Religion High School

From a young age, Kimberly wanted to be a minister. When her study of the Bible convinced her that the ordination of women as pastors was unbiblical, she deicded that she would do the next best thing and be a pastor's wife. Enter Scott, a fellow student at Grove City College whose plans for the future focussed on preaching and teaching. This book tells the story of their journey from anti-Catholic to Rome Sweet Home. Along the way, we see God working in their lives in events large and small.

Interestingly, the Hahns abandoned contraception long before either began to seriously consider the claims of the Catholic Church. Kimberly's personal study of the historical Christian teaching on this topic is what convinced them to give it up, and their reaction at the time was more along the lines of "even a broken clock is right twice a day." Yet, it is obvious in retrospect that this discovery played a role in opening their hearts to the Truth that subsists in the Catholic Church.

The story is told by Scott and Kimberly in alternation, a device that is very effective in conveying the discoveries, trials, conflicts, and joys of their journeys as they follow their different paths.

As Scott observes in the introduction, his conversion moves from a detective story in which he unearths evidence pointing to the truth, to a horror story when he realizes that the Truth points to the Catholic Church, to a romance as he falls in love with the Church that Jesus Himself founded. Along the way, he has to learn to restrain himself and not push his wife before she is ready.

Meanwhile, Kimberly's story is largely one of great pain and suffering as she sees the death of all her hopes and plans of ministering together. She truly experiences a "dark night of the soul" -- feeling abandoned and alone. A beautiful moment is when her father, a Presbyterian minister, urges her to pray to yield her will to God. As she observes, he took a great risk in thus advising her, for he knew it might lead her into the Catholic Church -- as in fact it did.

This is a great story of a wonderful Christian couple who had it all planned out how they were going to serve Jesus, and then thought they would lose it all for His sake, only to get back something even more precious. Their passion for the Truth is inspiring.

See sample pages at the Book preview though Google books, by permission of Ignatius Press.

The Spanish version of this book is entitled El Regreso a Casa El Regreso a Roma; preview here.

This is a truly amazing and beautiful "sketch" of St. Francis of Assisi - not so much a story (though a number of stories are included) as an appreciation and elucidation of who Saint Francis was and, quite simply, the impact he had on the world.

The book is substantial and very rich. I found that I had to put it aside at the end of each chapter to "digest" it for awhile rather than read it too quickly straight through. In addition to providing deep insights into the life of St. Francis, Chesterton provides wonderful tools for the study of history and explanations of some of his own philosophy about life (which was significantly inspired by St. Francis). Chesterton keenly explains St. Francis' heartfelt courtesy towards everyone he met, his devotion to poverty (and even to the freedom of poverty - what a remarkable concept!) and other aspects of his life, all illuminated by his desire to imitate Christ.

I really like how Chesterton helps us to understand Francis by examining a few particular stories - paradigms that exemplify his life and his philosophy - in depth, rather than a typical biography which attempts to tell the entire story brought to life through many details. It is certainly worthwhile to read detailed biographies (and it would be helpful to read one of these - even if it's a children's version - before studying Chesterton's book), but this detailed exposition will add a great deal to your understanding of Saint Francis. It seems a very wise way to study a subject - or at least to begin to study a subject - because we are often so overwhelmed with numerous details that we are unable to grasp a sense of the whole.

Jennifer Fulwiler was raised a pro-abortion atheist and was committed to that belief system for many years, but over time a number of little things made her wonder. Eventually she came to see that this was God working in her life. In this delightful and engrossing book, she shares this great illustration of how God works in mysterious, unexpected and sometimes hilarious ways!

Here's a brief sample from a conversation she had with the man she would later marry:

"I don't see how anyone could look at that and not believe in God", Joe said, his voice lowered as if out of reverence for this masterpiece of nature.

Maybe it was the influence of the gin and tonic, but I figured that now, when we were both happy and calm, wa sas good a time as any to have this discussion. "You know that I don't believe in God, right?" I said.

Joe kept his eyes on the cloud. "Yeah, I think you said something about that once."

I waited for him to elaborate on that statement; I'd expected more of a reaction. He remained silent, so I asked, "Does that bother you?"

"Nah", he said casually. "You're reasonable, so you'll get over the atheism thing eventually."

We especially enjoyed the humorous stories about her antics as a stubborn kid, such as moving all the Bibles in the library to the "Fiction" section. Yes, God really doesn't give up on anyone! ;)

Pete and Michael are Canon Lawyers for the Catholic Church. This means they answer lots of questions about the rules that guide our faith. Canon law in many instances determines how theological truths apply to the daily practice of the Catholic faith.

This book gives a good introductory look at canon law. From the basic, "What is canon law all about?" to the more obscure, "What relationship does a Catholic association have with the larger church?" this book will give you a good, basic concept of what canon law is, and what canon lawyers do.

There are fourteen chapters, starting with general questions, and moving to specific questions and covering all of the sacraments. There is a handy index in the back for looking things up. I found the chapter on the role of priests and the structure of the parish very interesting.

Overall, this is a good, basic introductory look at canon law for people who are curious as to what canon law means, what it can and cannot do, and when a canon lawyer may help them in a certain situation.

This book would be very useful to give to the high school student as a supplement to the religion program you are using. Most high school students have probably not heard of canon law, and this book will give them a basic understanding of the inner workings of the church in this regard. The material is certainly understandable for most 13 and older students.