My Favorite Books of 2013

               

2013 Fiction = The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson (Pulitzer Prize)

A peek inside the craziness that characterizes North Korea's closed and insanely dangerous society. I've always wondered what was behind what I see and read in the press. Adam Johnson's amazing tale of daily half-life and slow death north of the DMZ leaves the reader mesmerized by the illusions supporting that dark country.

2013 Fiction (Audio Book) = Cutting for Stone
by Abraham Verghese

I had read the book, but listening to Sunil Malhotra's melodic audio rendition of the story of twin brothers Marion and Shiva Stone doubled the pleasure of this wonderful, sad, and often gut-wrenching narrative.

2013 Nonfiction = In the Beginning Was the Spirit: Science, Religion, and Indigenous Spirituality by Diarmuid O’Murchu

O'Murchu expands the Christian consciousness to allow for a bigger, more mysterious deity than most of us allow. As the subtitle promises, the author melds the findings of science with "modern" and more primitive religious beliefs. Christians, prepare for a mind-bending but totally faith-filled reading experience.

Commentaries (c) 2013 by Alfred J. Garrotto

The Wisdom of a Newborn Child

Rabindranath Tagore
(1861-1941)

I am always on the lookout for a new way of understanding the unfathomable mystery of Christmas--the potential impact of a newborn child on the course of human history.

This year, I found it in the simple words of Indian novelist and poet, Rabindranath Tagore. This world famous--except to me prior to this week--1913 Nobel laureate in literature said of newborn babies:

"Every child comes with the message that God has not given up on human beings." 

(Quoted in Bible Diary 2013, by Rev. Pauslon Veliyannoor, CMF, PhD.)

Fr. Paulson adds his own wisdom to this insight in his reflection on the birth of John the Baptist in Luke 1:57-66. I have taken the bold liberty of poeticizing a portion of his commentary.

every child

miraculous creation

bundle of possibilities

identity of its own

not destined for the past

but the future

on a path of its own

toward God

(Reflection for December 23)

I am indebted to Fr. Paulson for sharing his wisdom and amazing spiritual insights throughout this past year. He has enriched my life through his writings and in e-mails we have exchanged over the course of the past 12 months. 

(c) 2013 by Alfred J. Garrotto