Book Review

When I first read that the U.S. Bishops conference was going to produce an Adult Catechism my first thoughts were rather skeptical of how this document would turn out. To be truthful my second, third, and so on thoughts ran down the same line. I did not think that it would be as bad as the infamous Dutch Catechism that got even worse on the second printing after the Vatican had demanded changes to the first one. I thought though that it would be watered down or at least weak.

It is always nice to find yourself totally wrong in your skepticism. I picked up the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults last month and have been reading a chapter a day as part of my morning prayer ritual. I also must admit that I picked it up with a hope of a good fisk.

I pretty much totally agree with Rich Leonardi’s review of this Catechism. Like the Catechism of the Catholic (CCC) Church the Adult Catechism is divided into four parts as is traditional. The format is that each chapter starts for the most part with an introduction to a saint or somebody else whose story was applicable to the topic of that chapter. They mainly stuck with using Americans as examples which is of course fitting for a local Catechism. Some cases they did use examples of other saints when there was really no applicable American counterpart. I found most of the stories to be used quite fitting and I learned a lot about some American Catholics who I either never heard of or knew little about. A couple of the people used were a little problematic, but I will discuss that later in my review.

The Catechism then delves into the topic at hand with very readable and quite orthodox explanations of the faith.
At no time is the faith watered down, in fact areas of common disagreement among so-called progressive Catholics are presented with a more forthright explanation with trouble taken to address these areas. For example the issue of women’s ordination is brought up and then several paragraphs follow to explain the Church’s teaching. This example was one of the better explanations on the subject that I have read. Common issues of social justice involving topics from abortion to the preferential love for the poor were also well addressed and there is no moral relativism involved in discussing these topics or putting all moral issues on the same plain.

The chapters include frequent references to the CCC and the paragraph they are referencing along with each Chapter containing a section of explicit CCC text for the current topic. There are also of course plenty of references to the Bible and other Church documents. Each Chapter also contains at the end of it Questions for discussion, a list of doctrinal statements, a final meditations on the topic, followed by a prayer. I pretty much liked the format since the CCC section emphasizes what was written and the doctrinal statements reiterate them once again so you have a good tool for remembering the key points.

Once questions though is how the Adult Catechism really fits in and how it will be used. The Adult Catechism extends to close to 700 pages so it is not like it is much smaller than the CCC itself. And as Rich mentions there is also the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church which the Bishop’s conference wants to target for only younger readers. For my part I think there is a place for all three and really that all three should be read. They all have a different format. The Compendium is great for easily finding and understanding Church teaching. The Adult Catechism has a highly readable format that really anchors itself in the context of our highly materialistic American lifestyle and addresses specific concerns in that climate. The CCC itself is really a masterpiece in the explanation of the faith and one that cemented for me the truth of the Church.

Will the Adult Catechism make a major inroad in catechesis in the United States is a question though. The CCC was often disparaged and time and time again many catechists tried to limit who it should be read by. The Adult Catechism is just as Orthodox as the CCC so it is hard for me to imagine that the same groups of people who disliked the CCC are going to embrace it.

Now for the parts of the Adult Catechism I had more problems with. This though is a surprisingly small list. Some of the introductary examples of Americans used are what Rich Leornardi calls polarizing figures. The two and only real examples of this were Cardinal Joseph Bernardin and labor leader Cesar Chavez. The introductions themselves were fine and not really problematic, but surely the Adult Catechism could have found others with less baggage since not every American Saint, Blessed,, or Venerable were used for examples.

The funniest part of the Cesar Chavez introduction was the use of the words Mexican-American Immigrants and Mexican Immigrants. I have never seen this particular politically correct way of referring to legal and illegal Mexican immigrants before. I also found it highly ironic since Cesar Chavez was not in favor of illegal immigration himself.

Another funny part of the Adult Catechism is what must have been a mistaken word that made it in.

As we have mentioned, in New Testament times, the Apostles encountered moral challenges every bit as awesome as ours.

Moral challenges as awesome? Obviously not what the writer meant, but I had a good laugh when I came to it.

The head of the team who wrote the Adult Catechism was Archbishop Wuerl, now Archbishop of Washington D.C. I had read that he is a master catechist and this catechism truly proves it. Despite my very minor criticism I can easily recommend this Adult Catechism very highly and hope that it will be fully used. It’s format might lead to distortion by some catechist, but they also distort the CCC also.

