July 18, 2008

My favorite cartoon so far of the summer appeared in the daily newspaper this past week. It was a Speed Bump ‘toon that depicted a middle-aged man and woman sitting outdoors, she with a beverage in her hand and he holding a large book titled 101 Reasons to Read More. The man said to the woman: “If you only read one book this summer, I’d recommend this one.”

I laughed heartily and then promptly clipped the cartoon to circulate among our book team. We’re all voracious readers, as you might expect, each of us reading two or three (and sometimes more books at a time—and this doesn’t even count the ones we are working on!).

Right now three books rest on my nightstand and sometimes move with me to the front porch in the evening or to the pool on the weekend:
• Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto, a fabulous novel set in South America that won both the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize in 2002 and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. I always read the books that win major writing awards. Why waste time reading anything but the best writing?
• Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow’s Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong, a marvelous look at why the French act and think and live the way they do. This is reading to help me better understand another culture and part of the globe.
• The Miracle of Lourdes: A Message of Healing and Hope by John Lochran. This St. Anthony Messenger Press book is the featured selection of my parish spiritual book club this month. Our group of book lovers will chat via telephone with Father Lochran, who lives in Wales. I’m eager to learn about his recent trip to Lourdes, the famous shrine that celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.

Like the Speed Bump cartoon says, there are many reasons to read a book. I invite you to list all yours! Open a book (or two or three) and get reading. Happy summer!

One of the best things about being editorial director of books is becoming friends with wonderful authors.

One blessed friendship is with Monsignor William H. Shannon (Here on the Way to There: A Catholic Perspective on Death and What Follows and Thomas Merton: An Introduction), professor emeritus of religious studies at Nazareth College, founding president of the International Thomas Merton Society and a prolific writer of books and articles.

I stood in for Bill at commencement exercises at my alma mater, St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, New York, when he was awarded a Doctor of Letters honora causa. Afterward I visited Bill in Rochester, New York, where he resides with the Sisters of St. Joseph at Nazareth College and serves as their chaplain. Fellow authors in Rochester, Peggy Rosenthal (Praying the Gospels Through Poetry: Lent to Easter) and George Dardess (Do We Worship the Same God? Comparing the Bible and the Qur’an), joined us for a celebratory lunch.

At 90, an age when some people let life just happen to them, Bill continues to make things happen. He’s editing a book and seeking other writing projects as well as performing priestly duties.

Bill became interested in Thomas Merton when two of his college students pestered him to teach a Merton course. Later Bill and a small group of other Merton followers met in 1978 and 1987 to establish a society to recognize Merton and promote his writings. Thus the International Thomas Merton Society was created, and Bill was elected its first president. Bill said Merton always had international appeal that was transcultural, unlike that of most other spiritual writers. Since retiring from teaching, Bill has devoted the bulk of his time to writing on Catholic topics and to Merton research, spending considerable time at the Merton Center in Louisville and at Gethsemani in Bardstown, Kentucky.

Bill Shannon is a gift to the church and to St. Anthony Messenger Press. We are proud of him and pleased to call him friend.

*****

With sadness, we learned May 9 of the death of friend-author Theresa Cotter, whose work graced the pages of St. Anthony Messenger magazine and the pages of numerous SAMP books, including Handing on the Faith: When Your Adult Child Chooses a Different Path. Her contributions to our publishing efforts were wonderful works that spoke much of Theresa’s love of our Catholic faith and her deep desire to help others fathom the mystery of God’s love and presence in our lives. She had such a knack for writing pastorally without talking down to people, always respecting readers where they were in their own faith journey while sharing her own bumps and adventures. We will miss our friend much.

February 25, 2008

Two weeks after the first meeting of my parish spiritual book club, the parish’s pastoral administrator said to me before Sunday Mass, “Everyone reading Make Room for God: Clearing Out the Clutter and the Catholic Update by the same author, Day by Day Through Lent: Fasting From Our Clutter, must be cleaning their closets. They’re all bringing their clutter to church!”

I laughed with her and said, “Can’t you just imagine people all over America cleaning out their homes this Lent? The landfills and thrift stores will be busy.”

The book club’s first meeting surpassed my expectations, so much so that the rectory dining room where we met will no longer be adequate space for the group. Our first gathering attracted 15 people: 13 women and two men. The next day, I had seven more people join. This number astounds me: Our parish is a small, urban faith community of 600 registered “families.” Several people came from neighboring parishes; a few are members of churches of other faith traditions. And most are my fellow parishioners—some new and some for decades.

When I asked folks why they joined the book club and what they hoped to get from the experience, the answers surprised me in some instances and reassured me in most. Two women, both raised Catholic but who have had long periods of being inactive Catholics, said they hope to “reconnect to their faith” through the book club. Several women came because they are married to Catholics and want to learn more about their spouses’ faith. A handful said they are new to the parish or they don’t know many parishioners, and they want to make new friends. All who attended the book club meeting admitted, with me, a love for reading and books and a desire to grow their own faith.

