Letters to a Young Catholic

During a nightmarish four-hour flight delay in Dallas recently, I had the opportunity to read George Weigel's new book and I can't say (or write) enough about it. It's part travelogue, part biography and part catechism on the "sacramental imagination", a theme to which he returns again and again. The devastating critique Weigel makes of "liberal religion" in the chapter on John Henry Cardinal Newman and the Birmingham Oratory is worth the purchase price alone. He also has a great chapter on the the Old Chesire Cheese, a pub frequented by famous Catholic curmudgeons like G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc. Weigel describes Belloc's run for a seat in Parliament during the early part of the twentieth century when England was notoriously anti-Catholic. Here is how Belloc kicked off a campaign speech: "Gentlemen, I am a Catholic. As far as possible, I go to Mass every day. This is a rosary. As far as possible, I kneel down and tell these beads every day. If you reject me on account of my religion, I shall thank God that He has spared me the indignity of being your representative." He won. For a sample chapter online, simply "Google" the words "The Scavi of St. Peter's and the Grittiness of Catholicism".

I consider Letters to a Young Catholic to be one of the best contemporary non-fiction books I have read, even though I am not Catholic and do not consider myself young anymore either. Although Weigel, a leading authority and writer on the Catholic Church, targets young Catholics and writes in a conversational style-thus the title, this book mentors all Christians seeking guidance in their relationship with Christ. Weigel demonstrates a vast understanding of theology, history, geography, architecture and culture, and he orchestrates these topics to share the essentials truths of living the Christian life with his readers. Letters to a Young Catholic consists of fourteen letters/chapters addressing the key elements that Weigel considers important to modern Catholics and to all Christian disciples. Some of Weigel's writing discusses practices particular to the Catholic Church, but even these apply and are relevant to Christians in general. Of the Catholic Church, he writes, "while Catholicism is a body of beliefs and a way of life, Catholicism is also an optic, a way of seeing things, a distinctive perception of reality." In Weigel's view, this body of beliefs and perception of reality is based on eternal truths that are at once both liberating and binding for the believers. Weigel takes the reader on tours of sacred sites such as St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Sepulcher of Jesus and Chartres Cathedral in France. He uses these sacrosanct sites to share truths and point to the beauty, suffering, redemption, devotion and community found in the Christian story. In one letter, he highlights St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville, SC. He shares the story of the church's priest, Father Jay Scott Newman, and his dynamic relationship with his burgeoning congregation to teach about prayer and the presence of Christ in the community of the church. Another compelling chapter shares an episode from Pope John Paul II's life as a young adult in Nazi occupied Poland. The young man, Karol Wojtyla, heard and nurtured his calling in the underground catacombs that became a makeshift seminary. His only other classmate was killed by the Nazis during the occupation. The future Pope lived a clandestine disciple's life from age 19 to 24 years old. Weigel dramatically shares this profile of the Pope as an example of the Christian life. He similarly shares stories and quotes of G.K. Chesterton, Cardinal John Henry Newman, Flannery O'Connor and several other Catholics whose lives touched their own and future generations. There are no subjects touching Catholicism that Weigel avoids. He acknowledges the weaknesses and failures within the Catholic Church. He confronts the abuse scandals, the political/cultural issues about sex, gender, reproduction, and the theological controversies about the Catholic focus on Mary, the mother of Jesus. On all such issues, he adroitly acknowledges the tensions and then unassumingly states what he beli

Theologian George Weigel's new "Letters to a Young Catholic" is a remarkable peek into the Beauty of Catholicism. It should be required reading for all Catholics, Protestants -- and even non-Christians!There is perhaps nobody more suited to write a book like this than George Weigel. Mr. Weigel is the author of more than ten books, including "The Truth of Catholicism," "The Courage to Be Catholic," and, of course, the much-celebrated biography of Pope John Paul II, "Witness to Hope.""Letters to a Young Catholic" is very much a roadmap of modern Catholicism. Mr. Weigel takes readers on a literary tour of the Catholic world. We visit the most likely and unlikely of places -- from GK Chesterton's favorite pub to the Vatican's Sistine Chapel -- as Mr. Weigel demonstrates that the world and the Church are "the arena of God's action."He expounds on Catholicism's belief that God's presence can be experienced through art, history, literature, and even other people! As Weigel says, "we can touch the truth of our salvation" -- this life matters!! You'll never think of the Holy Catholic Church in the same way again!I have never been so struck by the sheer beauty of truth as I was when I read "Letters." In every destination Weigel takes us, he finds opportunities to expound on the Catholic understanding of the world -- and of reality. Weigel's writing is clear, concise, and convincing. I'd recommend the book to anyone and everyone. Catholics will rediscover the majesty of their Faith, and non-Catholics will be touched -- and challenged -- by the Beauty of Truth.

If you know any young Catholics graduating this spring from high school or college, BUY THIS BOOK as a gift for them. An absolutely fantastic tour of the Catholic view of the sacramental and supernatural life we live in this world in the here and now! Weasel provides a modern and outspoken echo to Chesterton's "Orthodoxy", and his words are so timely given the many moral, cultural, and human challenges immediately facing the human race. "Letters to a Young Catholic" proffers a well-reasoned argument for orthodox Christianity, and should appeal to Catholics of all backgrounds, as well as those who are interested in learning more about the Church that traces its roots directly back to Jesus Christ, Saint Peter and the other apostles.

I purchased this book a week and a half ago and finished it in a few days. Simply put: it is incredible. I warmly recommend it and think it an absolute must have for your library. With his typical verve and style, Weigel introduces the reader to the optic that is Catholicism--he shows you what it is to look at the world with Catholic lenses. And what a beautiful picture it is. Readers of Weigel will notice similar themes to other of Weigel's writings especially "Witness to Hope" and "Truth of Catholicism." But he deepens and personalizes those themes and goes beyond them to answer the questions posed by young Catholics (and I suppose old ones as well). The Catholicism presented by Weigel is earthy and crusty; it deals with the minutiae of everday life. Christ came to redeem it all and still comes to find us through the same mode he came to us in 2000 years ago, namely the incarnational mode.This means that Christ is found at the pub, in the Church, and in the family. Weigel draws this out by telling us stories of great people, great places, and great moments in the life of the Church. Two that stick out in my mind. The first is Weigel's description of the Scavi under St. Peter's Basilica where the bones of the Apostle Peter lay. This is an example of the earthiness and reality of Catholicism's claim. It's not about some doctrine or some set of esoteric teachings. Rather, it is about real places and people. Peter's bones rest under St. Peter's. This fact stands out there to be dealt with by us. There sit the bones of a man who walked with Christ. There in the ordinariness of a catacomb we come face to face with the extraordinary, as Weigel describes it. The second is Weigel's description of Chartres Cathedral in France. Weigel uses the beauty of that great piece of architecture to teach about beauty itself and its importance. He gives us a tour of Chartres and tells of its construction and how the people poured themselves into the project. Through this tour we learn of our thirst and desire and need for beauty.Each letter takes the reader to a place or tells him about a person. "Letters to a Young Catholic" helps to put meat on the bones of Catholicism. After reading this book, you come away with a deeper appreciation for the fleshiness and reality of Catholicism. You learn about how the moral life is related to the thirst for beauty, how contemplation is connected to our ordering of society.Do I have any criticisms? None really. I only wish Weigel had been a little more personal when talking about vocations. He speaks eloquently to his young reader about finding that task or call which God has picked out for us. I wanted to know about Weigel's journey on that road as he spent time in the seminary. But perhaps that will be in the next book. I wait with anticipation for that next book. You will too after reading this book...