This weekend we start a regular feature in association with Pauline Books & Media in Camberwell.  The Daughters of St. Paul are an international congregation of religious women founded to spread the Gospel through the channels of the modern media.  Sr Joanna Coleiro fsp gives some book recommendations for parishioners, both big and small, to take a closer look at…

Spirituality

Hope for Judas
by Christoph Wrembek, SJ

Judas, it would seem to most of us, was surely beyond redemption. He was the one person who betrayed Jesus to his death at the hands of the Roman authorities, even singling Jesus out with a kiss. Yet, through years studying and reflecting on the character of Judas in the Passion narrative Jesuit priest, Christoph Wrembek reveals a very different understanding of Judas and his relationship with Jesus.

In this easy-to-read book, Wrembek takes us on a journey through several of the key “lost and found” stories in the Gospels – the prodigal son, the lost sheep, the lost coin, the woman at the well, and others – and, together with the story of Judas, reveals God’s unrelenting desire to “find” us. God does not give up on any one of us. Not even you. Or me.

Wrembek’s reflection on the carved stone depiction of the “Good Shepherd of Vézelay” who carries Judas on his shoulders, opens us to our personal need to be carried by Christ – our personal need for redemption and salvation.

Children’s Books

There’s No Wrong Way to Pray
By Rebecca Ninke and Kate E.H. Watson
Illustrated by Liam Darcy

Prayers don’t have to sound holy to be holy! Author Rebecca Ninke teamed up with her ten year old daughter for this reflection on the importance of prayer in everyday life, why to pray, when to pray, and how to pray.

Sometimes funny, sometimes profound, and always honest, the result is a book that will inspire children of all ages and reassure them that there’s no wrong way to talk to God.

By Sr Joanna Coleiro

Sr Joanna Coleiro, fsp, is a Daughter of St Paul with a long-time interest in the spiritual growth, faith development and religious experience of both adults and children