Almost Catholic

THE AUTHOR JON M. SWEENEY is a prolific author who wrote Born Again and Again, named one of the Best Books of 2005 by Spirituality & Health magazine and honored with an Award of Merit by Christianity Today, and Light in the Dark Ages: The Friendship of Francis and Clare of Assisi, a selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. He writes for the website www.explorefaith.org, and his articles have been published in a variety of magazines including Catholic Digest, The Lutheran, The Merton Seasonal, and Spirituality & Health.

• Introduction viiSection One The Language and the Spirit 1Forget What You Thought You Knew 3“Catholic” 11Forget About Conversion 16Doubters and Believers, Atheists and Agnostics 22Eleven Steps to Becoming a Truly Catholic Christian 26Section Two The Catholic Imagination 29God is Here 31Sacred Spaces and Places 36Privy to a Revealed Secret 42But It’s Too Easy 48Taking Vows 54Becoming a Saint 62Section Three Faith with Flesh 69He Loved His Own Flesh 71The Sensuousness of Jesus 77The Crucifix 81Stations of the Cross 88Bones and Bodies 93Something Good About Hell 101Section Four Much More Than Kitsch and Jesus Junk 109Rosary Beads 111Little Books 116Images That Speak 122Novenas for Heathens and Outcasts 128Going to Confession 135The Sacred Heart of Jesus 140Section Five My Own Cloud of Witnesses 147Thomas Merton 149Saint Francis of Assisi 153Every Idealist Who Has Ever Tried 156G. K. Chesterton 160Flannery O’Connor 165The Catechism as a Mystical Novel 172Section Six Together with Others 179Take Me to the River 181Sacraments and Sacramentals 187Contemplative Living 192Eating and Kissing 197Millions of Blessings 203Excommunication 207Appendix Defining a Few Terms 213Notes 217Suggestions for Further Reading 225Acknowledgments 227The Author 229

Rosaries, rituals, crucifixes and canonized saints: Sweeney, an Episcopalian, enthusiastically embraces these trappings of the Catholic faith, even as many Protestants find them unbiblical and some Catholics have abandoned them. In his latest book, Sweeney talks about his chosen state of being “almost Catholic,” explaining how Catholicism's practices and outlook help connect him to the divine and expand his worldview. Raised as an evangelical Protestant, Sweeney tells how he grew up believing “Catholics were going to hell unless they found our brand of true salvation.” Later, as a church planter in the Philippines, his thinking started to shift when he stepped inside a Catholic church for the first time. Overwhelmed by the sensory experience, he came to love Catholicism as an approach to faith that “lands in the heart and the body as well as in the head.” He has stopped short of converting, however, saying that those who remain outside the institution can still access Catholic life. Although Sweeney's love of Catholic practice makes for interesting reading, he saves his best for describing the differences between Catholic and Protestant thought, providing a depth that goes beyond fascination with externals. (Feb.) (Publishers Weekly, December 3, 2007)