Book Reviews and More: In Conversation With God: Volume #3: Ordinary Time: Weeks 1-12 By: Francis Fernandez Carvajal

In Conversation With God
Volume #3: Ordinary Time: Weeks 1-12
By: Francis Fernandez
ISBN 0906138221
Scepter Press
7 Volume Set
ISBN 0906138191I must admit it is much harder writing reviews for each volume in this series than I thought. I want to do justice to each of the books. I want them to reflect the breadth and scope of these amazing books. Yet I find that each time I try to write about one of them I keep coming back to the same words and same language.

This book is hard to review in that unlike any others in the series this book is always a split read. With the break each year for Lent and Eastertide, this book is always read in part, a break of 13 weeks. So I will just let it peak for itself. I will draw extensive quotes from the book and let you decide from the quotes or the other reviews in this series.

"It is in the midst of our work, of our ordinary occupations, that Jesus invites us to follow him, so as to make him the centre of our very existence and serve him in the task of everlasting the world." P.2

"We must fix all our attention on the Son of God made Man as he works, and ask ourselves very often, what would Jesus do in my place? How would he do my work?" p.3

"Rather must work and prayer complement each other, in the same way that voices mingle with instruments to form a harmony. Work not only does not disturb the life of prayer, but becomes a channel for it." P.5

"He did this through the ineffable gift of divine filiation. He makes us his children. Our divine filiation is not merely a title; it is a real elevation, an effective transformation of our inmost being." P.8

"What ever our circumstances or the situations that affect us, we are children of God, and this firm conviction fills the whole of our life and our entire way of behaving." P.10

"The human heart is made to seek and to love God. And God facilitates this encounter, for he too seeks out each one of us through countless graces and a fatherly care which is filled with consideration and love." P.13

"Sometimes it is our friendship that will be the beginning of the way that leads to Christ; a well-timed comment, a book to reaffirm our friends' faith, some sound advice, a word of encouragement … and always the richness and example of upright conduct." P.17

And those are but a few of the things I underlined in the first 20 pages. With that much worth making not of can you imagine the value of a single volume or the whole series? It will be one of the best investments in your spiritual life, and a true treasure for your daily reading for years to come.

Scepter Press in North America has just reprinted them again last fall.

About the Complete Series:

The complete series is worth the money, time and effort. This is an amazing Catholic meditation and daily reflection series. The seven volumes have daily readings for each day of the church year, as well as volumes 6 & 7 being special Feast Days. The readings draw heavily upon the writings of Josemaria Escriva the founder of Opus Dei, Pope John Paul II, and the daily readings from the common liturgy for that day. The Sundays have three sets of readings, depending on whether we are in year A, B, or C in the church readings. These devotions are all about 6 pages long and divided into 3 sections. They can all be read as a complete section, or part in the morning, midday and evening as they each have three sections. I find that with every day there is so much meat in these devotions that I am already planning on reading them again next year.

This series was originally published in Spanish and was completed in January 1991; the English translation was completed in 1993. It has been immensely popular since they first started coming out in1988. They are published around the world, and have helped thousands of readers in enriching their spiritual lives.
There is a complete subject, and biblical reference index in volume 7; unfortunately the earlier volumes' indexes only go as far as that volume #. The indexes are subject and reference quoted by church Fathers, Popes and Saints. These books will draw anyone deeper into a faith and a life of action based upon that faith.

Books edited by Francis Fernandez Carvajal:

Year of Faith Treasury: Prayer

Year of Faith Treasury: Holy Communion

Year of Faith Treasury: The Roman Pontiff

Year of Faith Treasury: The Sacrament of Confession

Year of Faith Treasury: The Virtue of Faith

Year of Faith Treasury: The Virtue of Fortitude

In Conversation with God:

Volume #1 Advent and Christmastide

Volume #2 Lent and Eastertide

Volume #3 Ordinary Time Weeks 1-12

Volume #4 Ordinary Time Weeks 13-23