No Turning Back: A Witness to Mercy (A Book Review)

Father Donald H. Calloway, MIC, has written an autobiographical book about his conversion from a drug-addicted teenager with a criminal record to a well-spoken priest responsible for helping to form young men for the priesthood. He now travels quite extensively bringing the moving and inspiring story of “No Turning Back: A Witness to Mercy” far and wide.

This book has an important message for a wide audience, both worldly and religious, but I will tell about reading it from a mother’s perspective. Father Calloway and I don’t have much in common except for being born in 1972 and loving the beach. I don’t as a general rule read autobiographies, books by priests, or conversion stories, and yet this narrative had me from page one.

Father Calloway introduces himself as a priest with an important testimony about the Divine Mercy and the radical changes it has brought into his own life. Then he dives into the midst of his teenage drama as he is being caught by the military police in Japan. He is a migrant military-child-brat who loves surfing, girls, and drugs; he will steal without compunction to get what he wants. The story is unbelievably captivating. As I read this I was thinking to myself that here is this now-very-educated, spiritual, and well-spoken man telling this story, relating the thoughts of his younger self that was so ignorant, worldly, and unsocial; and I was wondering how on earth this was possible.

As he relates the details of his upbringing, it is obvious that the constant uprooting from place to place and step-father to step-father has a great deal to do with his rebellion from his parents. Yet he never blames his mother for the hard decisions she had to make, and gives her credit for always taking him back with open loving arms, and patiently waiting for him to come back both to her and to God. He compares her to Saint Monica, who prayed endlessly for her son Augustine; he was a great sinner who eventually became one of the most esteemed of the Church’s scholarly saints. His mother’s present husband he compares to Joseph, who quietly and loyally supported Mary and Jesus.

About three-fifths through, after reading how he went from one rock bottom to another and wondering how low he has to go before he changes, the reader is hit by the same “Divine two-by-four” that hit Father Calloway in the head. One night he stays in his parents’ home alone and reads a book about Mary that they had in their bookshelves. He reads all night and then in the morning tells his mother he needs to speak to a Catholic priest. Seeing the extraordinary event that has happened to him, she tells him to RUN to the military priest. When he goes to Mass he miraculously understands the mystery of the Eucharist and that day is converted.

When I read this part, I was sitting on the beach watching my three-year-old play on the playground, surrounded by other moms and children. The way his conversion happens is so beautiful and amazing it was all I could do to not freak everybody out by crying right there. He makes it clear how a Catholic conversion through Mary and Jesus is fundamentally different from what is understood as the Evangelical-defined “born-again” experience. From that point, Father Calloway details the journey from his calling to the priesthood to where he is now.

The whole story was so compelling and insightful. I would recommend it to any teen or adult.

For more information see the author's website at http://www.fathercalloway.com/books/ntbbk.php

Father Calloway sent me this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Young People's Book of Saints

The Young People’s Book of Saints by Hugh Ross Williamson is a compilation of 63 saints of the Western Church from the first through the twentieth century. Originally published in 1960 by Hawthorne Books, it is now available as an ARKive Edition from Sophia Institute Press.

Starting at the year 58 A.D. with St. James the Greater and ending with St. Frances Xavier Cabrini in 1850, Williamson strings the stories along in chronological order, traveling from country to country and from the houses of kings to those of servants. He tells the essentials of their lives, not sparing the sorrowful details of their deaths, but in a matter-of-fact way that respects the way children can absorb this information. Many details and higher concepts are included that often are left out in more modern texts; the author realizes that children indeed are capable of understanding. The illustrations by Sheila Connelly are appealing to children and display the individual traits of each of the saints quite well.

I have taken my time in writing this review because I wanted to read it for myself, as well as present the material to children in different forums to see how they reacted to the stories within. I was pleased with the organization of its content, the selection of saints, and the way their stories were told. I used several of the stories in my Little Flowers group, which is a Catholic girls’ group composed of girls ages 5 through 12, in teaching about the saints and their virtues. I also had my eight-year-old son read some of the stories for his Blue Knights group, a Catholic boys’ group that also learns about saints and their virtues. The children both understood and enjoyed the stories.

Each chapter can be read on its own, as I did with my groups of children. When read from pages 1 through 239, however, this could be used as part of a Church History or World History course in a homeschool. The book would also make the perfect gift for a birthday, First Communion, or special achievement for a special child in your life.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. The company sent me the book in exchange for my honest review. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on The Young People’s Book of Saints.

Review of “St. Thomas Aquinas: For Children and the Childlike” by Raissa Maritain

“St. Thomas Aquinas: For Children and the Childlike” by Raissa Maritain, originally published in 1934. Illustrated by Ted Schluenderfritz. New edition published by Sophia Institute Press, Manchester, New Hampshire, 2009. Available from The Catholic Company.

