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ben_smitty's review
4.0
Weigel tends to lean on the trad side of Catholicism (JP II is referenced in almost every chapter), but overall a decent introduction to the main ideas and interesting figures in the Catholic church. The book is a fairly quick read as it's written with a more personal and engaging tone.
tourmaline_and_tomes's review
5.0
This book read like poetry. The reverence with which Weigel takes his reader all over the Catholic world is enrapturing. Weigel's examination of the world through the very Catholic sacramental imagination of the world reminds me that beauty, truth, and goodness are important. And not only are they important, but they can be known. My personal favorite letters were Letter Two: Rome-The Scavi of St Peter's and the Grittiness of Catholicism, Letter Seven: Castle Howard, Yorkshire, England-Brideshead Revisited and the Ladder of Love, and Letter Twelve: Chartres Cathedral- What Beauty Teaches Us. Even if you aren't Catholic, even if you aren't religious, I recommend this book for the wealth of wisdom that Weigel offers in his fourteen letters.
chandraisenberg's review
4.0
In Letters to a Young Catholic, George Weigel visits places all over the world to help the reader better understand the foundation of Catholicism. I found the descriptions of his travels particularly interesting. He visits Chartes Cathedral, the Holy Sepulcher, a pub in London, the Sistine Chapel...and the list goes on. I very much enjoyed this one.
samseybert's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
1.75
lisamquinn's review against another edition
3.0
Read this a while ago, and it was only alright for me then. I wonder how I would feel if I picked up again now...
afinnell95's review against another edition
5.0
“We all live in ‘the gap’ between the person we are today and the person we ought to be. That’s the inherent dramatic structure of the spiritual life, and of the moral life. Living in and closing that gap — better: living in and letting God’s grace, at work in our lives, close the gap — is a matter of becoming the kind of people who can live with God forever, the kind of people for whom heaven is a (super)natural pleasure, not an acquired taste.” (p. 119)
Absolutely loved this, and the image of preparing for the supernatural joy of heaven has not left my mind since the day I read this page.
“The truth of faith is something that seizes us, not something of our own discovery” (p. 28) — There were many moments in this book where the truth of faith truly seized me, and I was reminded of the power of beauty!! This is good stuff.
Absolutely loved this, and the image of preparing for the supernatural joy of heaven has not left my mind since the day I read this page.
“The truth of faith is something that seizes us, not something of our own discovery” (p. 28) — There were many moments in this book where the truth of faith truly seized me, and I was reminded of the power of beauty!! This is good stuff.
conordugan's review against another edition
5.0
I purchased this book a week and a half ago and finished it in a few days. Simply put: it is incredible. I warmly recommend it and think it an absolute must have for your library. With his typical verve and style, Weigel introduces the reader to the optic that is Catholicism--he shows you what it is to look at the world with Catholic lenses. And what a beautiful picture it is. Readers of Weigel will notice similar themes to other of Weigel's writings especially "Witness to Hope" and "Truth of Catholicism." But he deepens and personalizes those themes and goes beyond them to answer the questions posed by young Catholics (and I suppose old ones as well). The Catholicism presented by Weigel is earthy and crusty; it deals with the minutiae of everday life. Christ came to redeem it all and still comes to find us through the same mode he came to us in 2000 years ago, namely the incarnational mode.
This means that Christ is found at the pub, in the Church, and in the family. Weigel draws this out by telling us stories of great people, great places, and great moments in the life of the Church. Two that stick out in my mind. The first is Weigel's description of the Scavi under St. Peter's Basilica where the bones of the Apostle Peter lay. This is an example of the earthiness and reality of Catholicism's claim. It's not about some doctrine or some set of esoteric teachings. Rather, it is about real places and people. Peter's bones rest under St. Peter's. This fact stands out there to be dealt with by us. There sit the bones of a man who walked with Christ. There in the ordinariness of a catacomb we come face to face with the extraordinary, as Weigel describes it.
The second is Weigel's description of Chartres Cathedral in France. Weigel uses the beauty of that great piece of architecture to teach about beauty itself and its importance. He gives us a tour of Chartres and tells of its construction and how the people poured themselves into the project. Through this tour we learn of our thirst and desire and need for beauty.
Each letter takes the reader to a place or tells him about a person. "Letters to a Young Catholic" helps to put meat on the bones of Catholicism. After reading this book, you come away with a deeper appreciation for the fleshiness and reality of Catholicism. You learn about how the moral life is related to the thirst for beauty, how contemplation is connected to our ordering of society.
Do I have any criticisms? None really. I only wish Weigel had been a little more personal when talking about vocations. He speaks eloquently to his young reader about finding that task or call which God has picked out for us. I wanted to know about Weigel's journey on that road as he spent time in the seminary. But perhaps that will be in the next book. I wait with anticipation for that next book. You will too after reading this book...
This means that Christ is found at the pub, in the Church, and in the family. Weigel draws this out by telling us stories of great people, great places, and great moments in the life of the Church. Two that stick out in my mind. The first is Weigel's description of the Scavi under St. Peter's Basilica where the bones of the Apostle Peter lay. This is an example of the earthiness and reality of Catholicism's claim. It's not about some doctrine or some set of esoteric teachings. Rather, it is about real places and people. Peter's bones rest under St. Peter's. This fact stands out there to be dealt with by us. There sit the bones of a man who walked with Christ. There in the ordinariness of a catacomb we come face to face with the extraordinary, as Weigel describes it.
The second is Weigel's description of Chartres Cathedral in France. Weigel uses the beauty of that great piece of architecture to teach about beauty itself and its importance. He gives us a tour of Chartres and tells of its construction and how the people poured themselves into the project. Through this tour we learn of our thirst and desire and need for beauty.
Each letter takes the reader to a place or tells him about a person. "Letters to a Young Catholic" helps to put meat on the bones of Catholicism. After reading this book, you come away with a deeper appreciation for the fleshiness and reality of Catholicism. You learn about how the moral life is related to the thirst for beauty, how contemplation is connected to our ordering of society.
Do I have any criticisms? None really. I only wish Weigel had been a little more personal when talking about vocations. He speaks eloquently to his young reader about finding that task or call which God has picked out for us. I wanted to know about Weigel's journey on that road as he spent time in the seminary. But perhaps that will be in the next book. I wait with anticipation for that next book. You will too after reading this book...
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