Michael Barber from the blog Singing in the Reign was nice enough to send me a review copy of his book Coming Soon: Unlocking the Book of Revelation and Applying Its Lessons Today

The book is a verse by verse examination of the Book of Revelation. This is easily the most misunderstood book in the Bible so you can understand why throughout history some wanted to dump it as being part of the canon of scripture. So much bad theology, badly written fictional novels, and bad movies have been based on this book while providing no light as to understanding this last book of the Bible.

If you have read excellent books like Scott Hahn’s The Lamb’s Supper you would be aware of some of what Michael Barber covers and he does reference parts of the Dr. Scott Hahn’s book in his book. But he also covers a lot more information and as shown by the very rich bibliography and notes in the back of the book he has drawn from a considerable amount of both Catholic and Protestant sources in putting together this book.

The book starts by addressing the authorship of the Book of Revelation and anchoring it in time as to when it was most probably written. The choice he makes in this I think most fully draw out the historical Catholic understanding of the events in the Book of Revelation. He also gives a good summary of how to approach Bible study and goes over the genres and senses of scripture. All of this is a necessary prelude to getting the most out of Revelation.

The rest of the chapters of the book concentrates verse by verse on the actual text of the Book of Revelation and then giving a good solid Catholic exegesis of the meanings of these verses. He also makes the effort of explaining when there have been more than one understanding of a a text.

Each chapter ends with some Multiple Choice Questions and some Discussion/Study Questions. This makes the book ideal both for personal study or group study. The format of the book and the clear writing really makes this book one of the best resources there is for Bible study of the Book of Revelation. I know for myself I really learned a lot from this book and found it to be the most informative compared to other books on the same subject. I know in years to come I will be referring back to this book when checking on specific verses.

Throughout the book there are also plenty of verse comparison tables. It really is interesting all the comparisons of prophesies in for example, Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, etc and the Book of Revelation. You could almost accuse St. John of plagiarism if the Holy Spirit wasn’t the author of those other books also.

Michael Barber has done a great job of not only making the Book of Revelation accessible, but really understandable.

Bill White posts some links to Romano Guardini’s "The Spirit of the Liturgy" Online in text and html. I have been meaning to read this classic, especially after previously reading then-Cardinal Ratzinger’s book of the same name and the esteem he had for Guardini’s book. I really enjoyed Guardini’s life of Christ book called The Lord

I received this email promoting The Shepherd’s Prayer a new Christmas novel revolving around the time of Jesus.

“A young man orphaned as a baby sets off to discover the truth about the circumstances of his birth, the fate of his parents, and his heritage. Having been raised in a culture where bloodlines mean everything, he seems forever condemned to live as an outsider on the fringes of society until he discovers hi true heritage. His only clue is a cryptic message on a lambskin blanket about a child born in a stable in Bethlehem. Who is this mysterious child? And what could such a child have to do with his own birth and destiny?”

Interestingly they are also making it available free as a live stream, mp3 audiobook, and PDF. Of course they also offer a hardcover of the same. I will listen to it next on my iPod after I have finished A Christmas Carol (also a free audiobook via LibriVox). So if you are looking for a Christmas gift that actually includes Christmas this might be it.

I received a review copy of John L. Allen Jr’s All the Pope’s Men: The Inside Story of How the Vatican Really Thinks This is probably a book I would have probably never picked up due to the title. The title along with the subtitle to me seems a little off putting and possibly a very critical look at the Vatican. Though I generally do enjoy John L. Allen Jr’s coverage of the Vatican which normally is very balanced and informative.

I found the book to be a very interesting read. As a convert I have picked up little pieces of information here and there on how the Holy See operates along with the basic structure. The first chapter in and of itself is a good reason to read this book. Vatican 101 gives a broad overview of the Vatican especially the various dicasteries. An overview of the purpose and function of each of the dicasteries is discussed a long with various positions such as Secretary of State and other support offices.

The next chapter points out and discusses what he calls the Top Five Myths About the Vatican. Addressed is the fact that most reporters think of the Vatican as some cohesive whole or how they confuse a personal opinion of someone working in the Curia as "Vatican says." He also addresses who’s in charge, Vatican secrecy, Vatican Wealth, and the charges of the predominance of ladder climbing. All of this rebuttals to these are in depth and I especially found informative the section on Vatican wealth. He made the comparison that the Vatican operates at half the cost of Notre Dame here in the states and goes on to address the material worth of the churches themselves and the art within. All of the priceless pieces of art are itemized at $1.00 since they really can’t be sold.