I see this book club as a place where we can refresh our spirits, renew our commitment to Jesus and expand our perceptions of God and humankind. I anticipate eagerly that we will evangelize each other—and have fun doing so. This makes my heart sing!

Our book club next meets on Palm Sunday, March 16. I’ll let you know how much room we’ve made for God!

Feb. 11, 2008

A phone call from Wales near the end of a recent workday reminded me to begin praying the novena to Our Lady of Lourdes in preparation for the 150th anniversary of the miracle of Lourdes on February 11. The caller was Reverend John Lochran, author of our latest book, The Miracle of Lourdes: A Message of Healing and Hope. The reminder call prompted me to use the novena as opening prayer for work meetings this month.

The book’s 26 reflections and handful of prayers to Our Lady and Saint Bernadette provide much inspiration for anyone interested in an armchair pilgrimage to one of the world’s most-visited shrines.

Like every book we publish, The Miracle of Lourdes has its own story. Almost two years ago I received a package that contained two paperback books and a letter from John Lochran asking if St. Anthony Messenger Press would be interested in publishing his two out-of-print books for the anniversary year. The books, first published by Columba Press in Ireland, were well written and still contemporary in their message.

Our CEO-publisher at the time, Father Jeremy Harrington, O.F.M., and I liked much John’s writing style and so we proposed that the two books be combined into one volume, with some revision and new material and a bit of updating to make the text ready for 2008 readers. We also asked John to add a section of prayers to the book as an added value for readers. Graciously, John agreed to our revision plan and thus began a new author-publisher relationship that crossed an ocean.

John and I corresponded by e-mail often, and his phone calls to us from his busy parish in Wales were numerous as we discussed revisions and additions, title and permissions. I always looked forward to hearing the Scottish lilt in John’s voice!

Lisa Biedenbach, her college chum Bob Morrissey and author John Lochran dine in a London restaurant in October 2007.

In October last year, after a week at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Frankfurt, Germany, I traveled to London, where I met John for a lovely lunch in a small restaurant with a French name and Polish-Mexican food! My companion at lunch, a college chum who lives in Greenwich, England, had selected the restaurant and then squired me around London. We met John outside a metro station and walked a few blocks to the restaurant. Our conversation was as delicious as the multicultural cuisine. John told us about his years in the Congo and his many years as chaplain to English-speaking pilgrims in Lourdes as well as his current pastoral challenges serving two parishes, a large hospital and a hospice in Wales. After lunch, we walked to nearby Green Park and sat on a bench in the autumn sun for two hours chatting. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to meet in person one of our authors.

John’s book will be read here in North America as well as the United Kingdom and in Lourdes, where more than five million people pass through the shrine each year. In this anniversary year, the number of shrine pilgrims will be even higher. That truly is a miracle.

Feb. 1, 2008

On Sunday, Feb. 3, when much of America and the football-loving world will be preparing to watch the annual Super Bowl game, I will be moderating the first meeting of my parish spiritual book club. Football fans may be feeding on chips and dip and pizza and beer, but I and 16 others will be feeding on the words and insights of Catholic writers.

I’ve wanted for several years to establish a spiritual book club in my small urban parish in Cincinnati, a parish where I am a fourth-generation member. My Mom watched the church being built from her perch at the window of her home adjoining the church property. My roots are deep in this faith community.

I’ve noted a rising spiritual hunger and, to be frank, a growing need for further faith formation among our adult parishioners. So I was thrilled when our parish pastoral council approved in November my proposal to start a book club that would meet four to six times annually to explore our faith.

The response so far to the announcement of the book club’s first meeting and first book selection has been overwhelming to me and very encouraging. Our group of 16 women and one man will gather for 90 minutes after the noon Mass on Feb. 3 to meet each other and review the guidelines for the book club. We’ll use the rectory’s dining room table as our gathering point. I’ve prepared a goody bag for each attendee that includes: a yellow highlighter pen, Post-it notes, bookmark, index cards and a copy of our first book to discuss, Make Room for God: Clearing Out the Clutter by Susan K. Rowland. I plan to tuck in a sheet listing my Ten Tips for Reading Spiritual Books to help folks get more out of what they are reading.

At our second meeting, set for March 16, Palm Sunday, we will discuss Rowland’s book and chat with her via telephone at a prearranged time. I’ve selected books for the remainder of 2008 and I’m lining up phone chats with the authors, or, in the case of a local author, an on-site visit.

I’m looking forward to sharing my love of books and my faith with my fellow parishioners and some guests. I’ll keep you posted about our own Super Sunday!

Lisa Biedenbach
Editorial Director, Books