Religion

This is neither a textbook nor a homeschool book, yet it could very well serve as basis for a religion curriculum for a year! The author, Kevin Vost Psy. D., teaches not only a time-proved, centuries old method of memorization, he also guides readers step by step through memorizing the major tenets of the Faith.

The book has the usual uncluttered, crisp Sophia Press lay-out, and is divided into 5 major parts. Part 1 introduces the method and explains how it works, in a language accessible to an average reader. Parts 2 and 3 include step-by-step guides to memorizing lists from Sacraments and Commandments to Beatitudes, to works of Mercy, Holy Days of Obligation and even the Six Sins against the Holy Spirit. Part 4 goes further into memorization of important basics of our faith, covering all of the books of Bible, the Twenty-One centuries of Church History, virtues, sins, and the list goes on. Truly impressive! Along with these five major parts, there are twenty-nine Memory Master Tips and Facts gray blurbs throughout the book that are informative and interesting as well.

From the publisher:

" (...) over 700 years ago, St. Thomas Aquinas perfected an easy method for his students to memorize most any information, but especially the truths taught by Christ and His Church. As the years passed, our need for this ancient art of memorization grew, yet somehow our culture largely forgot it . . . which is why today, when you and I try to remember a list of things, we have to repeat their names over and over. (...) Now, thanks to the delightful pages of Memorize the Faith!, you can easily keep all these in mind — and learn the Faith! — by tapping into the power of the classical memory system that helped St. Thomas become the Church’s preeminent theologian, and made it easier for him to become one of its greatest saints. (...) By the time you finish this book, you will have memorized dozens of key teachings of the Church, along with hundreds of precepts, traditions, theological terms, Scripture verses, and other elements of the Faith that every good Catholic needs to know by heart."

The best as far as homeschoolers are concerned is the fifth part, entitled "Application for all ages". Here the author addresses exactly the business of how to use the book for children and young adults, and more. Under specific homeschool use he suggests using the method for test prep--such as SAT, ACT, etc., and as and aid to good public speaking.

This book would also lend itself well, I think, to an extra-curricular club activity of middle/high school students, perhaps under the name "Aquinas Mnemonics Club". As the the author states, the ages that would be best suited to learn and use this method would be upper elementary and High School. If they would meet once weekly with the energy and camaraderie typical of that age, I bet they'd have the content of all of these chapters under their belts (or in their minds) in one year!

Once in a while I am fortunate to review a book that is outstanding, and this is one of them! Mother to the Poor tells the story of the great modern saint of our time in a marvelous way: the beautiful illustrations, the quality of the paper, the language--loving, biographical, translated from Korean. It reads like a picture book, but a meaty picture book!

Everyone knows about Mother Teresa, but can most people tell where she was born? How was her family life? How did she begin the Missionaries of Charity? This book tells her whole story and readers of all ages will be delighted.

This is a very simple advent calendar with little doors to open each day of Advent. The price is very reasonable, but the quality is suitable for a one-time use (it would be difficult to close the doors a second time around). The illustrations are very simple with some glittery high-lights but my favorite feature is a simple task (though some are very generic) printed on the inside of each door for the child to do to prepare for Christmas. Here are a few random examples:

"Jesus, as we prepare to welcome you, let me be welcoming of others, too."

"Jesus, today I'll be obedient, even when it isn't easy."

"Jesus, today I'll offer to help my family by setting the table."

"Today, Jesus, I'll spend some time thinking about the miracle of your birth."

This is an idea whose time has certainly come. Over the past few years a resurgence in Bible reading seems to have swept across the United States. You can hardly walk through a Walmart or an average bookstore without coming across all sorts of Bibles for all sorts of people. One big problem - it's difficult to find these user-friendly Bibles in Catholic editions.

This is no longer the case as Paul Thigpen has thoughtfully assembled this Daily Catholic Bible, broken down into 20 minute segments to read each day. The Bible is organized according to the calendar and also offers the Saint of the day and a short quote for each day as well. The Bible is a manageable size (and price) because of the special thin paper commonly used in Bibles. But the best news is that the translation is the excellent "Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition." No feminized language or politically correct interpretations here!

This is probably best suited for adults or fairly ambitious teens. It would make a great New Year's resolution to read the entire Bible next year by getting through just a little bit each day. I'm going to try. Won't you join me?