Books, Books, Books

Here are a couple of books on my wish-list:

The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy and 'Women's Work'. ~by Kathleen Norris

The title alone excites me. :)  Here is a quote:

"Our culture's ideal self, especially the accomplished, professional self, rises above necessity, the humble, everyday, ordinary tasks that are best left to unskilled labor. The comfortable lies we tell ourselves regarding these 'little things'--that they don't matter, and that daily personal and household chores are of no significance to us spiritually--are exposed as falsehoods when we consider that reluctance to care for the body is one of the first symptoms of extreme melancholia."

Where God Happens: Discovering Christ in One Another and Other Lessons from the Desert Fathers ~Rowan Williams

This is written by the current Archbishop of Canterbury and sounds both fascinating and beautiful.  Here is a quote:

“What would the Church be like if it were indeed a community not only where each saw his or her vocation as primarily to put the neighbor in touch with God but where it was possible to engage each other in this kind of quest for the truth of oneself, without fear, without expectation of being despised or condemned for not having a standard or acceptable spiritual life”

He also quotes John 'the Dwarf':

" 'You don't build a house by starting with the roof and working down. You start with the foundation'

"They said, 'What does that mean?'

"He said, 'The foundation is our neighbour whom we must win. The neighbour is where we start. Every commandment of Christ depends on this." 

 Williams writes:

"Insofar as you open such doors for one another, you gain God, in the sense that you become a place where God happens for somebody else."