This young reader introduces children to the lofty notions of saints, angels, and theology in poetic terminology that they can understand, and yet does not condescend. Each brief chapter includes an appealing illustration done in soft charcoal that demonstrates one of the many virtues of Saint Thomas Aquinas. With all his amazing attributes, he still comes across as a humble fellow that one would like to have known personally.

The story of his life starts in childhood, describing the unusual graces and influences that the boy carried as he embarked on his education. It describes how he was called to the Dominican Order and obeyed that calling despite the opposition of his parents. His mother even had him held captive to thwart his actions, but he escaped. She would eventually remember that his calling had been foretold to her long ago.

St. Thomas was so humble that he allowed himself to be known as the “Dumb Ox”. Time would tell that he was wrong, and he brought so much Divine Knowledge to the Church that he is now widely known as the “Angelic Doctor” or “Angel of the Schools”. Although there is no reference section, it is clear that the author drew on many original documents for her information.

Maritain does not talk down to children. She knows that many ideas are within their grasp, and presents them in a way that whole families can benefit. Parents of younger children might want to read this aloud, stopping often for discussion. Middle-grade children would enjoy reading this alone. Parents who would like to know about St. Thomas and are afraid to pick up an adult text on this awesome giant will enjoy the brief chapters and the focus on one-idea-at-a-time.

Separate chapters are dedicated to each of his outstanding virtues: his search of Truth, the Holiness of his Intelligence, Charity, Divine Wisdom, and Humility; the behavioral characteristics of his constant preaching, prayer without ceasing, frequent weeping, and distractibility when focused on a certain problem; the important work of The Office of the Blessed Sacrament, the Miracles of the Roses and the Star, and his Divine Favors. Most biographies end with death, but this book goes into great detail about the special way that he died, how he was glorified afterwards, and his final canonization.

Children and adults alike can glean much from this character study. The message comes through that everyone has a calling from God that he or she must listen to and follow.

This classic work was originally published under the title “L’ange de l’eicole (Paris: Desclee, de Brower, & Cie, c. 1934)”. An English translation by Julie Kernan, titled “St. Thomas Aquinas: The Angel of the Schools”, was published by Sheed and Ward, NY, in 1935. This 2009 edition, which includes minor editorial revisions to that English edition, is published by Sophia Institute Press, a nonprofit institution dedicated to making knowledgeable works more available to the public by publishing out-of-print books, translations of foreign works, and new books.

For more about Raissa Maritian see Brenna Moore’s
Feminized Suffering in Modern French Catholicism: Raïssa Maritain (1883–1960) and Léon Bloy (1846–1917). Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality - Volume 9, Number 1, Spring 2009, pp. 46-68.

This review was written as part of the Catholic Book Reviewer Program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on “Saint Thomas Aquinas”.

“Those Whom You Have Given Me: 1896-1897”: Chapter Eleven of “The Story of a Soul”*

I have been reading “The Story of a Soul”, by St. Therese of Lisieux. See below for links to my previous posts on this book.

In this final chapter, Saint Therese awes me with her very high sense of charity. It is not enough for her not to be attached to the material things of this earth. If one of her sisters claims one of Therese’s ideas for her own, she forces herself not to be possessive of the products of her mind. “That thought belongs to the Holy Spirit and not to me,” she writes.

She compares herself to a little paintbrush that is used by Christ to add the small details needed to a painting that is another soul. The first time she was used in this way was at the age of fifteen, when she felt called upon to speak to an older sister in a loving way about how some of her behavior was less than desirable. Their human affection then became a truly spiritual bond.

Although she dislikes correcting others, she does not shy from this as she considers it her duty. In this way she is teaching others to be more holy. She shares with them her own faults so that they are more likely to confide in her; and yet she is strict and firm. All teachers and mothers can take her example to heart in learning to truly make a difference in their students’ lives.

I love what she has to say about prayer. She says there are many beautiful prayers in books but that is not how she prefers to pray. “I very simply tell God what I want to tell Him, without making beautiful phrases, and He always understands me…For me, prayer is an upward rising of the heart, it’s a simple glance toward heaven, it’s a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trials as much as in the midst of joys. In short, it’s something big, something great, something supernatural, that expands my heart and unites me to Jesus.”

She writes that she does feel right when saying prayers together with the others sisters, but this is how she prays alone. I have always felt this way about prayer, and feel this is the way to follow the instructions of St. Paul to “pray without ceasing”. Sometimes a prayer has no words; it is simply an open communication with God, like when you sit with a friend without speaking, just enjoying her company.

