Have you been blessed to know someone who's stood by your side, rain or shine? Someone you can trust to tell you the truth when that’s what you need to hear, and offer you a listening heart when all you need is to know that there is someone who still cares…?
Such friends have entered my life from my earliest reading years until today, shedding light and opening umbrellas on dark and stormy days, and taking my hand and showing me the way when I was confused or needed assistance satisfying the longing of my heart to walk into the immense horizons of the spirit.
These friends are books—or perhaps I should say, these friends are the authors of the books that God has encouraged me to read through these last 45 years.
I will always remember the special book of saints I read over and over again as a child. In fact, the book lived in the back seat of the car so that whenever we went somewhere I could read the stories and look at the pictures one more time!
When I was 13 I somehow got my hands on a book about the Rosary. A neighbor gave me a book about a nun. And Bishop Welsh gave me a copy of A Right To Be Merry by Mother Mary Francis. The hours I spent reading and rereading these books refined my understanding of spirituality and encouraged my curiosity in religious life.
When I had a stroke at 21, it was a small holy card that was given to me as I left the hospital that became the tiny umbrella that shielded me from the storms that blew through my life in the following years. That holy card led me later to hold on to the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament—when I seemed no longer able to believe that God existed for me.
When I was 24, I started reading Abandonment to Divine Providence. For a year I read one paragraph every morning. The concepts of trust and God’s care for us which I learned from Jean Pierre de Caussade gradually formed the backbone of my mature spirituality so that all I experienced was transformed to blessing.
I joke these days that books are my Spiritual Directors. In the past twenty years God has led me to just the right book to accompany me just a few more feet down the path to him.
This summer, Pauline Books and Media invites you to make at least one new friend whose words and ideas will be with you all your life. We have some great new books to introduce you to (and, incidentally, introduce your kids and teens to, also!), so check out all of our summer reading lists!
Sr. Kathryn J. Hermes, FSP
Looking for something to read this summer—something inspirational, something interesting, something that’s just plain fun? Pauline Books and Media has you covered! We have some great new titles (as well as others that you may not have seen yet) that you can take with you on vacation, on your own summer mini-retreat, or just to read when you’re out relaxing in the back yard.
Click here and find inspiration to guide you through the summer months. These books are sure to become great companions: inspiring lives of the saints, guides on coping with life, popular religious coloring books, and books to help you think about your faith.
Keeping your kids engaged throughout the summer is tough, but we're here to help. Explore these great kids' books from Pauline Books & Media!
Click here and introduce your child to saints who will inspire them today and tomorrow.
Looking for some great reading for those hot summer days? Pauline Books & Media has you covered! There's something for everyone here: excellent fiction, inspirational biographies and stories, even some prayers.
Have a terrific summer!
Click here for great teen fiction, books about inspiring lives of saints and heroes, and teen spirituality.