Book Discussion Group

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." 

 - Luke 11:9 

The OLP Book Discussion Group endeavors to read books with a Catholic/Christian perspective that challenges, that engages, and that wear the love of Christ on our sleeves as we try to walk that fine line between being "in" the world rather than "of" it. 

We have read a variety of famous and not-so-famous authors offering diverse and sometimes contradictory approaches, from Jeff Cavins to Marcus Borg, from Mother Teresa to fiction author Robert Hugh Benson. 

We have also dabbled in topics of current concern (Sudan crisis, Rwanda genocide, the death penalty, science vs. religion, etc.) and have read biographies/autobiographies of people such as Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, Edith Stein, Dorothy Day, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. 

We meet once a month for respectful discussion from October through May. Everyone is welcome to join us!

Contact Steve Osthus at osthu001@gmail.com for more information.

January's Book for Discussion

OLP's Book Discussion Group has already read a couple of books by noted Catholic author Henri Nouwen and returns to him for its January read.

We will be reading and discussing The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society.

The discussion will be held Thursday, January 23, at 6:30 pm in the Peter & Paul Room.

Published in 1979 but almost more pertinent today than then, this short and simple book speaks to those men and women who want to be of service in their church or community but often find the traditional approaches lacking.

He begins with a theology of service that focuses on what he perceives as a fundamental woundedness in human nature.

Nouwen believes those trying to be of service in the community can start by realizing the commonality between those providing service and those receiving the service in this woundedness.

He contends that those seeking to help are called to recognize the sufferings of their time in their hearts and make that a prime component of their relationship with those being served, willing to go beyond the more-or-less "professional" service role and leave themselves open as fellow human beings with the same wounds and suffering - in the image of Christ.

All are welcome to attend these discussions.

This book is available on Amazon and other online booksellers.