"Sagrada"--A Documentary Film

Of all the posts on this blog site, the one that has garnered far and away the most views is my Nov. 13, 2010 reflection, “Sagrada Familia: Favorite Church Comes Alive” (http://wisdomoflesmiserables.blogspot.com/2010/11/sagrada-familia-favorite-church-comes.html). People from every part of the globe have entered the halls of this site to share their interest and devotion to this basilica-in-progress. Since my second visit to Barcelona and this amazing work of faith and perseverance in 2009, the main body of the church has been completed. On July 11, 2010, Pope Benedict XI traveled to the site for its opening Mass and dedication (www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXl2KYSWHb4).

Book Review--"The Soul of a Pilgrim"

The Soul of a Pilgrim:
Eight Practices for the Journey Within

by Christine Valters Paintner
Sorin Books

My Favorite Reads of 2014

Among the three dozen or so books I read during 2014, the following rank as my favorites:

Senior But Not Retired: Editor Carol Smallwood Interview

Carol Smallwood, co-editor of the anthology, Writing After Retirement: Tips from Successful Retired Writers, recently interviewed me about my career as a senior--but not retired--writer.

"There's More": Amazon Readers' Reviews

FEATURED BOOK, US Catholic Magazine, November 2014

New Release--There's More . . . : A Novella of Life and Afterlife

I am very happy--"relieved" is more like it--to announce that my latest book, There's More . . . : A Novella of Life and Afterlife, is now available in broad distribution via amazon.com (worldwide) and smashwords.com. (It may take a few days to filter down into the Apple Store, Nook, Sony, etc.)

"Relief pitcher Jack Thorne stares at his catcher’s target. His single focus is to get this batter out. If he does, a coveted World Series ring will be his. But the Universe has a different plan for this Catholic priest-turned-ballplayer. There’s More is a creative imagining of the ultimate human mysteries—death and Afterlife. This gripping story invites readers to expand their existing concepts and consider broader cosmic possibilities in answer to the universal question, 'What’s next?'"

Available at: 

http://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=there%27s%20more%20garrotto&sprefix=there%2Cstripbooks

and 

https://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=there%27s+more+garrotto

E-book: $1.99

Paperback:$ 8.55 (on Amazon)

I'd love to hear your reaction to this unusual story.

PS: Honest reviews always welcome.

Evening Sun: A Widow's Journey

Recently, I had the privilege of reading and reviewing a stunning new book by poet and essayist Aline Soules. As a professional grief counselor, I recommend it to women who have lost a beloved husband or partner. As a male reader/reviewer, I am certain it would touch the hearts of widowers, as well. 

The review is followed by an enlightening interview with the author.

"Under the Influence of Jesus" -- A Book Review

Under the Influence of Jesus

by Joe Paprocki, D.Min.

Loyola Press (2014)

168 pages

Joe Paprocki’s latest book, Under the Influence of Jesus, models adult faith formation at its best: faith-full, contemporary, and applicable to everyday life. Readers who approach this book  with “same-old, same-old” expectations risk missing both its stirring evangelical passion and its down-to-earth/up-to-heaven spirituality. Paprocki invites his readers to imbibe the Spirit-filled joy that marked the original Pentecost event, as described in Acts 2. After spending days in seclusion, fearing for their lives, Jesus’ reenergized band of followers took to the streets of Jerusalem early on a Sunday morning. Instead of blending into the city’s normal life, they started proclaiming the “good news” that the Jews’ long-awaited Messiah had indeed come and had risen from the dead And they did it with such Spirit-filled enthusiasm that the mocking bystanders’ first reaction was to accuse the noisemakers of being “under the influence” of too much wine. 

As Paprocki reminds us, “The crowds . . . weren’t ‘wowed’ by miracles or . . . soaring rhetoric. Rather, what captured their imagination was the [disciples’] total lack of inhibition.” Relying heavily throughout the book on examples from familiar movies, literature, and music, the author compares the infectious joy of that first Pentecost to every movie buff’s favorite line from When Harry Met Sally: “I’ll have what she’s having.” Three thousand people joined the Jesus movement in a single day. Paprocki then fastforwards to later periods of Church history (including our own) when Catholics “instituted some kind of ‘prohibition’ against the inebriating influence of the Holy Spirit.” 

Under the Influence of Jesus invites today’s Catholics to indulge in the same intoxicating submission to the mystery of the Risen Christ that sparked the birth of Christianity. This book does more than inspire renewal of the reader’s faith. Chapter upon chapter offers practical methodologies for uninhibited kingdom dwellers. RCIA teams, in particular, will draw inspiration from chapters on the “baskets” of discipleship and the stages of conversion (drawing on St. Paul’s experience in Acts 9). 

“Ultimately,” Paprocki says, “the goal of discipleship is contagion: ‘infecting’ others with the Good News through our words and actions.” 

(Reviewed by Alfred J. Garrotto for the June 2014 Issue of US Catholic Magazine)

There’s More . . .

[ I am 40,000+ words into my current work-in-progress, a novella titled, There's More . . .  Recently, the California Writers Club, Mt. Diablo Branch (to which I belong), challenged our members to tell a story, not in thousands of words, but in 100 or less. I accepted the task. The following is my novella from start to finish. ]

A bat. A ball. A swing. A bullet.
A death. A guide. A life.

A bat—black-varnished, rays of setting sun splintering north, south, east, west, until tension-stilled,
at the ready. 
A ball—Virginal white. Never pitched, nor struck. Rocketing from hurler’s hand. 
A swing—fluid, potent contact, ball arrowing moundward. 
A bullet—fired in revenge, racing ball to target. 
A death. Accident? Murder? Projectiles: protagonists in this unplotted drama. The pitcher falls, forehead concaved,
a blackening hole deep at crater ’s base. 
A guide. Heaven-sent to assist at this unexpected crossing-over. 
A life—“There’s more, my son . . . .”

The End

My Valentine--Caring For Your Most Important Relationship

[ My guest blogger is Rev. Charles Ara, married Catholic Priest/Marital Therapist and author of the book, THE GRASS IS GREENER WHERE IT’S WATERED. Charlie and I were schoolmates back in . . . well, let's just say, 'Back in the day.']

On this Valentine’s Day, I offer 10 suggestions on caring for the most important relationship in your life:

1.     Have specific times when the TV, Cell phones and the computer are OFF.

2.     Make dates at least a month in advance and write them own on your mutual calendars.

3.     Take an evening walk at least once a week enjoying the evening air and holding hands.

4.     Get away to a hotel or motel once every three months for two nights and three days.

5.     Go to the beach or park in the early evening and enjoy the sunset.

6.     Exercise together in the morning or in the evening

7.     Take a long auto drive getting out of the car every few miles to take a short walk together.

8.     Have breakfast together at a restaurant on a Saturday morning without the kids.

9.     Have a good strong lock for your bedroom door.

10. Every day, find your partner, look into their eyes and say THANK YOU FOR BEING MY LOVER, MY PARTNER, MY COMPANION IN LIFE, MY PAL AND MY BEST FRIEND.

Some of these activities may cost money, but what better thing to spend your money on than taking care of the most important relationship in your life.

(c) 2014 by Charles Ara

Father Ara can be reached at (562) 865-4075, His e-mail address is cara@sprintmail.com.
Website: http://home.sprintmail.com/~cara/frcharlieara/