bible and the Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition are both approved translations. I have both translations.

For a prayer or meditation book, I subscribe to the Magnificat, which is a monthly publication that provides daily prayers, Mass readings and a meditation. It also includes information on saints and two works of religious art. Another monthly publication is The Word Among Us. This one includes daily Mass readings, meditations and articles. I have some friends who read a meditation book called Jesus Calling. I'm not sure if it is specifically Catholic because I know Catholics and non-Catholic Christians who read it daily and love it.

I'm biased towards Magnificat since that is what I subscribe to. I really like the artwork.

It is as Christian as the BoM or Mary Baker Eddy's "Science & Health With Key To the Scriptures," but deviates in a different direction. It was "received" to "Two Listeners" through Spiritist means--automatic writing. I strongly suggest your mother discard it.

Prayer; The Liturgy of the Hours.

like a song from Wales "Ar Hyd Y Nos" traditional Welsh melody, text by James Quin

has comforting phrases, such as: 'day is done, but Love unfailing Dwells ever here"

and positive statements like the antiphon: ' coming into-- presence singing for joy" kind of nice.


I also enjoyed a feminist office of the hours, in a primary manual sized paper back used by a group of women here in America. Can't recall the name.

Another nice option for CAtholics is to do the prayer and life workshop - it goes through a prayer form a week for six or eight weeks. like, lectia devinia to them means reading something and thinking about it- like studying scripture is a prayer to them.
or like looking at nature- and appreciating it or feeling awe- is a prayer defined by them.
So after six or eight weeks of having prayer forms presented to you, you go to a silent retreat (mine at a nice mountain empty monastary with a chef in a cafeteria) and enjoy the gardens, and time, then come back together as a group. Some continue to this day monthly but not me, I got distracted.

My grandmother kept pretty paper saints cards in light switchplates and would touch them and pray as she walked by,
there are pretty saints cards and prayer cards anyone can by, different styles she might like.

Then there's the plain old rosary, I heard it in Italian and my husband heard it in German growing up. Some like to make rosaries and pray as they construct the prayer beads.

There's really neat um four and six or eight scripture printed bible your wife might like, if she has a favorite part to read. Then you can see your favorite verse like six or eight times and read it again. According to the prayer and life workshop that is a prayer. I don't know if they meant read the story or think about a phrase you like. You'd have to choose carefully. (from the stories that is, what to think about. something positive you know.)


Maybe your wife would like that

She may have unwittingly fallen into a mode of self-mesmerism.Reading the Bible itself should help break that.

I recommend the ESV Study Bible. Good balance between modern English and the accepted texts, and has good notes with lots of excellent maps, charts, and diagrams. Suggest that she take one book at a time and read straight through it, perhaps starting with Luke's Gospel, the most detailed.

Incidentally, Thomas Merton was probably leaving Catholicism when he died. My take is that he had become obsessed with the physiology (endorphins, etc.) of highly intense meditation techniques.

Is she on-line? There are lots of good meditations out there, and some I would avoid, such as "Daily Word," which comes from "Unity," a soft cult akin to Christian Science.

Check out "Our Daily Bread," provided by many Protestant churches in pamphlet form, and also on line. It has a single verse, an excerpt to expand on that from the Bible, and a down-to-earth meditation on it. Is she on-line? Consider sending her this link:

http://odb.org/?tz=-04

My Catholic friends tell me "The little Flowers" of St. Francis are beautiful meditations. Best wishes, Boner.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look these over and get one or two for her. If I go the Buddhist route I'll have to tell her Dharma was the patron saint of . . . Something. She won't kknow any better. :)

What's the title of that prayer book she likes?

When you say that she must get through it once a week ... *If* that is meant in a disordered scrupulous / OCD sense that seriously disrupts her productivity, relationships and health, then she needs more than a book — she needs the assistance of a spiritual director and a psychologist/psychiatrist.

But if her situation is not at all like that, then giving her a book of the Gospels or the New Testament in her first language would be a good place to start.

Getting her an icon of Jesus to go along with the book may help as well, to give her something to prayerfully gaze at.

My Daily Bread is a nice little devotional that changes every day. Each day of the month has a new devotion. They do not repeat. It is small and easy to carry. They will deliver to your home by USPS if you wish. It is free and they never ask for donation either.

I second the Our Daily Bread recommendation. It is available in multiple languages, so they may have it in your partner's first language. It comes in a nice App in addition to the paper version they send through the mail. I thought there was some very nominal cost, for the paper version, but I don't remember completely. My Protestant church provides it free.

It might be better for her to read in her best language. You didn't say what it is, but here is something-- I assume it is available in many languages.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I9HQ5U0?btkr=1

If you decide to get her a bible, you might want to look at a student version. They have paragraphs in them explaining the context of certain versus providing context. I have the NIV student bible and I love it. It's written in pretty easy English. Not sure if it's approved for Catholics though.

http://www.amazon.com/NIV-Student-Bible-Philip-Yancey/dp/0310437253

Also, at my church they usually have copies of the Upper Room, which is a daily devotional that is published quarterly.

http://www.upperroom.org/

For Christmas, consider giving a "through the Bible in a year" volume. There is a wide variety of them in various translations. After the narratives of Genesis and the first 2/3 of Exodus, the next few books are a bit of a slog, and lots of people drop off. But if she's serious about her spirituality, it might be appreciated.

My wife and I did it, together, in our early years. She's read it aloud one day, I'd read it the next. Maybe we should resurrect (pun intended) that practice!

Christian Book Distributors has a huge selection:

http://www.christianbook.com/

If your wife is suffering from feelings of helplessness in the face of all the troubles in the world, perhaps she would benefit from my practice.

At night I listen to Tara Brach. She is a Buddhist teacher who became famous with her fabulous CD of female empowerment called "Radical Acceptance."

It provides peace through the opening the heart and receiving what one has held back and the tools to deal with that. I find it both empowering and so restful. Tara Brach changed my life and enabled me to experience a place of deep inner security the like of which I never thought was possible. I thought I was basically ruined by mormonism and would always feel anxious and manic.

Brach's concepts are psychologically spiritual and do not conflict or even address any religion.

you sound like a very loving husband to care so much about your wife's mental state. She's lucky indeed to have you.



Kathleen Waters

Our Daily Bread fan here. It's available on-line. The guy with the soothing voice reads the scripture and the lesson.