Weekly Giveaway (9/28)

"Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others." - St. Augustine

Because I've built up a large collection of extra books and resources, every week I give away some absolutely free, no strings attached.

Each giveaway lasts seven days with a new one beginning each Friday, and you can enter any time during the week. Check out the past giveaways items here.

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This week's giveaway features three books by writer Meredith Gould.. Meredith has written widely on liturgy, spirituality, and the Jewish roots of Catholicism. She's also a social media connoisseur who hosts the weekly #chsocm chat on Twitter.

Thanks to Meredith, one winner will receive all three books pictured above. Here are Amazon's descriptions for each:

The Catholic Home: Celebrations and Traditions for Holidays, Feast Days, and Every Day
(Image, 2006)

 

Who better than a nice Jewish girl to tell Catholics how to celebrate their faith at home? Jews have always been known for a sensibly domestic-centered observance of their religion, and Gould, a Jewish-born convert to Catholicism, speaks from a unique dual perspective. Having lived in a Jewish home, she knows about lighting Sabbath candles, but also remembers when Catholics kept holy water and statues in their houses. In her own home, which she affectionately describes as "the Hermitage" and "Julian of Norwich goes suburban," she has revived traditions that fell by the wayside after changes wrought by Vatican II, and also established a multitude of new ones.

Readers seeking to reinforce Catholic identity on the home front will find plenty of ideas, among them a how-to for celebrating Christmas when it actually arrives, instead of weeks before, and making Halloween holy by embracing it as the eve of All Saints Day. Gould's writing is light and airy, even irreverent at times, but her ideas are well-grounded and refreshing.

She wisely reinforces her suggestions with excerpts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and uses the church's sacraments and elaborate calendar of feast days and liturgical seasons as the skeleton of her book, trotting out bits of history and legend for added interest. Gould's engaging enthusiasm will doubtless have readers asking, "Who knew Catholicism could be so much fun?"

 

Come to the Table: A Passover Seder for Parish Use
(Plowshares Publishing, 2011)

 

Come to the Table: A Passover Seder for Parish Use invites faithful, curious Christians to appreciate the Last Supper as a Last Seder for Jesus and his disciples. Since 2005, Come to the Table has been used successfully by Roman Catholic parishes throughout the United States and Canada. Now, in response to enthusiastic requests, it has been revised to help any liturgical congregation called to celebrate the Lord's Supper in His tradition. Includes:

• Historical and Biblical details about Passover with citation to scripture.
• The meaning of Passover symbols and their significance relative to Eucharist.
• A traditional seder liturgy adapted for Christian use.
• Hebrew prayers in English.
• Easy-to-follow instructions for preparing the Passover meal and conducting a seder for small and large groups.

 

Getting #Married: Using Social Media to Celebrate the Sacred
(Plowshares Publishing, 2011)

 

Getting #Married: Using Social Media to Celebrate the Sacred explains why and how social media can be used to celebrate holy matrimony with dignity, reverence, and joy. This guide, based on the author's personal and professional experience, provides easy-to-understand information about using web-based resources to:

> build a community, both virtual and real, of loving support;
> plan the wedding liturgy;
> share the sacrament with those who cannot attend in real life;
> capture and save content and conversation up to and through the blessed event.

Getting #Married includes FAQs, a special section for clergy and a Linkography.

 

 
In order to win this week's giveaway, leave a comment below answering this question:

Which of the three books interests you most and why?

 

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The winner will be randomly selected next Friday and the giveaway item will be sent out, free-of-charge, shortly thereafter.

UPDATE:

The drawing is now closed. Congratulations to Christian L. for winning this week! Check your e-mail for instructions on receiving the book. If you don’t see an e-mail from me, check your spam box—apparently e-mails with “giveaway” in the title are prone to end up there.

In the future I'll be giving away more books and resources, sometimes multiple items per giveaway! So subscribe via feed reader or email to ensure you never miss your chance to win.