NEW PAPERBACKS

Lectio Divina by M. Basil Pennington, Crossroad Publishing Company. This informative and practical guidebook describes the time-tested method of praying with the Scriptures for wisdom and guidance. Fr Pennington defines lectio divina as the art of letting God speak to us through his inspired word. He brings the ancient method of prayer up to date with chapter on Lectio in Cyberspace, proving that the discipline is of enduring value in bringing us to close to God.
God, the Father of Mercy by the Theological-Historical Commission for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, Herder & Herder. This is the Vatican's official catechetical text for the 1999 Year of God the Father. This authoritative text gives a comprehensive and orthodox introduction to the first person of the Holy Trinity. Designed primarily for adult catechesis, it is of value to all Catholics in their preparation for the Holy Year 2000.
Way of Ignatius: Finding God In All Things by Margaret Hebblethwaite. Fount, £8. Tablet journalist Margaret Hebblethwaite offers readers an accessible introduction to the spirituality of the founder of the Society of Jesus. Her book contains practical advice on learning to pray and sets out a framework for further spiritual development. The author argues that Ignatian spirituality is "about discovering the unique person that each of us is, the individual ways in which each of us relates to God and the unprescribable ways in which we are called to do God's will." Lucid and accessible, this is a thoughtful introduction to the Ignatian school of prayer.
Men Behaving Boldly: getting to grips with spirituality by Paul Wallis. Triangle £5.99. Upbeat spiritual self-help which uses the life of Joseph as a benchmark for male development. "Go for it. Grow into the man God wants you to be," gushes the blurb. Could almost be an ad for Gillette.
Animal Gospel: Christian Faith as Though Animals Mattered by Andrew Linzey, Hodder & Stoughton £6,99. Be nice to all God's creatures, is Limey's underlying message in this "credo for animals". Thing is, many of the people who will buy this book would rather see animal testing banned than human life-saving medicine advance. And that's Christian?