Precious as Silver: Imagining Your Life with God

We ordered Precious as Silver to read as a part of our Lenten observance this year. Archbishop Niederauer writes with a refreshingly direct style. I feel as if I've had a personal, life-affirming conversation with him. After I finished it I felt a renewed sense of hope, with new tools to put faith into practice, and I would recommend this book to anyone.

The title is taken from Niederauer's image of humans as God's silver. It is our nature to become tarnished, to behave sinfully and ignore God, who must constantly "call us back to himself and polish us with his attentive love and grace." Against this background, the bishop writes about a common perception of "Gawd" the eternal highway patrolman in the sky, hiding behind billboards and waiting to catch and condemn use. Using stories from the New Testament, Niederauer shows us that instead of "Gawd" there is a loving Father, a redeeming Son, and the Spirit of their love and life. If we want to know what the Father is like, Niederauer writes, we need to look at and listen to the Son because, "There's a family resemblance." These short examples give a feeling for this wonderful resource filled with new ways of looking at our relationship with the Trinity. Each of the six chapters is divided into several sections, all containing a "Pause and Pray" section with a citation from scripture and short reflection. This book would be enlightening for those new to the Church as well as "cradle Catholics" who are open to examining their basic ideas about the Father, Son, and Spirit; sin; forgiveness; and discipleship.

Bishop George H. Niederauer presents Precious As Silver: Imagining Your Life With God, a spiritual reflection upon biblical images of the Christian life. A poignant exploration of how prayer promotes growth, as well as the joys of living a life centered upon Jesus Christ and his teachings, Precious As Silver is a memorable response to such difficult and thoughtful questions such as "What is God like?"; "Does God have a plan for us?"; "What does it mean to be a disciple?"; and "How do we serve God in the Church?" Very highly recommended reading, Precious As Silver is a compendium of thoughtful and thought-provoking meditations that dedicated Christians in general, and Roman Catholics in particular, will appreciate.