The Rev. Daniel Greenleaf, pastor of Prince of Peace Parish in Lewiston, said he was taken aback by the strong response to a new initiative that aims to bring people together, even if they’re apart, through the sharing of Catholic spiritual texts.
Reading the Catholic Classics Together is an initiative that will lead parishioners and community members through 10 classic Catholic spiritual texts, page by page and chapter by chapter. Over the next few years, the parish will read the books together from the comfort of their own homes and then gather in small sharing groups or with Fr. Greenleaf on Monday nights at 6:30 p.m. in person at the hall of Holy Family Church, or by using Microsoft Teams.
“Each week, the bulletin will provide a summary of the readings and questions for reflection and on Mondays, those interested will gather to discuss the week’s assignment,” Greenleaf said. “A link to the parish Microsoft Teams account will be provided for those who cannot gather but would still like to participate.”
Materials will also be available each week on the Prince of Peace website, princeofpeace.me. Interested parties from around the state can also go to the website and sign up to receive a weekly email that will include a link to an online discussion group and additional information at princeofpeace.me/introduction-to-the-devout-life.
The first book up is “Introduction to the Devout Life” by St. Francis de Sales, which is frequently used as a guide in Christian spiritual direction.
“St. Francis, a doctor of the Church, wrote the text in 1608 and it has never been out of print,” said Fr. Greenleaf. “His focus is on spiritual lives for the laity who live in the world, stating that not only priests and religious are called to holiness but everyone has this vocation regardless of their state in life.”
The syllabus spreads the book out in increments of about 30 pages per week, so everyone can read it together from Sept. 13 through early November.
“I ordered 500 books for people who wanted physical copies to read from. At $5 per book to cover cost, they were gone before the last Mass of the weekend even began,” said Fr. Greenleaf.
The parish website has links for the free download of the text and the audio book for each of the books that will be read.
“Today, with everyone’s busy schedule, we want to offer different kinds of opportunities to engage people,” said Fr. Greenleaf. “I hope this is only the beginning.”
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