The Bookshelf

Letters to a Young Catholic

Thankfully, the title of the book "Letters to a Young Catholic" by George Weigel didn't persuade me from picking it up. It is a great and easy read. It is a good book to read and then share.

Some materials that I read are what I call “bedroom reading.” These are books that can be read in short bursts and do not call on us to fire up all our mental capacities, these books are intended for the heart.

With that in mind, George Weigel is a scholar on many fronts. He is the recipient of eighteen honorary doctorates in fields including divinity, philosophy, law, and social science. He is best known for his biography on Saint John Paul II.

I had the opportunity to hear him speak a couple several years ago. You would think with this intellect he would be dry and analytical… but you would be wrong. He is one of the most passionate supporters of the joys of Catholicism.

"Letters to a Young Catholic" offers an interesting approach. Instead of offering theological arguments, or experience of the saints, the author takes us to the places that offered him transformative experiences. In this format, we are taken around the world, starting and finishing in Professor Weigel’s home town of Baltimore.

Through these journeys and the stories of people, the book wonderfully reveals truths of the Catholic church and how God reveals himself through humanity. This book embodies our faith and seals it in the world. As you read each “letter,” you will hear yourself saying, “that’s right…that’s how I feel.” George Weigel has the gift of expressing the core of our love for God. The title is "Letters to a Young Catholic" and it is meant to inspire those searching, but aren’t we all?

The Only Necessary Thing

In the book The Only Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful Life, editor Wendy Greer collects writings from Father Henri J.M. Nouwen, a Dutch-born Catholic priest. Drawn from many decades of his life, the compilation of Henri's thoughts and feelings reveal the core of the man and his belief that prayer is the only necessary thing.

The love of Jesus will give you an ever-clearer vision of your call. The more you are called to speak for God's love, the more you will need to deepen the knowledge of that love in your own heart. The farther the outward journey takes you, the deeper the inward journey must be. Only when your roots are deep can your fruit be abundant.

Henri J.M. Nouwen, author of more than 40 books, is considered one of the great spiritual writers of modern times. He taught at the University of Notre Dame, Harvard, and Yale, but shared the last seven years of his life with people with mental handicaps as pastor of l'Arche Daybreak community in Toronto.