Many are Called and First Comes Love (Image Books)

Many are Called is a recent (2010) and lesser known book by Scott Hahn. Perhaps, it is because the tagline is "Rediscovering the Glory of the Priesthood," and many people pass it over because they believe it is a book for priests, not for a lay person like them. WRONG! While, this book is definitely an excellent read for priests and seminarians, there is value in it for the laity as well.

The book starts off explaining what real masculinity is. Dr. Hahn then contrasts this to counterfeit masculinity or machismo, which is what our culture likes to push down the throats of our young men. The second chapter reviews the essentials of priesthood. It is more than a job or a ministry. It is a vocation. It leaves an indelible mark on your soul, so that a priest is a priest forever. A priest also receives the power to turn bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ (Eucharist) and the power to forgive sins (Confession). He receives these gifts because he is acting in place of Christ here on earth. The next nine chapters discuss roles of a priest, such as Father, Mediator, Bridegroom, etc.

Perhaps, the most troubling chapters to me were the one on priest as Father and the one on priest as Celibate Father. Both of these chapters take a very Roman Rite viewpoint. It assumes that priests must be unmarried, except in rare circumstances. However, if you look at the Eastern Rite churches (in full communion with the pope) married priests are allowed and quite common. However, there is no such thing as a married bishop. This Western focus aside, I found this to be a very informative book. Priests today have a very thankless "job," and are under a lot of undue scrutiny and criticism. If you would like to understand the vocation of priesthood better, read this book. Then, buy a copy for your parish priest(s) and seminarian(s).

First Comes Love is a book about family, but not family in the way that the world thinks of it. Instead, it focuses on the Trinity and the Church. If we look at the Gospels, we can see that Jesus used familial terms a lot. He even went so far as to say that his family wasn't his mother, brothers, and sisters, but those who do the will of God. Dr. Hahn touches on this theme and more in this book.

The book starts off with a personal love story from Dr. Hahn. He talks about how he met his future wife Kimberly, and it was basically love at first sight. He compares the love he felt to the love Adam must have felt for Eve, and explains that man is made for woman and vice versa. He then continues his personal story of love begetting more love with the pregnancy of their first child. However, something went wrong with the labor, and she had to have an emergency C-Section. It was a success and both mom and baby were okay, but it definitely made Dr. Hahn look at his wife in a new and more beautiful way.

The rest of the book explains who God is and what the Church is. God is Family, Covenant, and Love. God also became man for us. He also explains Trinitarian theology in simple terms, and how the Catholic Church is like a home and family. My favorite section was actually the appendix, which discusses the Holy Spirit. St. Maximilian Kolbe said, The Holy Spirit is the uncreated Immaculate Conception." It was also interesting to read about the concept of bridal-maternity of the Holy Spirit. However, this doesn't mean we should refer to God as "mother" or that the Godhead has gender at all. "God created the human forms of physical gender and sexuality to be created reflections of the purely immaterial relations unique to each member of the Trinity." That's a lot to grasp, but makes sense the more you reflect on it. If you are looking to better understand the role of family in the Trinity and the Church, then this is the book for you.

These books were provided to me for free by Image Books in exchange for an honest review. If you found the reviews helpful, please click here and/or here and hit Yes!

In Him Alone is our Hope (Magnificat)

When I take the time to examine my spiritual life, if I am honest with myself I can find a lot of shortcomings: things I wish I did better. It seems that prayer is always at the top of this list. I wish to be better at this discipline. I strive to be better at this discipline. Sometimes I progress. Sometimes I regress. I keep trying though, and that is important. St. Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises have intrigued me. It has always been a practice that has escaped me, but I have been reading about it a lot lately.

Recently, I picked up the book In Him Alone is Our Hope, courtesy of Ignatius Press. In this book, the then Cardinal Bergoglio preached a Holy Week retreat for the Bishops of Spain using the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. The retreat starts with Cardinal Bergoglio asking the bishops to reflect on how their vocation started. It quickly progresses to asking the bishiops how their vocation has grown and evolved over time. In this time of prayer, the bishops are asked to also reflect on their tasks, duties, and responsibilities as shepherds of the Church. However, he is also asking them to reflect on their personal lives and grow closer to God in this retreat so that they may serve the Church better.

There is a particularly beautiful passage in this book where Cardinal Bergoglio talks about what it means to "keep watch." He first starts by referencing the Scriptural passage of the Agony in the Garden, where none of the Apostles could stay awake with Jesus and keep watch. Then, he contrasts the task of 'keeping watch' against similar tasks like supervision and diligence. To summarize his points, he says, "To supervise and to be vigilant both entail a certain degree of control. To keep watch, on the other, hand speaks of hope." This means that the bishops are called to be like God - allowing us to make our own choices, but always keeping watch ready to welcome us home when we err. One can see this message of love and forgiveness in his short papal reign so far.

One could argue that the audience for this book is only bishops. However, I believe that there is spiritual wisdom in this book for priests and laity as well. Some might read this book and learn more about the vocation of being a bishop and how our current Pope views their role in the Church. Others might read this book and see Pope Francis' possible reform program for the Church. I personally tried to take some of the advice he gave to his brother bishops and apply it to my own life. We can all stand to grow closer to God, and the way to do that is by surrendering to God and allowing him to form us and mold us in His image.

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Image Books: The Church

Well, we officially have less than a week of Easter left. We are entering the second half of the longest season of the Church Year - Ordinary Time. A lot of people, myself included, tend to flounder in this season. They have no fasting to re-focus their life, as in Lent or Advent, and no Great Feast to look forward to like Easter or Christmas. So instead of treating Ordinary Time as a dry season, pick up a book and learn something new. I recommend The Church by Cardinal Donald Wuerl and Mike Aquilina.

The Church begins simply by explaining what a church is and why people are willing to sacrifice so much and live in poverty to construct these lavish and ornate buildings. It then goes on to explain what THE Church is, as in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.  He also explains some of the different names for it, including Mother and Ship to name a few. You may think this is all very basic information that most people know, but the book then progresses to my favorite part. It breaks down every aspect and feature of a church and explains the historical, physical, and spiritual significance of each feature.

Some features of a church might be obvious. For example, a lot of churches are cruciform shaped to represent the Body of Christ, which is the Church. Other features of a church though hold more significance than one realizes. The Ambo for example is the place where the Word of God is proclaimed. This is, in fact, a second table. The first table is the altar, where the Bread is broken. The second table is the Ambo, where the Word of God is broken.  To put it plainly, this is where the Sacred Scripture is opened, read, and explained to us. The most enlightening passage to me was the part on the Sacristy. Being a convert, I never had the chance to be an altar server, and so I have never experienced this room. It was truly enlightening learning the spiritual dimension of a space that seems to be a mere dressing room to many.

The Church is a 5 star book that is excellent for the convert and cradle Catholic alike. This building that so many take for granted is more than just a building. It is full of both physical and spiritual beauty and reading this book will open your eyes to all that beauty. So take the time to read this book and see how your church and the churches in your area compare to the descriptions in this book and to each other. Then, when you get done with this book, pick up its companion book called The Mass. You won't be disappointed with what you find.  I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.


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