Turning to Tradition (Oxford University Press)

As a convert to Roman Catholicism, I have grown to understand both the positives and negatives that conversions can bring into a church. The primary positive (as I see it) revolves around the fire accompanying a convert or group of converts. Very few people convert in an apathetic manner. Instead, these people have actively made a decision to join something bigger than themselves and they view to be right and true. This period varies in length depending on the person, but if channelled properly can be very valuable for reaching others. The primary negative (as I see it) associated with converts can be a stubborn hanging on to their former denomination or religion. Converts will either try to shape their new faith with their old faith, which can pose problems both for the convert and others. The book I am reviewing today involves the story of four converts to the Orthodox Church. This is not a subject I am an expert on by any means, but it sounded interesting to me.

Turning to Tradition is a brief history of American Orthodoxy and how it was shaped by converts. It covers the conversion stories of St. Alexis Toth, Fr. Raphael Morgan, Fr. Moses Berry, and Fr. Peter Gillquist. Despite each of these men belonging to different religious backgrounds, each of them had the same longing - a return to the Early Church. For example, St. Alexis Toth was an Eastern Catholic (Carpatho-Rusyn to be precise) who experienced prejudice and rejection from a Roman Catholic bishop in the U.S. for being from an Eastern Rite. Fr. Peter Gillquist was a member of the Protestant movement known as Campus Crusade.

Each of their journeys provided a fascinating and sometimes depressing read. The overt prejudice that Eastern Catholics received from their Western counterparts in St. Alexis Toth's day is truly disheartening. While, I have confidence that this overt discrimination is gone, I do question if the covertness is still there among some Western Catholics. As a former Protestant, the section I was most excited to read (Fr. Peter Gillquist and the Evangelical Orthodox Church) also proved to be a bit disheartening. I am aware of what I thought was the story regarding their conversion. However, the author, Fr. Herbel, lets us know that if you are only aware of Fr. Gillquist's work "Becoming Orthodox," like myself, then you received a whitewashed version of history. It was sad to read how much heartburn could have been avoided in this conversion process had the Evangelical Orthodox Church taken different steps. Hindsight is 20-20 though., but it was refreshing that the author did not hold back in truth in the matter, and presented you the people as they were - warts and all.

If you are looking for a brief history of conversion and the shaping of the American Orthodox Church, Turning to Tradition will fit the bill. What I found most refreshing was that the author did not hold back the truth when it came to writing his book. He present you the people and their conversions as they happened - warts and all. What I didn't like about the book was how many pages were notes and indices. The book is 244 pages. The notes for the book start on page 159. That's 2/3 text and 1/3 notes. Overall, this is a solid book, but one that might have a limited audience of those interested in Orthodox American history.

This book was provided to me by Oxford University Press in exchange for an honest review. If you found it helpful, please click the link and hit Yes!

Pope Awesome and Other Stories

One of the oldest adages in the reading world is "Never judge a book by its cover." I would add to that, "Never judge a book by its title." I'm guilty of being a book snob; with the recent boom in Catholic publishing, there are now hundreds of books published every year to assist us in deepening our faith. Therefore, I try to CAREFULLY scrutinize every book I request to review, because I don't want to waste my time reading something heretical or a unfulfilling. I make exceptions to that rule if you are a Pope, or a Cardinal or your name is Scott Hahn, Mike Aquilina, or Edward Sri. When Pope Awesome and Other Stories showed up on my desk, I was skeptical.  This book, on the surface, didn't seem to meet the criteria of the books I usually review, but I decided to grudgingly give it a try, but ONLY because I trusted the book's publisher, Sophia Institute Press.

Pope Awesome and Other Stories is Cari Donaldson's spiritual memoir that tracks her life from an apathetic Presbyterian teen to a Catholic homeschooling mom of six, with a whole lot of New Age atheism and soul-searching in between. How does one get from her Point A to Point B, with that much darkness in between? In a word, God. As Mrs. Donaldson points out, despite all the plans we make and the running we do from God, if God wants us, He will ultimately get us. God's plan for our lives always reigns supreme.

So what makes Cari's life story different from other converts out there? Is it unique, different, and extraordinary? No. However, she weaves her conversion seamlessly into these stories of family life that will have you laughing one minute and choking up near tears the next. How the book got its name is particularly funny, but you'll have to read the book to learn the story. I also found it refreshing that she didn't try and hide anything from the reader. Her life is an open book...this book. It's something I could never do, but she doesn't mind sharing her story with you..."warts and all."

If you're looking for a heart-warming and side-splitting read this coming year, this is the book for you. Even though I knew the eventual outcome (her conversion to Catholicism), I was broken up by her spiritual wandering and kept hoping that she would figure it out quickly and come home to the Catholic Church. Her successes became my successes. Her failures were my failures. Reading this book was like catching up with an old friend you haven't talked to in years. Hopefully, she will write a sequel and we'll get to hear more about Pope Awesome and his siblings. I enthusiastically recommend this book.

I received this book for free from Sophia Institute Press in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click the link and hit Yes!

Assisi Media: Waking Up Catholic (plus a giveaway!)

Welcome to Stuart's Study! Today, I am excited to bring you a new book from Chad R. Torgerson. Chad is the founder of the website Waking up Catholic, which according to the site, is aimed at people going through the RCIA process, cradle Catholics looking to reawaken their faith, and people new to the Catholic faith. Their Facebook page was also nominated for Best Catholic Facebook Page in the 2013 About.com Reader's Choice Awards. That's pretty awesome in and of itself.

Waking Up Catholic, by Chad Torgerson, is the story of one man's journey to Catholicism and the MANY objections he had to the Catholic faith along the way. However, his story is not unique to him. Many people, myself included, had these same objections and misconceptions before we finally made our way to Rome. Chad just had the good sense and spiritual gift to write about these points and help others along their journey.

In this book, one will find some of the major stumbling blocks people have with the Roman Catholic Church, including, Tradition, Mary, the Saints, the Eucharist, etc. Each chapter follows a specific pattern. Chad mentions a subject that was a stumbling block for him. Next, he talks about his feelings on the subject before he was Catholic. He then explains the actual Catholic teaching on the particular subject using Scripture and the Catechism. Lastly, he explains his new viewpoint and appreciation of the matter at hand. This definitely was like re-living my conversion as I went through practically these same steps on each such subject.

On face value, this books comes off as an introduction to Catholic Apologetics. Depending on your point of view, it is either a nice defense of your core beliefs or a reinforcement of them. However, the author wants us to not only know our faith; he wants us to live it too. He mentions the 80-20 rule, which says that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. In reality, and according to Matthew Kelly in "The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic," 7% is a more accurate approximation of the number of people who are active in their parish. ("Active" means more than just showing up to Mass once a week.) Chad designed this book to be a call to evangelization, particularly the New Evangelization. The first step in the New Evangelization is learning and growing in our faith, with which this book definitely helps.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. It's easy to read, but that doesn't mean that the truths of our Faith have been dumbed down. My one regret with this book is that it wasn't around when I was embarking on my journey toward Catholicism. This is the perfect book for those considering becoming Catholic, already in an RCIA class, those looking to come back to the Church, or just someone who wants to understand what they believe better. Thanks to Chad's generosity, I am able to give away one autographed copy of this book. If you'd like to enter, use the Rafflecopter form below. The contest ends July 12th at midnight. Winner will be announced on July 14th, the Feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha. If you found this review helpful, please click the link and hit Yes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway