The Mindful Catholic: Finding God One Moment at a Time

Those Catholics who condemn mindfulness as “non-Catholic” without acknowledging its legitimate therapeutic value are cruelly misleading people. Mindfulness has high therapeutic value that is spiritually neutral and, as such, wholly appropriate for Catholics to use as a means of treating mental illness and chronic pain. In his “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation” (October 15, 1989), Joseph Ratzinger, in his capacity as Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, acknowledged as much. In that letter he condemned the use of some forms of mediation in prayer but in doing so said that this “does not mean that genuine practices of meditation which come from the Christian East and from the great non-Christian religions, which prove attractive to the man of today who is divided and disoriented, cannot constitute a suitable means of helping the person who prays to come before God with an interior peace, even in the midst of external pressures.”

I found free therapy in this book. Dr. Paul C. Vitz (nationally and internationally acclaimed Catholic psychologist, professor and author) endorsed this book, writing: “If people follow its program, many psychologists will be out of work.” I can attest to that! I stopped relying on coffee to get me through the day. I am more present to my children and enjoy them more. I learned how to keep my peace facing problematic situations and people and how to keep my wondering mind at check during prayer. After only 2 weeks of doing the mindfulness exercises, I noticed how much pleasure I take from looking at the flowers in my own garden. They started to mesmerize me! Until now I just knew they were there…Dr. Bottaro’s book also helped me tremendously on the spiritual level. For a number of years my spiritual director was telling me that I do not trust Our Lord. In truth, I didn't see it, repeating ‘Jesus, I trust in you’ day in and day out. This book opened my eyes to what trusting God really means and how to live it.Up until now I heavily relied on solving all of my emotional difficulties through weekly Holy Hour, finding healing at the feet of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Leaving the Adoration Chapel I always felt lighter and filled with new hope and strength. However, I also felt uneasy realizing that I yearn for and seek that encounter with the Lord for selfish reasons, not primarily to love and adore Him alone. I thank God for this grace, this gift of Catholic mindfulness, because every good gift comes from the Lord Himself!Most Rev. Frank J. Caggiano’s (Bishop of Bridgeport, CT) endorsement of “The Mindful Catholic” dispelled my initial doubts about practicing mindfulness (see front cover). He stated that formal imprimatur of this book is nor necessary because mindfulness, as taught by Dr. Bottaro, is not a spiritual practice and not a teaching on faith and morals.While reading this book I also enrolled in Dr. Bottaro’s “Introduction to Catholic Mindfulness” course. The audio exercises were very helpful. I highly recommend both.

This is a book that will be a seminar for growing your faith. A lot to learn and appreciate.

Easy read

A great book, insightful and practical. A very special book. I hope Dr. Botaro continue his good work to help all that need

For any Catholic or Christian interested in learning about practicing mindfulness and how it might be integrated with their faith this book offers a sound perspective. It is practical and offers exercises on mindfulness meditation, body scan and loving kindness to name a few. While it is very practical it also offers enough theory and theology to satisfy those more interested in the cognitive underpinnings of these practices. The book has received some criticism as being non-Catholic but I would strongly disagree with this perspective. While these practices are a different type of prayer or meditation than many Christians are accustomed to they are far from non-Christian. For a more detailed history of Christian thought and practices as it relates to mindfulness see Living With the Mind of Christ: Mindfulness and Christian Spirituality.

Excellent guide to mindfulness that correlates well with Catholic faith and teachings. Recommended to my family and friends who are Catholic.

Excellent book helping anyone interested in LIVING IN THE PRESENT MOMENT TRUSTING FULLY IN THE TENDER CARE OF GOD WHO IS OUR GOOD FATHER.Thoroughly Catholic. Wonderfully Christian. No fear lives in these pages!!Practical exercises to help the person stop letting habitual thought patterns run away and allow the re-focusing to what is True and Good and Beautiful and ACTUALLY REALLY HAPPENING RIGHT NOW ! In other words, Dr. Greg helps the reader to live in reality and not in the imagination or what can be the dictator of thoughts (namely: FEAR!). He helps those of us who are trying to Practice the Presence of God, who go to Adoration or engage in Silent Prayer, regular and frequent (weekday as well as Sunday) Mass, retreats, etc., to bring our thoughts and whole body to the Present Moment. In this way, we can be Free to Live. Not be slaves of pain from yesterday, fear about the future, but actually Live Right Now.I Love that he includes and encourages the praying of a 9 week long Novena. I took the online classes and have recommended both the classes and this book to many people. So far, everyone is thanking me because each is learning from him.

I have read this book and am reading it a second time.Great Catholic classics such as Br Lawrence's "Practice of the Presence of God" and St. Therese's "Little Way", show you simple methods for growing in the spiritual life, The Mindful Catholic shows us how to slow down our racing minds so that we can put those methods into practice.In other words, grace builds on nature. This book helps you become more aware of your thinking so you can progress in the spiritual life.The word "mindful" might give some people pause, but in my opinion this book is not "New Age-Y".I encourage anyone who is interested in this book to google catholicmindfulness.comThe page will bring you to Gregory Bottaro's Introduction to Mindfulness coursescroll down to the class curriculum section where there is a free preview you can download entitled "Is Mindfulness Buddhist or Catholic?"This is a great write up which explains mindfulness. I especially encourage Catholics and other Christians who are interested in mindfulness in general to read this as Dr. Bottaro goes in to detail about the Buddhist practice of mindfulness and gives clear reasons as to why we should be cautious.There are also free audio exercises on his site (the same exercises outlined in his book) where he helps you slow down, become more present in the moment, putting yourself in the presence of God and focusing your mind using your five senses.The Mindful Catholic reminded me of the work by Fr. Irala's ,"Achieving Peace of Heart". Fr Irala was a Jesuit Psychologist from the 1940's . If you can get your hands on this book, you will see that the concept of taking back control of your racing thoughts is not new.(Sadly, Fr. Irala's book is out of print. However, if I had Fr. Irala's book, I would still want to use The Mindful Catholic also. The Mindful Catholic has a bit of a different approach and is easier to read)As a Traditional Catholic I would say the tone of The Mindful Catholic is a little more "modern" than that of older Catholic classics, with more emphasis on the soul's dignity and specialness, but personally don't think this a big issue.On the contrary, I found that Dr. Bottaro often mentions Br. Lawrence's "Practice of the Presence of God", as well as St. Therese, Padre Pio and St Francis of Assisi.(Dr. Bottaro spent 4 years as a Franciscan under the spiritual guidance of Fr. Benedict Groeschel before he became a Psychologist)To sum up, I would suggest that a person do their own research.If you want to give this book a try, why not get Br. Lawrence's "Practice of the Presence of God" to read alongside it (it's a little book...I think you can get it here on Amazon)Or you could use St. Therese's "Autobiography of a Soul", St. Francis de Sales "Introduction to the Devout Life",All these books are good solid Catholic spirituality and are great to read a little each day. They will help you build on the foundation of a calmer, more present mind which this book helps you achieve.At the same time you will see for yourself whether anything in The Mindful Catholic is in opposition to Catholic spirituality.

This is a great book! So practical and great for those that suffer from anxiety or mental stress! Definitely worth every cent!

Very, pleased with this book , the price and the seller.

A bit too heavy on mindfulness and a bit too light on Catholicism for my liking.