Other chapters include Vatican psychology, sociology, and theology. The chapter on Vatican psychology covers what he classes as the Top Ten Vatican Values. I think his writing on this is very insightful on the values he picked out and a great aid in understanding how many in the Vatican see their service. There is also much discussion on the gap between how much of the Vatican sees things compared to other countries. The focus though is primarily between the Catholic Church in America and the Holy See, though much of the gap applies equally to most countries. America being on fast-food time think everything must happen at a lightning pace and think the Vatican should do the same. That whatever happens in the Church in America must become the Vatican’s priority despite the fact that the problem might not be be the same in the rest of the world. The last two chapters address the sexual abuse scandal and the war in Iraq listing detailed examples of this gap in understanding.

The book was apparently written while Pope John Paul II was still alive so some of what is in it is slightly dated. The book was reworked to mention Pope Benedict at times, but mostly this has no effect on the value of the book. One of the dated items I found funny was the mention of the fact that Pope’s don’t give interviews. True enough at least before Pope Benedict was elected.

I do wish most reporters covering the Vatican would read this book so they would have a better clue what they are reporting on. As a long-distance armchair Vatican watcher I found much worthwhile in this book as far as straight factual information and a better insight into the goings on in Vatican City. In short if you want to learn more about the Holy See and want a highly readable book to do it I can easily recommend this book.

Steven Riddle also gives this book a positive review.

Shrines: Images of Italian Worship by Frances Mayes (Introduction), Steven Rothfeld (Photographer)

This ia a beautiful coffee table book of predominately Marian shrines in Italy. Considering the large number of small and roadside shrines in Italy the photographer was working in a target rich environment. The book is worth buying just for the photos alone. The one caveat is the text that goes along with the book. For the most part the photo’s have no text associated with them and it would have been nice to know the exact location of some of these beautiful shrines. There is a index in the back with thumbnails of all the pictures in the book along with the name of the city, but no address.

You get the feeling that those involved with this project are not Catholic themselves. Using the word worship in the book title when most are Marian shrines is a mistake and the introduction contains a real theological whopper "She’s a friend, divine but still a friend." This though is a book you get for the pictures and not the articles.

Ordinary Work, Extraordinary Grace My Spiritual Journey in Opus Dei by Scott Hahn

This book is partly an introduction to the spirituality of Opus Dei and also how Opus Dei was a influence in Scott Hahn’s conversion and daily spiritual life. This book is not meant as a in depth introduction to Opus Dei and it’s founder St. Josemaría Escrivá, but it does cover the basics. I was a loosely familiar with the charism of Opus Dei and some of the writings of St. Escrivá via the excellent commentary in the Navarre Bible, and through Scott Hahn’s book I found that my understanding of Opus Dei was loose indeed. After reading this I found myself wanting to read deeper into St. Josemaría Escrivá writings. The spiritually of Opus Dei was much richer than I had suspected and that divine filiation was a cornerstone of it.

Scott Hahn’s books are always easy to read and he is able to explain complex theological ideas in an easy to grasp way. In this book he refrains from the massive punning that is characteristic of some of his other books. I generally love his puns, but I know some are turned off from his use of them and there feel they mar an otherwise serious work. I found it very interesting his description of the founding of Opus Dei and how its founding was many years in genesis. That St. Escrivá vision of this order had no expression until the Second Vatican Council and the creation of personal prelature of which Opus Dei is still the only one. We now mostly take for granted that ordinary life is a path to sanctity, something that was not much emphasized before Vatican II and that it was really St. Josemaría Escrivá who really lead the groundwork for the The Universal Call to Holiness in the Church in Lumen Gentium.

Scott Hahn also details parts of his personal journey and how Opus Dei helped him in both incorporating devotions into his life, but in the times when his wife Kimberly was still not Catholic. Considering that Opus Dei has become such a boogeyman for some and that there are so many media distortions about it, it is rather surprising that Scott Hahn did not mention any of this or answer any of the common misconceptions. I realize he didn’t write this as an apologetically work defending Opus Dei, but with such outright confusion considering The Da Vinci Code it is a rather odd oversight.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and it gave me much to think on in how work is incorporated into your life and how it can really be a work of God.

Let God’s Light Shine Forth: The Spiritual Vision of Pope Benedict XVI Edited by Dr. Robert Moynihan.

When I received this book not being previously aware of the author I had some trepidations about it. Reading it and finishing it I found myself quite glad to have been introduced to it. Dr. Robert Moynihan is the founder and Editor of Inside the Vatican magazine of which I have heard many good things about.

