This is For You by Jimmy Hopper

Title:  This is For You

Author:  Jimmy Hopper, Tim Lien, Eric Venable

Publisher:  Riverwood Presbyterian Church

Publication Date:  2009

Pages:  98

Source:  Won on Good Reads

I was lucky enough to win this book here on Good Reads and I won it on my Birthday!  This book is a great one for the Lenten Season.  It is a compilation of writings and reflections on the subject of Communion.  It is really directed toward the Protestant faith in an effort of bringing people back to celebrating The Lord's Supper.  I am a Catholic and though I did not agree with everything in the book, I cannot argue with most of what was written.  Even though, there are differences in beliefs, the book can be beneficial to both Catholics and Protestants.  The biggest difference seems to be in the belief of Transubstantiation.  Catholics believe that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ, the Protestants accept that  Christ is present in the bread and wine by a working of God's Spirit.  But, whichever way you believe, it is important that we nourish our Christian faith by participating in Communion.<br/><br/>  It is ironic that I won this particular book, as I had just wrote a paper for a Psychology of Religion class about this very subject.  As a Catholic, I believe that we sometimes stop thinking about the purpose of communion and just go through the motions.  We can all use a reminder now and then and I believe this book fits the bill.  Mr. Hopper reminds us of the importance of Communion.  He reminds us that doing this on a weekly basis, keeps us actively engaged in our faith and helps us to grow as Christians.  He touches on several other differences between  Catholics  and Protestants, such as the use of wine in the ritual, and how often Communion is celebrated.  He never condemns any belief, he just simply states the differences.