Almost Catholic: An Appreciation of the History, Practice, and Mystery of Ancient Faith

ALMOST CATHOLIC

I am spiritual and I also love religion. I love what Thomas Howard calls 'the ancient Church and all that she holds for us in her liturgy, her teaching, her disciplines, her devotions, and her spiritual writings.' I love the sensuous, mysterious approach to faith that lands in heart and bodyas well as in the head. --FROM THE INTRODUCTION

Jon Sweeney, a self-described "evolved Protestant" and noted religious writer, has long been fascinated by the Catholic Church. However, it wasn't until he was a young missionary in the Philippines that he truly began to understand the Church's traditions, mysteries, and religious beliefs and its hold on those who follow the tradition. As he explains, Catholic spirituality is all about responding to the fundamental mystery of Jesus, the incarnation, and what it all meant in the beginning as well as what it means today.

In Almost Catholic, Sweeney offers an appreciation of Catholicism, weaving in the story of his own explorations with those of others who have also been attracted to this tradition. He finds himself drawn to the Church's ancient and medieval traditions out of a desire to connect with the deepest and widest paths on the way. Two millennia of saints and practices and teachings and mystery form a connection for him to the very beginnings of Christianity.

His evocative explorations of Catholicism lead to a wide variety of topics, including the lives of saints such as Teresa of Avila and St. Francis, spiritual teachers such as Thomas Merton (the author of The Seven Storey Mountain), as well as liturgies and ancient practices including praying the rosary, confession, novenas, house blessings, and much more.