Yet when I say the “Our Father” or Nicene Creed in Church, or recite the Rosary in the company of my Pro-Life group, I feel the joy of the prayer of a community. I have often felt like I was lacking in devotion by not often saying the Rosary at home, as many of my devout Catholic friends do. Or, like St. Therese, I will only recite one decade, very slowly so that I can focus on the meaning and the meditation.

St. Therese makes me feel that my way of prayer is right. Indeed, there is no one right way of prayer. It is the product of one’s unique relationship with God, and so everyone will have his or her own unique way of praying. And yet we must not forget that united prayer in the Christian community is important as well.

She talks about how Christ covers her imperfections, both interior and exterior, with a veil. We all wear veils in public, don’t we? We wear makeup to cover our exterior imperfections; only with family do we bare our flawed skin. We don’t let all our interior flaws hang out either. But when we become comfortable with a trusted friend, we are able to let our guards down. When we show them we are not perfect, they are better able to confide in us their own challenges and anxieties. Therese found that to be true with her sisters, too.

I really had to laugh when I read about the little challenges she faced in trying to be charitable to all of her sister, especially the most annoying ones. Her descriptions brought me back to times when I sat in the pew in the church trying not to listen to someone pick their nails, click a pen, scratch their skin, or tap their heels, repeatedly. (Then I remember my own habit of twiddling my thumbs, which my husband is quick to remind me of, and sit on them to keep myself from doing it.) She would offer this up as a prayer, and when the annoyance disappeared she would actually miss it!

Therese’s little brothers were taken up to heaven, and it was a great prayer answered when she was given two priest brothers to hold up in prayer. She sets a great example for us in showing how important prayer is for other people, even at a great distance and with little personal contact. I think my ten-year-old daughter has it right when she says at Grace every night at dinner, “And please bless everyone in the whole world.”

“A soul aflame with love can’t remain inactive,” she writes in her closing pages. The prayers of the saints, ignited by love, will lift up the whole world. The perfume of this flame will attract more and more souls. And we will always know “in which direction to run” because of this holy fragrance.

*The chapter divisions differ from translation to translation. The one I am reading is translated and edited by Robert J. Edmonson, Paraclete Press, 2006. The writings that have come down as “Manuscript C” comprise chapters 10-11 of this book.

The Society of the Little Flower web page can be found here.
http://www.littleflower.org/




For my reflections on the first nine chapters, please see my previous posts:
Manuscript A
Chapters 1-4
Chapters 5-8
Manuscript B
Chapter 9
Manuscript C
Chapter 10

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St. Valentine's Day

Happy St. Valentine's Day!
Or, in the words of my two-year-old, "Happy T-Tine Day!"

This is a stained glass etching of St. Valentine of Rome, by an unknown artist.

Above is a painting from EWTN's listing for St. Valentine. There were three different sainted martyrs named Valentine, all of them honored on February 14. The day became associated with romance by the English and French in the middle ages.

Parents of Therese the Little Flower Beatified Today

Story from RTÉ News:

"St Thérèse's parents to be beatified
Sunday, 19 October 2008 12:34

The parents of St Thérèse of Lisieux are to be beatified today in the French basilica dedicated to her memory.

The move leaves Louis and Zélie Martin one step short of sainthood.

About 100 Irish pilgrims will occupy a place of honour at the Mass in Lisieux among an expected crowd of about 15,000 people.

The Rector of the basilica in Lisieux has said the Irish were at the forefront of promoting the couple's cause and they will feature prominently in the ceremony.

Last July, Pope Benedict formally approved the miracle cure of a young Milanese child, Pietro Schillero, through the couple's intercession.

His lungs were so deformed that he seemed destined to die. During the mid-19th Century the Martins had nine children, four of whom died as infants and the five others became nuns.

The best-known was St Thérèse - often called The Little Flower. She was canonized in 1925 and, in 1997, named a Doctor of the Church, an honour she shares with just two other women.

The ceremony is taking place on Mission Sunday, underlining that St Thérèse and St Francis Xavier are the patron saints of the missions.

The Potuguese Cardinal Saraiva Martins, former head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints, is to preside at the ceremony.

Last May, the couple's bodies were exhumed and examined to reveal that Zélie had died of cancer. Yesterday they were placed in a new reliquary which has been donated by an Irish family who have requested anonymity. It has formally been named the Irish reliquary.

Solicitor Noel Smith and his wife Ann Marie will help carry the remains of the Blesseds in a procession around Lisieux to the crypt where they will lie.

Among the readers during the Mass, Dubliner Celine Chisolm and Kildare-man Pat Sweeney.

At 4pm this afternoon in Dublin's Whitefriar Street Church, a Solemn Concelebrated Mass of Thanksgiving will be led by the retired Laois-born Papal Nuncio to New Zealand, Archbishop Thomas White."

Picture above of Theresa Martin at age eight.