The first major section details the life of Josef Ratzinger from his birth through most of his life in the Church. I was aware of some of what is mentioned, but the book goes into detail on his early life as their family moved around trying to live their life without falling under control of the Nazis. His life is followed through seminary, his life as a priest, his time at Vatican II, and concentrates on his time as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The section that covered Fr. Ratzinger in his work as a theological consultant at Vatican II to have some interesting tidbits of information. The author describes that even though there had been a loose movement of reform of the liturgy, that it was really only a hot topic in Germany and Italy. The fact that Sacrosanctum Concilium was the first document of Vatican II had nothing to do with a priority towards reforming the liturgy, but that they though that a document on the liturgy would be the least controversial and easiest to get through.

Also covered is his time as Prefect as the CDF and how he dealt with the issues of liberation theology and the increase of those who were dissenting from the magisterium. This chapter gives a good over view of Ratzinger the man and the the caricature of him that is finally being dispelled by this actions as the Pope.

The second major section of the book covers his spiritual vision. The author for the most past lets the writing of Pope Benedict himself to do the talking. This section contains multiple chapters on various topics and each chapter is subdivided into various themes. Under the themes are the writings of Pope Benedict as they relate to the subjects the editor has picked out. I found this format to be very good in delivering on the promise of the book’s title to give us the spiritual vision of Pope Benedict XVI. This provides a excellent guide to looking up the Pope’s understanding on a slew of topics. The Pope is such a beautiful and deep writer and so much can be learned from him on a plethora of subjects. I also thing that this section of the book can be fruitfully used for meditation by reading one of the short paragraphs on a topic and reflecting on what he has to say about it.

I have read several of the Pope’s books before and after his election though I am still quite the amateur in understanding the Pope’s spiritual vision, though this book is quite helpful in piecing together. Highly recommended.

Father, Forgive Me for I Am Frustrated: Growing in Your Faith Even When It Isn’t Easy Being Catholic by Fr. Mitch Pacwa

When I first saw this title a couple of years ago I knew it would be one I wanted to read. I came across it in a bookstore last year and it finally made its way through my book queue for books to read. I enjoy listening to Fr. Pacwa for both his knowledge and humor and both come through admirably in this book. He addresses the many topics that frustrates faithful Catholics from the liturgy wars to other frustrations.

He starts from the basics though the basics seem to be often forgotten when it comes to these issues. So often anger is directed primarily in griping with very little or anything done in a positive direction. One of the things that gripe me about many so-called reform groups is that they largely seem to be focused on changing others. All true reform starts at personal reform. The removing of the log in your own eye. The book focuses on the steps in personal reform and analyzing what you are frustrated about and what steps you need to address it.

There is much practical advise in this book and I think it should be required reading for anybody starting an apostolate or who finds themselves frustrated or angry about what is happening in the Church. This book will let you get grounded first before addressing problems. Or dealing with frustrations in situations where you are doing what is right, but are not being treated rightly. He builds that chapter around St. Teresa of Avila’s famous line "God, if this is the way you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few of them!"

Along the way he also reflects on example from his personal life and how he overcame these problems by following the steps he outlines. There is nothing revolutionary in this book since it is mainly an application of Matthew 18, but sometimes repeating what should be basic to the Christian life is revolutionary in effect.

Truth in blogging: Images of Italian Worship, Ordinary Work, Ordinary Grace, and The Spiritual Vision of Pope Benedict XVI were provided for review.

Paul at Alive and Young reviews Dawn Eden’s new book The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On.

Order The Thrill of the Chaste from Amazon. Available from Amazon NOW and in Stores December 5, 2006.

Like many notable Catholic blogger I received a review copy of Meredith Gould’s The Catholic Home which is in its second edition. I had been looking forward to reading this after reading Julie of Happy Catholic’s review, though less so after reading Tom of Disputation’s review.

The first and largest section of the book covers the liturgical year. Brief summaries are made of the prominent part of the liturgical year followed by summaries of celebrating them at home. Throughout the book chapters from the Catechism are used to reinforce the various feasts. Most of the chapters includes a look of the various traditions used throughout the world to celebrate these feast. Mostly involving food which of course makes sense for liturgical feasts. It is interesting to read about the various liturgical customs and this exactly the type of information that I want to see in a book of this type.

