Confessions of a Roman Catholic
As a cradle Catholic, often times I've just accepted my faith without knowing the scriptural basis for many of my beliefs. Over time, many of my non-catholic friends would ask questions about Catholicism and I (regrettably, more often than not) was unable to answer them convincingly.
Over the past year, I started reading books with Christian inspiration and informational themes. The 'Confessions of a Roman Catholic' by Paul Whitcombe was one of these books.
This short booklet (55 pages) explores the conversion of a Protestant minister to the Catholic faith. It is a short and easy read and I found it very informational.
It was very comforting to read about a person with so much scriptural knowledge who was not Catholic and became Catholic after years of careful examination of scripture, comparative religious studies and prayer.
As you read this book, do any author's doubts sound familiar? Have you ever struggled with your faith?
I know I did. For many years, I, like many (so called) Catholics, did not really believe in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Only after careful reading and meditating on John 6: 25-71, prayer during Eucharistic adoration, discussions with parish priests, readings of various conversion stories (such as 'Confessions of a Roman Catholic') and other informational sources (e.g. 'Eucharistic Quizzes') did it finally make sense to me! Jesus Christ is TRULY PRESENT in the blessed sacrament!
The St. Martin's book club meets on the first Thursday of every month, from 8pm - 9pm in the 6th grade classroom of the school. All are welcome, even if you haven't read the book. Our next meeting is Thursday, January 6th. We will begin with a prayer, then discuss this book (Confessions of a Roman Catholic). We'll hand out our book for January at that time ("Fatima's Message For Our Times", and "I Wait For You") and then discuss what books we should read for the month of February.
Please feel free to post your thoughts on this book here, or any book you may have read that you feel is worth reading as a group.
Have a merry Christmas and may God bless you!
posted by Ty Roach @ 9:23 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I just noticed that St. Martin's has a book club. This is great. I have not read the book you are reading this month but would like to.
I am not sure if I will be able to make the next BC meeting in January, but I am interested in reading the books for that month too.
Do I need to buy these books myself?
No, you do not have to purchase the books yourself (although you can if you want). At the last meeting, I distributed our book for December (Confessions of a Roman Catholic). We can get a discount by buying the books in bulk. Buying the book on your own could cost you up to $4.50, whereas our book club members only had to shell out $1.00.
I have a few remaining copies of our book for December (Confessions of a Roman Catholic). I will bring them to the next book club meeting on Thursday, January 6.
At the last book club meeting we decided that for January, we would read two books: Fatima's Message for our Time, and I Wait for You. I have already purchased these books in bulk so as to reduce the overall cost for book club members. I have 10 copies of the books for January so I will make them available on a first come first serve basis. Total cost for the January books is $2.00.
If you are not sure if you can make the meetings, you can always email me at ty.roach@gmail.com and I can make arrangements to leave the book for you at the parish office. I'll need your name and email so that I can be sure you can get the book(s) you need.
Thanks for posting!
Hi Ty,
Thanks so much for leading this group! I've always enjoyed book clubs.
Also, I would love to read the book you mentioned briefly about the Protestant reconciling faith to the Catholic Church. As a former Protestant myself, I think I will greatly enjoy the book.
Thanks again and I'll check with MCPL about the ability to borrow TAN books from them. I doubt it but it's worth a shot.
Again thanks and have a great weekend.
God Bless,
Melissa
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