Ways to Grow Faith Without Reading

[Melodeonist]

Thanks for the replies! I prefer reading short bits of text as reading for more than 5-10 minutes bores me. I have been trying to build a habit of reading the daily Readings USCCB emails.

Audio books sound interesting, almost like a homily.

 

[oldgraymare2]

Thanks for the replies! I prefer reading short bits of text as reading for more than 5-10 minutes bores me. I have been trying to build a habit of reading the daily Readings USCCB emails.

Audio books sound interesting, almost like a homily.

That’s great, Melodeonist.

I was thinking of you, regarding the Bible on DVD or audio book, if you would be interested in something like that.

I have the Bible on DVD. It’s in written format, where you have a narrator reading it, but you watch it on your TV if you have a DVD player set up that way.

It’s nice though, for a different change of pace.

It also comes with pictures of the Holy Land in it that you can also look at on your TV screen.

If you are interested in looking at something like this, maybe your local library has it, or they may be able to get it for you if they have it through their interlibrary loan system.

 

[Melodeonist]

That’s great, Melodeonist.

I was thinking of you, regarding the Bible on DVD or audio book, if you would be interested in something like that.

I have the Bible on DVD. It’s in written format, where you have a narrator reading it, but you watch it on your TV if you have a DVD player set up that way.

It’s nice though, for a different change of pace.

It also comes with pictures of the Holy Land in it that you can also look at on your TV screen.

If you are interested in looking at something like this, maybe your local library has it, or they may be able to get it for you if they have it through their interlibrary loan system.

That also sounds very interesting!

Do Catholic bookstores sell DVDs and the like?

 

[Lea101]

watch videos of speakers from Seek, Focus, Steubenville conferences.

They are usually really interesting IMO. Fr Mike Schmitz does good homilies, for instance

 

[JimR-OCDS]

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

Just as I said. Not the literary word, i.e. printed in a book, but the living Word, Jesus Christ, who dwells within us.

Jim

 

[oldgraymare2]

That also sounds very interesting!

Do Catholic bookstores sell DVDs and the like?

Yes, they do.

 

[LPS]

• Adoration
• Daily Mass as often as possible

Do you like to listen to podcasts? There are many good Catholic ones out there - I regularly listen to Father Larry Richards - found here - and to Sister Ann Shields - found here.

They both have archives on their sites as well as itunes and I’m sure other places so you can listen for hours if you want!

 

[PelagiathePenit]

Watch Fulton Sheen

 

[FonsBonitatis]

Grace come from God alone.

In fact, people who read as if its the source of spirituality, often get filled up with ego.

Of course it does, but we do have to cooperate with grace, and we also can dispose ourselves to receiving more grace.

Reading and being well-formed are wonderful ways to do just that.

Moreover, anyone who in this day and age tells someone to not worry about reading because they’ll become an egomaniac is only offering encouragement to individuals to leave the faith should they encounter intellectual problems. It would be disastrous to tell someone who has difficulty accepting this or that teaching that they simply need to develop more prayer, rather than pointing them in the direction of some good books that can address their concerns. That’s just a lazy brush-off. And frankly, that’s what the Fundamentalists do, and it often leads to simply making fundamentalist atheists.

Although I know you aren’t arguing for it, the natural consequences of your position is a sort of fideism, and that is not only dangerous, it is condemned, as far as I can tell.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

FonsBonitatis;

Moreover, anyone who in this day and age tells someone to not worry about reading because they’ll become an egomaniac is only offering encouragement to individuals to leave the faith should they encounter intellectual problems.

And no one has said that.

I said, it CAN lead to egotism, not will, as you express it here.

It would be disastrous to tell someone who has difficulty accepting this or that teaching that they simply need to develop more prayer, rather than pointing them in the direction of some good books that can address their concerns.

It would be more disastrous to tell a person who has difficulty in reading, that their spiritual growth will be limited if they don’t read.

That’s just a lazy brush-off. And frankly, that’s what the Fundamentalists do, and it often leads to simply making fundamentalist atheists.

Actually its the opposite. Fundamentalists read the Bible and take what they read literally as written. They would attack what I’m saying here.

Although I know you aren’t arguing for it, the natural consequences of your position is a sort of fideism, and that is not only dangerous, it is condemned, as far as I can tell.

Faith comes from God, however that may happen.

It doesn’t come from doing lots of reading.

St Teresa of Avila, could not read Scripture, because all translations other than Classical Latin were banned in 1500’s Spain. She could not read Latin and whatever she learned about Scripture, came from what she heard the priest read a Mass.

Also, the great spiritual writings of the Church were also banned in her time.

However, the Holy Spirit led both her and St John of the Cross into contemplation and to write about their experience in it, not what they read about it.

So, don’t misunderstand me. Reading has great value for those of use who God will’s to come to us through what we read.

But its not exclusive to those who can not read and often, they are the more humble in faith, which is more dear to God than all the knowledge we accumulate through reading.

OH, and BTW, The Imitation of Christ warns about having much knowledge through books, that it can be prohibit true spiritual growth. Here, Thomas Kempis was referring to ego, which wasn’t a term known at his time.

Jim

 

[fred_conty]

I would like to know some ways to grow my faith that don’t involve reading. I’m not much of a reader, and I don’t get anything all that meaningful from books. What are some great ways to grow in faith that don’t involve reading?

Thanks!

Get a holy picture/card of Jesus, one that you like. Preferable a picture of his holy face.
Just stare at it for a while. And you’ll be surprised what takes place. This is also what St. Teresa of Avilla suggested. Very great form of prayer.

 

[Rosebud77]

By reading I assume you mean what they call “spiritual reading”? No I do not do that. I read sure, but now I have discovered a late-in-life love of thrillers. They are after all our modern morality tales… Good versus evil, the good guy suffers and the bad guy gets it in the end one way or another. Thrillers NOT horror and there is a huge difference…

I live a very solitary life and very prayer and living out prayer life with as few distractions as possible, especially given a major systemic illtness that makes daily life an interesting challenge Also I am very old,

I have a MENSA IQ and an high academic background. But I learn and pray I find the writings of others intrusive and not relevant… Especially the current worship of solitude for its own sake … All this started when I had little access to books and before I had a computer and the closeness I have to Jesus is intense and pure.

With an Anglican Bible based raising, I have huge parts of scripture in my heart and these words come to me all the day long and I rest in them. Holy Words always there. A comfort and a refuge.

 

[Techno2000]

I would like to know some ways to grow my faith that don’t involve reading. I’m not much of a reader, and I don’t get anything all that meaningful from books. What are some great ways to grow in faith that don’t involve reading?

Thanks!

You can do the…“The Stations of the Cross” at your Church.

youtube.com/watch?v=oZ9om4YElns

 

[Googler]

Do something very nice for your mother to let her know how much you appreciate her.

Aw… that’s beautiful!

Ask for the graces you need from Mary.

Imagine Blessed Mother sitting in front of the overflowing spectacular treasure chest that Christ merited on the Cross for her to distribute.
Mary works in the background handing out all these graces to the Faithful. And she does what she can.
We should help and cooperate with her to tell her which particular grace we need.
Oh, Mother I need that one!
It will help me be more worthy to receive Communion.
Oh, please can I have it?
Yes, certainly, here you go child.
She hands this precious jewel to us we may not have obtained without asking.

The Holy Spirit today calls Mary to cooperate in a maternal way with Him and He invites believers to love Mary as Christ loved her.