The chapters are also interspersed with prayers and some handy lists of information relating to the liturgical year. She write with a good sense of humor which occasionally made me smile. I really wanted to like this book, but now I know why you aren’t suppose to look a gift horse in the mouth. There is a lot to like and a much useful information for somebody just entering the Church and wanting to bring the liturgical year into the daily activity of their homes. Unfortunately there are many errors in this book. A chapter that included a classic Marian prayer included a comment that saying it would make Martin Luther spin in his grave. Obviously the author is not aware that Martin Luther never lost his Marian devotion. But that is only a minor criticism and fairly unimportant, the other errors are much more problematic.

The first section of the book is the best part and if that was all to it I could probably recommend the book. Some parts were just odd. The section that covers the Liturgy of the Hour’s just was not serious. She recommended against the 4-volume set because of all the ribbons to keep track of. Instead she said we could basically do the same thing with our Bibles and that your church’s bulleting probably lists the readings or that they can be obtained from a Catholic web site. Of course this is just not possible. The readings from the daily Liturgy mesh with the readings in Divine Office, they are not the same thing. Trying to use your Bible you would end up with a heck of a to more ribbons trying to keep track and of course you wouldn’t have the antiphons, readings, hymns, etc. Not to mention the second readings from the Office of Readings mostly from the Church Fathers. I’ll stick with my 4-volume set. Though she could have recommended the one volume Christian Prayer as an alternative.

Moneybags at A Catholic Life already mentioned in his review her suggestion of UNICEF for Halloween. He also links to an earlier post the problems with Catholics supporting UNICEF.

The section on the sacraments is where things really break down. Now in a book of this type you don’t expect theological exactness, but a lot of the wording left a lot to be desired. Discussing baptism "You technically don’t need a priest for this rite in an emergency." and then goes on to say "This like all other sacraments, derives and confers meaning whe celebrated in public." Sorry a sacrament does not derive its meaning by being celebrated in public. The meaning is just as full when done in private. Now if you are going to talk about an emergency situation it would be nice if the proper form and matter for this was mentioned.

The section on the anointing of the sick contains information that is just plain wrong. She says "Anxiety disorders, addictions, or unhealthy relationships are as worthy of anointing as, say, something terminal." Unfortunately many parishes are teaching this and have open anointing where people just come up in line as in Communion.

1004 §1. The anointing of the sick can be administered to a member of the faithful who, having reached the use of reason, begins to be in danger due to sickness or old age.

§2. This sacrament can be repeated if the sick person, having recovered, again becomes gravely ill or if the condition becomes more grave during the same illness.

Can. 1005 This sacrament is to be administered in a case of doubt whether the sick person has attained the use of reason, is dangerously ill, or is dead.

Can. 1006 This sacrament is to be conferred on the sick who at least implicitly requested it when they were in control of their faculties.

This sacrament is for those who are gravely ill not for problem relationships. This is a serious liturgical abuse and it is sad to see it furthered in this book.

The section on marriage says you have to have the marriage ceremony in a church, but that if you insist on having it outdoors you can have a Deacon do it. This is not without a dispensation from the local ordinary and if done without it will be an invalid marriage. If the Bishop does give permission, then it would not just be restricted to the Deacon anyway, in those cases a priest would be allowed to do it.

On the section on Holy Orders my jaw drop with "Currently the vocation of priest and deacon is open only to Catholic men." Currently? She then goes on against priestly celibacy mentioning how some of the Apostles had been married and then bringing up the old myth about celibacy being imposed because of medieval property rights disputes. She speaks glowingly of the Orthodox and there having married priests without mentioning that both their monks and bishops are required to be unmarried. "God only knows what the future holds for those who feel called to receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders." Did somebody send me a prank copy of this book? Testing to see if I read the whole book. I wish that was the case.

The short section on the Rosary to me seemed to concentrate on Mariolatry and displaced devotion more than devotion. The guide on when to pray the mysteries was just plain wrong. Luminous Mysteries on Sunday, funny I could have sworn Rosarium Virginis Mariae recommended Thursday. You pray the Glorious Mysteries "on Wednesdays and Saturdays from Easter until Advent." is another mistake.

The book ends with Essential Prayers which rightly contains what you would expect it would and ends with suggested readings and various internet links. The links are solid and I saw no problems with the recommendations, though most of the books were unfamiliar to me.

This book could have been a great guide to give people in RCIA. It does contain a lot of good practical advice and suggestions for celebrating the liturgical year. Unfortunately the flaws make it totally unsuitable for anybody new to the Church. Not recommended.

I have been meaning to write a review of Blessed Columba Marmion’s Christ the Life of the Soul. His feast day was on Oct 3rd and Father Stephanos, O.S.B wrote a short post where he said this book "deserves to be on every Catholic’s reading list."

I received this book as a review copy from Zacchues Press. The few books I have received from them have all been wondrous. Christ the Life of the Soul is no exception. I wish I could write the review this book deserves, but I will write as I can.

Blessed Marmion was someone I had never heard of and he doesn’t even have a Wikipedia entry yet. He was a Benedictine and the third abbot of Maredsous Abbey in Belgium and a noted spiritual author and retreat master. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 3, 2000.

The book is almost 500 pages of a packed and powerful Christology. The book is like the Tardis in Dr. Who in that the book is larger on the inside than the outside. The majority of the book is on the doctrine of divine adoption and gives a thorough account on this subject. This is not an aspect I had put much thought into before and I am glad this book put an end to that error. This subject has just so much fruit of which to nourish contemplation. The appendix of the book mentions that some think he should be made a Doctor of the Church based on his theology of adoption and I certainly concur with that.

The translation into English I believe does not diminish the writing of Blessed Marmion. I say that based just on the the fact that I can hardly imagine the thoughts expressed being more powerful. The translator provides many helpful footnotes on the translation and in cases where what Marmion wrote needed some clarity.

The book is divided into two segments the first is What God has designed: The Divine Designs which mainly focuses on divine adoption. Book 2 is Life for God which focuses on the Christian life. The chapters on the Eucharist, Mary, Prayer, and the sacraments are also spiritually packed and make you see many things anew. This book is a spiritual retreat all on its own. I probably absorbed only about .01 percent of what Blessed Marmion has to teach, but even that was potent indeed. This is a book that I will re-read and re-read to gleam more of its treasures. The book came out of a talks on the retreats he gave and you can certainly see why he was such a popular retreat master. Being a master in talking on these subject also makes the book tightly focused.

As Father Stephanos said this book needs to be on every Catholic’s reading list and in fact should be bumped up tot the top of their reading queue.

Available here.

Like several in St. Blogs I received a review copy of Saints Behaving Badly:
The Cutthroats, Crooks, Trollops, Con Men, and Devil-Worshippers Who Became Saints"

First off I found this both a fun and a fast read. There are multiple chapters each devoted to the conversion story of a single saint. They are well written and the author takes care to separate the historical parts of the conversion stories from the more legendary where possible. Of the older saints in history he will flesh out what was probably true and then also give the stories less grounded in history. The book is just under 200 pages which makes it an easy read. Despite its rather whimsical cover and title the conversion stories are serious and straight-forward.

The book includes the more famous conversion stories starting from St. Matthew and continues with the more well known saints such as St. Augustine, St. Francis, St. Ignatius surrounded by many chapters of lesser known saints. I found even the conversion stories I was more familiar with worth reading again. The chapters are all totally standalone so sometimes there is some repeated overlap of stories of saints who knew each other.

The only annoying thing about the stories is not the fault of the author. In some cases we just don’t know historically what changed the heart of a person to come to accept and follow Christ. There are drastic changes in their life, but we don’t know what the impetus was. Unfortunately few like St. Augustine and St. Patrick gave us the inner workings of their heart in this matter. Lucking though this only affects some of the stories and it does give a sense of mystery to the ones where we don’t have the exact details of their conversion.

I only have a couple quibbles with the book. In the opening chapter I thought it could have more fully explained sainthood and perhaps a summary of the canonical process. While the quick summary of what a saint is quite good, I thought the statement "most of us will never know a saint" misleading. While it is true that many of us might never meet a person who will be a canonized a saint, surely there are people we know who are the ordinary saints that one day will enjoy the Beatific Vision with God. I also thought that after the conversion stories were fleshed out that a summary of the importance of the saint in the life of the Church was needed. The chapter on St. Augustine to my taste ended much too swiftly without really mentioning the importance of his writings and his effect as a Doctor of the Church.

Despite my minor criticisms I would still strongly recommend this book for just about anybody from young adults up. It is good reading whether one is familiar with the Church and the Saints or for those with only passing knowledge on the subject. It is always good to be reminded that no one is born a saint. That even those of us who lived lives far away from God can not only repent but to live lives of heroic sanctity.

Here are some reviews by other bloggers.
American Papist
Mike Aqualina
Gerald Augustinus