Mostly What God Does: Reflections on Seeking & Finding His Love Everywhere (2024)
Savannah Guthrie
In Mostly What God Does, NBC broadcaster and former attorney Savannah Guthrie offers heartfelt reflections on God’s love, sharing her personal experiences and spiritual insights. “Mostly what God does is love you,” she says, framing her book as an exploration of God’s presence in her life rather than a memoir. The chapters are organized around six central themes that have shaped her faith journey: Love, Presence, Praise, Grace, Hope, and Purpose—all rooted in Biblical teachings and deeply personal experiences.
Guthrie recalls growing up in a close-knit Australian Baptist family, where “God was the sixth member,” and how her “conversation with God” began in her youth. Her father’s sudden death when she was 16 and a later divorce in her thirties challenged her faith but ultimately deepened her relationship with God. Encouraged by her colleagues on the TODAY show, where she is an anchor, she wrote this book to share how God’s love has guided her through life’s highs and lows.
In each chapter, she encourages readers – whether devout, curious, or disillusioned by past religious experiences – to approach God as they are. “Come as you are,” she writes, emphasizing a personal connection with God where questions, doubts, and fears are welcomed. She acknowledges that her faith journey has been a blend of belief and doubt, joy and sorrow, and believes these experiences have enriched her understanding of God.
In challenging times, Guthrie finds strength by returning to the basics: surrendering control and trusting God’s love. She offers her story as a source of hope, reminding readers that God’s love is constant, personal, and transformative. This book invites anyone, regardless of their faith stance, to explore a loving, approachable relationship with God.
The Power and the Glory (1940)
Graham Greene
Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory, considered one of the greatest Catholic novels of the 20th century, is set during Mexico’s brutal Cristero Revolution (1926–29), a period marked by intense persecution of Catholics under dictator Plutarco Calles. Inspired by Greene’s own experiences in Mexico, where he witnessed the people’s resilient faith amid oppression, the novel centres on a renegade “Whiskey Priest” who continues to serve the faithful in the southeastern province of Tabasco, despite the government’s strict ban on religious activity. Priests who refused to renounce their faith were executed, while those who complied were forced to marry and receive a state pension.
The unnamed Whiskey Priest, a flawed and alcoholic man with a daughter named Brigitta, secretly returns to Mexico, determined to minister to his people. His journey is perilous, as he is relentlessly pursued by a zealous police lieutenant who sees the priest as a threat to the state. This lieutenant, shaped by his own painful past, methodically arrests and even kills villagers suspected of sheltering the priest.
Though twice narrowly escaping capture, the priest’s journey takes a tragic turn when a mestizo betrays him, urging him to attend the confession of a dying American gunman. The priest suspects treachery but cannot refuse the sacrament. Captured, he faces the lieutenant, who admits admiration but insists the priest must die to protect the state. A former priest, Padre José, is arranged to hear his confession but is prevented by his wife. After the Whiskey Priest’s execution, the lieutenant believes the province is free of priests—only for another priest to arrive in secret. In the end, Greene’s hero becomes a symbol of enduring faith, honoured by locals as a martyr among the saints.
To subscribe to the magazine, click Subscribe
