Three books are helping me through the hard times of this election cycle: “Trusting God in the Present” by Fr. Jacques Philippe and “Centering Prayers: A One-Year Daily Companion for Going Deeper into the Love of God” by Peter Traben Haas. The second author has just released a Volume 2 of “Centering Prayers,” with the subtitle “Daily Peace for Turbulent Times.”

Fr. Philippe’s book is called “your spiritual direction manual to trusting God in the midst of difficult times.” Only 50 pages, the book points out that hard times push us to a stronger, more vibrant commitment to God. It has a 4.8 rating out of 5 stars on Amazon and a 4.6 rating on Goodreads.

Fr. Philippe offers practical and wise answers for our concerns when the world seems to be a mess. For example, he challenges our typical questions to God, especially during hard times. Why is this happening, for example. Do we need to know the answer to that question to live our lives today? The author says probably not.

Instead, Fr. Philippe suggests that we accept the situation and ask instead: “What does God want of me here? What is the right way to live through this? … What good, depending on me, can I do today that no one else can do?”

Even in the worst situations, he says, “we can discover a good to be accomplished, a step to be taken for our own personal progress.” Fr. Philippe encourages each of us to adopt an attitude of responsibility rather than to feel like a victim. Then God can step in to help us:

• Accept the reality of the difficult situation
• Change our questions to those that will give us actionable answers
• Take one step at a time mindfully
• Discover the answers as they emerge

It goes without saying that we invite God into the situation with us. Walking mindfully through it one step at a time is Christian mindfulness at work.

I also recommend Peter Traben Haas’ two prayer books with a short daily prayer that helps to open us up to God so He can reframe our attitudes. I’ve been using the books at the end of centering prayer each morning. His prayers are beautiful, and I plan to continue even after the election drama ends. The first prayer book has a 4.6 rating on Amazon and a 4.5 on Goodreads.

Here’s an example:

God of Liberation and Connection: Your love anoints my life with the charism of joy. I see how much you help me be more than just me. Your love is a fusion molding me into a we. Amen

What are the books and resources that are getting you through hard times? I’d love to know.