A Very Special Book: Now Available in the U.S.

"Any time I read something that makes me think, 'Wow!' I try to rewrite it as something normal and boring, then compare that to what made me say, 'Wow!'” 

It’s a fun exercise, and my writing seems to improve … at least for a few days!   --Cindy Wooden, Senior Vatican Correspondent; Photo by Paul Haring


Well, our Cindy Wooden from Sandpoint has certainly attained the "Wow!" factor as a writer. We can now refer to her as "author" Cindy Wooden.  Her name appears on the cover of a newly released book with Pope Francis. 

Released earlier this fall, the book featuring Cindy's writing, the photography of Paul Haring and the thoughts of Pope Francis, is now available in the United States via Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Pope-Francis-Guide-Gods-Time/dp/1601374984/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1416497023&sr=1-2&keywords=pope+francis%3A++a+guide+to+god%27s+time

I received a note from Cindy yesterday, telling me of the book's U.S. availability.  She also pointed me to some information which she has penned about the new release which coincides with the Church's calendar and its new year beginning Nov. 30 with Advent. 

The majority of this post will feature Cindy's words of explanation about the publication, but I'll also include at the end some of her autobiographical thoughts about the craft of writing---thoughts which she sent me a few years ago for a blog targeted for two Young Writers' Conferences in St. Anthony and Moscow where I spoke. 

I have oft noted over the years in this blog how we---who have known and followed Cindy as a student, family friend and world renowned Catholic journalist---have joyfully maintained a great pride in her ever since she first went to Rome in 1989 as a reporter for Catholic News Service.  

Cindy talking with Pope Francis on the Papal Jet--courtesy of her Facebook page. 
---Photo by Paul Haring. 

Let's triple that joy this morning as we celebrate yet another wonderful achievement for this accomplished Catholic journalist as she continues to chronicle the daily happenings surrounding the Papacy. 

I can't wait to have a copy of the book and, like everyone else who admires and loves "our Cindy," will be even more thrilled when she comes home to Sandpoint to autograph it. 

And, now it's time to feature some personal insights from "author" Cindy Wooden.  The first item below is from a Catholic News Service blog entry. 

A Pope Francis book for the Catholic new year

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY — For Catholics a new year begins Nov. 30, the first Sunday of Advent.

Our new book, “Pope Francis: A Guide to God’s Time,” explains the church’s liturgical year using the pope’s homilies. The book is published by Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Libreria Editrice Vaticana (the Vatican publishing house). You can order it directly from the bishops’ publishing office or on Amazon.

As a journalist, I read Pope Francis’ morning homilies and Sunday Angelus addresses looking for “news.” Usually with Pope Francis that means finding odd, interesting and colorful turns of phrase.

“God spray” and “bat Christians” come to mind. In the first instance, the pope said God is a real being capable of and desiring a relationship with each person; he’s not some kind of esoteric mist or “god spray.” The second phrase comes from a homily about lukewarm Christians who seem to prefer to dwell in a dark cave like bats rather than walk in the light.

Last spring I went back over the homilies Pope Francis delivered in the first 14 months of his pontificate. This time I was not looking for news, but for his explanations of how the Catholic Church divides up its calendar into seasons, special times of preparation and special times of celebration: the liturgical year.

The result is this book, which is illustrated with 91 beautiful photographs taken by my Rome colleague Paul Haring. (Reviewing the pages before publication, my attention always strayed to the photos. I can’t pick a favorite, but the one to the left definitely makes me smile every time I see it.)

The title comes from one of Pope Francis’ homilies. The pope is someone who is constantly looking at his watch because he sees a careful management of his time as a spiritual discipline and as sign of respect for the people he is supposed to meet at a certain hour. But in homily that inspired the title, he said that when we go to Mass, we enter into God’s time “without looking at our watches.”

In the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae where he lives, Pope Francis celebrates a morning Mass and gives a homily almost every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He recites the Angelus or Regina Coeli on Sundays and major feast days — and uses those occasions for a commentary on the Mass readings. Then there are the Masses — with a homily — for Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week and Easter, the proclamation of saints and other special events.

“Pope Francis: A Guide to God’s Time” mines all those homilies and commentaries to find Pope Francis’ secrets to prayer, happiness and holiness. 

The book also provides many quotes from Pope Francis on the Eucharist, peace, mercy, forgiveness and, of course, on the evils of gossip, which he has started referring to as a form of “terrorism.”

In the United States, the book is available in English and in Spanish. In Rome, it’s also available in Italian.

From Amazon:  About the Author

The book is written by Cindy Wooden, senior Vatican correspondent for Catholic News Service. She has lived in Rome chronicling the teaching and lives of the popes and events at the Vatican for the past 25 years. Photographs are by Paul Haring, senior staff photographer for the CNS Rome Bureau, who has covered the papacy full-time since 2009 and has traveled with Pope Francis on all his international trips.

Amazon blurb by Cindy:   Pope Francis has said that when you enter a church or chapel and devote time to prayer you are entering into God's time. In "Pope Francis: A Guide to God's Time," the pope's reflections on the Bible readings from Mass lead readers through the Catholic Church's liturgical year -- its seasons, times of preparation and times of special celebration. 

The 91 full-color photographs in the book show the pope living what he preaches, bringing God's love and mercy to those in need. The book offers visual highlights of his first 14 months as pope -- from his election night appearance on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in March 2013 through his visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem in May 2014. 

While providing an overview of the liturgical year, it also offers an introduction to the biblical themes Pope Francis sees as being most important for Christians today: the abundance of God's love and mercy; the danger of gossip; and the need to meet people where they are, listen to them and help them. 

The richly illustrated presentation offers answers to people asking how to pray and how to read the Bible. The guide also responds to the questions: What does Pope Francis say about prayer, mercy and judgment? How does one live a Christian life?

A Little More about the craft of writing, by Cindy Wooden. Cindy, along with several other writers, contributed this for a blog about writing called "Oh, the Writing U Can Do," which I created young writers in 2008. 

Name: Cindy Wooden

Getting started: I worked on a school paper in California when I was in the fifth grade. We called it Chalk Dust and managed to put out only one issue. I don’t even remember what my role in it was or if I had an article in it. But there were only four or five of us involved in the project! In junior high school in Sandpoint, we managed to publish more than one issue of the school paper, but definitely not more than one a month. I worked on the school papers in high school and in college as well.

Education: English classes and journalism classes obviously helped enormously, but there was and is no substitute for actually working on a paper. That’s how you learn to handle deadlines, style questions, space requirements and editors.

Advice: Writing is a discipline. While blogging or journaling can help you realize you actually can fill that blank page, it is even more important to realize that anything you write can be improved. That’s where editors come in. Sometimes they are wrong. Sometimes they ruin your pristine prose. But mostly, they make you look better  . . . !

To write well, you must read EVERYTHING. For aspiring journalists, you must read newspapers. I try to find copies of the Pulitzer Prize winning news stories each year. Any time I read something that makes me think, “Wow,” I try to rewrite it as something normal and boring, then compare that to what made me say, “Wow.” It’s a fun exercise, and my writing seems to improve … at least for a few days!