Heroism and Genius (Ignatius Press)

When you look back through the history of the Catholic Church, there have been some amazing men and women who helped shape not only the Church, but society as well. The stories of their lives could fill an endless amount of volumes, and each would be a remarkable read, no doubt. Fr. William J. Slattery recently penned a book titled Heroism and Genius. In this book, he narrowed the focus to priests. The book's introduction begins with a lengthy quote from Aragorn to Boromir in The Lord of the Rings. He then summarizes the three main parts of the book. Part One explains what modern historians have concluded with the Church's role in the shaping of Western Civilization, why the book asserts that priests were the constructors of this civilization, and the milestones from from 200 A.D. to 1300 A.D. Part Two "describes the gradual shaping from A.D. 300 to A.D. 1000 of the embryo of medieval Christendom." Part Three shows the "decisive role of priests" in the building of different social, artistic, and economic institutions.

Chapter Two looks at the Fall of the Roman Empire and the Conversion of Europe. It also looks intently at something we take for granted and that is the birth of the parish and the impact it had in shaping and preserving Western Christendom. Chapter Three, a favorite of mine does some heavy lifting in that it discusses the powerhouses that are Ambrose, Augustine, Leo the Great, and Gregory the Great. Augustine gets the lion's share of Chapter Three (as is to be expected), but it was nice to see Ambrose get his dues. He famously stated, "The Emperor is in the Church, not above it," and showed us that you cannot back down from God's truths, even to someone as powerful as the emperor. Chapter Four focuses on St. Benedict and St. Columba and the amazing impact that monasteries had on Western Europe. Chapter Five focuses heavily on Charlemagne, his model of Europe, and the man who mentored him, Alcuin. That was truly a fascinating chapter and shined the light on a man many in history overlook, because he is so overshadowed by Charlemagne.

I just walked you briefly through Part Two of this book. I won't do the same for Part Three. Instead, I will close with my thoughts on why you should buy this book. The Catholic priest right now is the one of the most under-appreciated people in the Western world. Whereas, he used to be held in extremely high regard, he is now seen as just a common man, and talked about behind his back as such too. One could also even argue that the priest is an endangered species. Just for a small sample size, my archdiocese produces one priest a year (on average) with a recent high of four one year. This book explains the vital role that priests have played in Western Christendom and culture since Christ founded the Church, and it does so with history to prove it. Without priests, I shudder to think where our society would be today, or if it even would be. It is for that reason that I encourage you, no implore you, to buy this book and read it. We must appreciate our priests again, help our priests to be the best that they can be, and foster vocations for new priests.

This book was provided to me for free by Carmel Communications in exchange for an honest review.

Yes, God! (Ave Maria Press)

I must confess something to you all. One of my deepest desires is to have a son become a priest. In fact, I'd love to have a whole bunch of children who find vocations as priests, sisters or nuns. However, I know there is a fine line between encouraging vocations and causing children to flee from the faith, because you "shove it down their throats." But with my wonderful wife by my side, I have faith that I will be able to stay on the right side of this fine line. That brings me to the book I am reviewing today called Yes, God!

Yes, God! is a book I have been anxious to read. I can't describe my excitement when it finally arrived in the mail. In this book, author Susie Lloyd interviews ten people who said yes to their vocation to the religious life. Doing her best to get a sampling of people, she interviews priests, sisters, and nuns from both Western and Eastern rites within the Catholic Church. The families these ten men and women came from are also varied, which was perhaps the biggest surprise for me. I, like most people, assumed that if you want to foster vocations in the home, then that home should smell of incense and have a holy aura that you could see from space. This isn't the case though, as demonstrated in this book.

The book as a whole focuses on fostering different traits to encourage vocations, such as affection, generosity, spiritual poverty, etc. Each chapter of this book is divided into two parts. Part one gives a brief biography of one of the clergy or religious members who are featured, a description of their family life, and what led them to accepting their vocational call. Part two is the author's reflection on what she told you in the first part and how it relates to her and her family. I had a hard time picking which chapter I enjoyed the most as each one was beautiful in its own way. There's Fr. Mark Fesniak of the Ukrainian Archdiocese of Philadelphia, who grew up altar-serving at both Western and Eastern Rite Catholic Churches every Sunday. (No wonder he became a priest!) And there's Sr. Brigid Mary Rock who grew up on a farm, where she learned toughness mixed with affection from her father. Like I said, all of the stories are beautiful in their own right.

This book is not some magic formula on how to raise future priests and religious; nor is it a blueprint which provides step-by-step instructions for fostering vocations. Such a book does not and will not ever exist. Instead, this book provides a glimpse into the home lives growing up of our religious and gives some practical guidance that, while not guaranteed to make your sons priests, will help you become a better parent. I would recommend this book for all Catholic parents. In addition, I would recommend that parents (together with their children) pray for an increase in vocations. Also, do not shy away from discussing vocations with your children. You don't have to push them into it, but let them know it is an equally valid choice, alongside doctor, engineer, etc.

This book was provided to me for free by Ave Maria Press. If you found this review helpful, please click the link and hit Yes!