Take Five: Meditations With Pope Benedict XVI

Take Five: Meditations with Pope Benedcit XVI by Mike Aquilina & Fr. Kris D. Stubna is a wonderful book to help with daily prayer time. I am addicted to books like this. Some people I know can just sit down and open up the Bible and start reading or praying and have very meaningful quiet times with Jesus. I need a little more help with mine! I like to have more insight, more to think about and a little direction. Take Five does this. Each day starts with an excerpt from one of the pope's writings about a particular topic. They are short and easy to read and understand. The next section gives you points to think about from the reading and about the topic. The section called Just Imagine is a passage from the Bible. And the last section is called Remember which gives you a short phrase or quote to remember, or think about for the rest of the day.

This meditation book is very practical, easy to use on a daily basis, and extremely meaningful because it is all based in scripture and writings from our Holy Father.

One day I was struggling with a decision. I had actually made the decision already but was very nervous about going forward with it. I picked up Take Five to read and pray before bed and read this:

If you stay united with Christ, each one of you will be able to do great things. This is why, dear friends, you must not be afraid to dream with your eyes open of important projects of good and you must not let yourselves be discouraged by difficulties. Christ has confidence in you and wants you to be able to realize all your most noble and lofty dreams of genuine happiness. Nothing is impossible for those who trust in God and entrust themselves to him.

This was from a Prayer Vigil with Young People in Loreto, Italy (September 1, 2007). It spoke so profoundly to me and to the situation I was in. It was truly God speaking directly to me and telling me that everything would be okay regarding the step I was about to take and that He would be with me in it.

That is what I really love about this book. I would love to say that I keep up with reading all of the pope's writings and speeches. I wish I was the kind of person who could print out each encyclical and read it the moment it comes out...or even years later. I'm just not. I'm not a big reader and I'm really not smart enough to understand most things. But with this book, I can read the pope's beautiful and inspired words. It's like he's saying them directly to me!

I encourage you to go out and get this book to add to your daily prayer and study time. It will enrich your time with Jesus and bring you closer to Him!

This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Take Five - Meditations with Pope Benedict XVI.