Synopses & Reviews
The CATHOLIC FAITH is not a set of rules or a body of doctrines, but is a way of life, writes David Scott. It's a lived faith that contains convincing, intellectually coherent, and spiritually fulfilling answers to the biggest questions: Who is God? Who is Jesus? Why are we here? Where are we going? The Catholic Passion invites readers into a conversation about the things that matter most. It is not an argument for the Catholic faith but a journey to the heart of it-a richly rewarding reflectin on prayer, the Bible, scraments, the church, and God-made-human in Jesus Christ.
Scott does not tell the story of the faith through church documents or catechism quotations. Instead, he looks at the faith experience of real Catholics-people like the American writer Andre Dubus, the French composer Olivier Messiaen, the Chinese human rights activist Henry Wu, the French martyr Charles de Foucauld, and the American reformer Dorothy Day. These and other Catholics embody a faith that warms the heart as it enlightens the mind.
One theme emerges from Scott's reflections on the lives of Catholics and the Scriptures: God's passion of love for humankind burns on in the Catholic Church. The Catholic passion is the conviction that there is nothing God will not do to win our love.
Synopsis
Many writers explain the Catholic faith.
David Scott ignites a passion for it.
In his new book, David Scott, biographer of Mother
Teresa (A Revolution of Love), presents the Catholic
faith as a spiritually fulfi lling, intellectually coherent
answer to the most important human questions: Why
are we here? What can we know of God? How should
we live? The Catholic Passion is not an argument for
the Catholic faith but a journey to the heart of it,
a richly rewarding refl ection on prayer, the Bible,
sacraments, the Church, and God-made-human in
Jesus Christ. These are mysteries, Scott concedes, but
living mysteries that pulsate with meaning for us.
“We see miracles every day,” he writes. “We see lives
changed by the encounter with the risen Jesus.”
Scott illuminates the Catholic mysteries with the
insights of great Catholic fi gures of modern times—
the American writer Andre Dubus, the French
composer Olivier Messiaen, the Chinese human rights
activist Henry Wu, the French martyr Charles de
Foucauld, the American reformer Dorothy Day, and
others. He directs his keenly perceptive words to
contemporary people—readers, young and old, who
seek a faith that burns in the heart as it enlightens
the mind.
Synopsis
In The Catholic Passion, David Scott, biographer of Mother Teresa (A Revolution of Love), presents the Catholic faith as a spiritually fulfilling, intellectually coherent answer to the most important human questions: Why are we here? What can we know of God? How should we live?The Catholic Passion is not an argument for the Catholic faith but a journey to the heart of it, a richly rewarding reflection on prayer, the Bible, the sacraments, the Church, and God-made-human in Jesus Christ. Anyone with a passion for the Catholic faith will be moved by this book, as well as anyone who is seeking a faith that burns in the heart as it enlightens the mind.
About the Author
David Scott’s essays and reporting have appeared in L’Osservatore Romano, National Review, Commonweal, beliefnet.com, and elsewhere. He holds an advanced degree in religion and the Bible, and he was formerly editor of Our Sunday Visitor. Currently, he is editorial director for The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology (www.SalvationHistory.com) and contributing editor to Godspy.com. He resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Preface ix
1 Son of Mary, Man of Heaven 1
11 God, the Hound of Heaven 29
111 Living as the Image of God 55
1V Why the Catholic Church? 79
V The Signs and Wonders of the Sacramental Life 107
V1 The Word of Life 131
V11 The Possibility of Prayer 157
V111 The Miracle and Meaning of the Mass 177
1X The Life of the World to Come 205
Afterword 225
Notes 229
About the Author 261
About the Cover