How Firm a Foundation

I've only just started reading this apologetics novel by Marcus Grodi, so it's a bit early to write a review, but I am loving it.

Interestingly it is giving me an insight into protestant anti-Catholicism that I have never understood. I remember when Scott Hahn talked about his conversion how he talked about his honest belief that Catholics needed to be saved. I was quite shocked at the time. How could anyone-especially someone as obviously intelligent as Dr Hahn-believe something like that?

What I find so fascinating in reading about the beliefs of the characters in the book is how they came by those beliefs. I don't want to spoil the book for those of you who are going to buy it so I will try and talk about this without going into too much detail, but I have been surprised at the similarity in my own faith journey. It must be the same for many of us. We don't get knocked off our horse like St Paul, and get an audience with The Lamb Himself- we get our understanding of the Faith from other people. We are then left to discern just how firm a foundation for our whole life that might be. We are not left alone with that discernment of course, God will guide if we let Him, and I think He expects us to question and seek-or how can we ever be sure the Faith we have is True?

I have seen many anti-Catholic apologists online who are seem lacking in charity-to put it mildly. Yet Dr Hahn, and many other Catholic converts say they too were anti-Catholic in all charity. I could never understand HOW they came to believe this, if they were truly followers of Christ. In the book Marcus Grodi explores some of this, and the stories are believable, I think because he has based them on real stories. I am getting a better understanding and perhaps it will make me a little less irritable when I see anti-Catholics spouting what I always assumed they could not possibly believe was true, in the future.

Dr Hahn was genuinely seeking the Kingdom though, and I reckon he found it . Even so, I love the conversation he had with his mum when she asked "But you could be wrong couldn't you?" And he replied, "Yes mum, I could be wrong."

It is something that still bugs at me despite the long winded journey of my own conversion, that despite it all, what if I am wrong?

Books and DVD's

My husband can be heard around our house muttering the utterly oxymoronic words "too many books" on numerous occasions. I do try and keep my bibliophilic nature in check- but what am I to do? The Holy Father's book Jesus of Nazareth has finally appeared in English and it looks very good reading indeed.

What is even more tempting amazon (UK) are offering it together with Scott Hahn's new book Reasons To Believe. I already possess the 'wall of Hahn' with shelves laden with his tapes and books covering almost a whole wall in my house,

and here I am faced with yet more temptation.

This is further complicated by the fact that Into Great Silence has been released on DVD.

What is a girl to do?

There is some discussion in Catholic blog-o-sphere on how 'infallible' Pope Benedict's book on Jesus is. Well, I doubt it could stictly be called infallible and he tries to make that clear in the introduction, but here is a book by a man who has immense knowledge and a very real understanding of Christ. He is someone who has integrity and genuine holiness along with an intellect that has been shaped by discernment through prayer- so I would trust him.

There has been a plethora of 'real' Jesus books over recent years and I have read none of them, mainly because the blurb makes it quite clear that this is not the 'real' Jesus at all, but the author's wishful thinking about who Jesus ought to have been.

Scott Hahn's book gets good reviews on amazon and I am tempted to buy it-but I do have so much of his stuff I wonder if this book really will say anything new. I love his tuff- yes, even the appalling puns- as he writes for the bog-standard-still-don't-quite-get-it-all Catholic like me.

And then there's Into Great Silence. I saw this when it came to the UK. WHAT an amazing experience! It seems to follow the daily routine of Divine Office while overlaying it on a year in the life of the monks-winter to winter.

Kids calling....later...