Video Recommendations

Quiet Reflections (V 367)
Meditative music video featuring John Michael Talbot songs against scenic and dramatic interpretations.

Overcoming Barriers to Spiritual Growth (V 490)
Dolores Curran brings the subject of spiritual growth into the demands of modern life. She gives practical guidelines for dealing with negativity, depression, perfectionism and anger, inviting persons to move forward on their spiritual journey by being authentic with God and one another.
A - Overcoming Negativity
B - Overcoming Depression
C - Recovering from Perfectionism
D - Making Anger Work for Us.

Questions of the Soul (D 5168)
Father Michael Himes takes an in-depth look at the contemporary geography of the soul and the meaning of spirituality. This five-part series answers many questions about prayer, spirituality and spiritual disciplines.
Disc One
What Is Spirituality?
Describes how spirituality touches every facet of daily living. (30 minutes)
What Is Prayer?
Answers many commonly asked questions about prayer. If God knows everything, why pray? What is the “best way” to pray? (25 minutes)
Disc Two
What Can Suffering Teach Us?
Shows that Christianity does not respond with “Christ as divine therapist” but with an invitation to a deep truth about God and about us. (25 minutes.)
What Is Spiritual Discipline?
Asceticism has a deep tradition within Christianity. Explores the wisdom of St. Francis of Assisi, St. John the Baptist and St. Augustine. (25 minutes)
Do I Really Need Community?
W hy can’t I just go off on my own and find God? Father Himes explains that without community, there is no spirituality. (25 minutes)

Creating Sabbath Space in our Lives (D 5181)
Presented originally as a three-day event at King’s House Retreat and Renewal Center in Belleville, Ill., this retreat has been replicated as a 10-session video program that can be used for parish adult faith formation, small-group faith sharing or private spiritual renewal.

Book Recommendations

Blessed Are the Bored in Spirit (BK 5605)
Mark Hart; Servant Books
Too many young Catholics experience their faith as Mark Hart did. They rarely miss Mass even if they don’t understand it; they have a Bible even if they never read it; they go to confession even if they are not particularly repentant. Is that your experience of Catholicism? Is yours a religion of Thou Shalt Nots? If so, forget about a dreary life of mindless obedience and rules you don’t understand. It’s time to enter into the transforming light of your Creator who invites you to live from the center of his undying love. The author’s humorous and hard-hitting reflections drive home the point that God isn’t calling the reader to be a good person—someone who merely obeys the rules—but to be a new person in Jesus Christ.

Walk Humbly With Your God: Simple Steps to a Virtuous Life (BK 5677)
Father Andrew Apostoli, CFR; Servant Books
Christians, if they are to have any impact in today’s world, must fight the good fight, side by side, ready to lay down their lives for one another. Such heroism doesn’t come naturally. As “Walk Humbly With Your God” points out, it is in the day-to-day training, in taking the simple steps to holiness, that heroism becomes second nature.

Making Room for God: Clearing Out the Clutter (BK 5723)
Begin by learning the basic aspects of living an uncluttered life, and then move into deeper spiritual work. The areas covered include caring for our bodies, clearing out our homes, working well, waiting for God, forgiving others, praying regularly, keeping the Sabbath, living in community and allowing our creative natures to shine.

Book Recommendations

http://sacredspace.ie/#chooseday
You are invited to make a “sacred space” in your day. Spend 10 minutes. Pray here and now as you sit at your computer, with the help of on-screen guidance and Scripture chosen specially for each day.


To check out these materials or others, phone Kathy Ward at 406-442-5820 or email kward@diocesehelena.org. To see more holdings, please visit www.diocesehelena.org. Select “Education” and then “Resource Center.”


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 27, No. 6, June 17, 2011.