This month’s book recommendations from Sr Joanna at Pauline Books & Media.

Longing for God: An Introduction to Christian Mysticism

by William Paulsell

In Longing for God, author William Paulsell introduces sixteen mystics from mainstream Christianity writing with an immediacy that draws readers toward a deeper appreciation of the mystical experience. Paulsell reflects on the life of Augustine, Bernard of Clairvaux, Hildegard of Bingen and Meister Eckhart, as well as Henry Suso, John Ruusbroec, Simone Weil, Dorothy Day and mystics of the Quaker tradition among others. He introduces the historical context of each mystic and draws on episodes in their personal lives to explore how God led them and how they responded to a call to oneness with the Divine.  While that call might sound out of reach of the ordinary believer, Longing for God reveals through the lives and experiences of these mystics that every person longing to know the presence of God in their lives better can deepen their experience of God by drawing nearer.

Available online from Pauline Books and Media

I Like, I Don’t Like

by Anna Baccelliere, illustrated by ALE + ALE

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that every child in the world has the right to play. Unfortunately, this universal right is not respected across our world and, in some places, children spend more time working than playing.

In a thought-provoking way, I Like, I Don’t Like presents this disparity to young readers by showing how children in different circumstances can see the same object very differently – in one context as a game or toy, in another as forced labour or an object of oppression. The stark illustrations of artists ALE + ALE perfectly capture the tone of the book and the issues it addresses.

I Like, I Don’t Like will inspire meaningful discussions about privilege and poverty with young children.

Available online from Pauline Books and Media

By Sr Joanna Coleiro fsp

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.