I Like Being Catholic Treasured Traditions, Rituals, and Stories

by Leach, Michael; Borchard, Therese J.

• ISBN13: 9780385508063
• ISBN10: 0385508069
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-04-19
• Publisher: Image

Summary

A celebration of the treasured traditions, rituals, and stories that run through the bloodstream of American Catholics For Andrew Greeley, it is the reverence of Christmas night and the exultation of Easter morn. Martin Scorsese, like many others, remains grateful for the nuns who rapped his knuckles but built his self-esteem. Mary Gordon recalls the sense of lightness that follows confession; Vince Lombardi, the strength he derived from Mass; and Christopher Buckley, the role St. Thomas More plays in his writing. I Like Being Catholic brings together the memories, thought, and hopes of famous Catholics and ordinary parishioners, lapsed and "good-enough" Catholics, and those who have devoted their lives to the faith. It captures their abiding ties to and deep affection for the Church and offers the wide-ranging, sometimes surprising views on the good things that come with being Catholic. This is not a book of theology. It is about the beauty at the heart of Catholicism. It is about what Teilhard de Chardin called "the chosen part of things." It is about family and community, the value of Catholic education, the significance of sacraments and milestones, and the cultural impact of Catholicismthere are lists of the ten best Catholic novels, the ten best Catholic movies, ten Catholic heroes of the twentieth century, ten good reasons to raise your kids Catholic, fifty things Catholics like best about being Catholic, and much more ... I Like Being Catholic is a book for all those who have ever called themselves Catholic. It is a book of warmth, affection, humor, and love. From the Hardcover edition.

Author Biography

Michael Leach has been a leading figure in Catholic book publishing for three decades. A past president and publisher of the Crossroad/Continuum Publishing Group and president of the Catholic Book Publishers Association, he is currently executive director of Orbis Books. He lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. Therese J. Borchard has an M.A. in theology from the University of Notre Dame and is the author of fifteen books, including <b>The Emerald Bible Collection</b> for young readers. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland.<br><br><br><i>From the Hardcover edition.</i>

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION: I LIKE BEING CATHOLIC	1	(2)
CHAPTER ONE: IT'S FUN TO BE CATHOLIC by Andrew M. Greeley	3	(6)
Interlude: Brian Doyle	9	(1)
CHAPTER TWO: IT'S GOOD TO BE CATHOLIC	10	(7)
Ten Good Reasons to Be Catholic by Kathy Coffey
Ten Good Reasons to Raise Your Kids Catholic by Michael Leach
Fifty Things Catholics Like Best About Being Catholic by William A. Burke
Interlude: Mitch Finley, John Deedy	17	(1)
CHAPTER THREE: JMJ-CATHOLICISM'S FIRST FAMILY	18	(15)
Jesus by Joseph Girzone
Jesus, Model of Love by Pope John Paul II
There's Something About Mary by Therese' Borchard
Go to Joseph by Joseph M. Champlin
Plus selected bits by Flannery O'Connor, William F Buckley, Jr., and others
Interlude: Cookie Roberts	33	(1)
CHAPTER FOUR: FROM MATH TO MYSTERY	34	(7)
The Value of Catholic Education by Bret D. Thomas
The Mystery of Catholicism by Joan Wester Anderson
Plus selected bits by William J. Bennett, Leon Panetta, and others
Interlude: The Average Catholic by Michael Leach	41	(2)
CHAPTER FIVE: SACRAMENTS AND MILESTONES	43	(11)
A Few of My Favorite Things by Therese J. Borchard
Plus selected bits by Rosemary Haughton, Robert F Morneau, and others
Interlude: Mary Gordon, Annie Dillard, Mary Higgins Clark, Clare Boothe Luce, and Flannery O'Connor	54	(1)
CHAPTER SIX: MASS APPEAL	55	(7)
My Heart Got Stuck in the Daily Mass by Patricia Carol Plus selected bits by Maria Shriver, Martin Scorsese, and others
Interlude: Babe Ruth, Vince Lombardi, Knute Rockne, and Yogi Berra	62	(1)
CHAPTER SEVEN: FAVORITE PRAYERS, TRADITIONS, AND RITUALS	63	(15)
The Varieties of Catholic Prayer by Michael Leach and Therese J. Borchard
The Brooklyn Dodgers and the Catholic Church by Doris Kearns Goodwin
What Makes Being Catholic Great? A Child's Prayer by Susan Heyboer O'Keefe
Favorite prayers and selected bits by Julie Ann Brown, Richard Rohr, and others
Interlude: John Thompson	78	(1)
CHAPTER EIGHT: EVERYONE CALLS ME FATHER...OR SISTER...OR AL	79	(10)
I Like Being a Sister...a Brother...a Seminarian...a Priest...a Missionary...a Lay Minister...a Bishop Plus selected bits by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Florence Henderson, and others
Interlude: Moses, Bob Newhart, and others	89	(1)
CHAPTER NINE: SAINTS PRESERVE US	90	(13)
Outrageous Holiness by Rosemary Haughton
Ten Catholic Heroes of the Twentieth Century by Robert Ellsberg
Plus selected bits by Christopher Buckley, Marilu Henner, and others
Interlude: Martin E. Marty, H.L. Mencken, and Nicole Kidman	103	(1)
CHAPTER TEN: THE GREAT COMMANDMENT	104	(10)
The Challenge of Stewardship by Mario Cuomo
One Little Action at a Time by Patricia Crowley
Plus selected bits by Louis Freeh, Sue Fox McGovern, and others
Interlude: David D. Fosca, Richard K. Taylor, Catherine Mowry LaCugna, and Claire Catanese	114	(1)
CHAPTER ELEVEN: CATHOLIC CULTURE-IT'S EVERYWHERE	115	(15)
The Ten Best Catholic Novels You'll Ever Read by Patrick Samway
The Ten Best Catholic Movies You'll Ever See by Michael Leach
The Best Catholic Music You'll Ever Hear by Thomas Day
Plus selected bits by Walker Percy, Mercedes Ruehl, and others
Interlude: Federico Fellini, Joe Mantegna, Maureen O'Hara, Martin Sheen, Moira Kelly, and Gary Cooper	130	(2)
CHAPTER TWELVE: HERE COMES EVERYBODY!	132	(12)
At Home in Noah's Ark by Cyprian Davis
Confessions of a Cafeteria Catholic by Michael Leach
Selected bits by Diana L. Hayes, Lawrence S. Cunningham, and others Here Comes Everybody Photo Gallery
Interlude: Jeremy Langford, Marc Munfakh, Tom Beaudoin, Charles J. Chaput, and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy	144	(2)
EPILOGUE: ONE CHURCH, TWO ERAS	146	(9)
A Young Adult Catholic Looks Back with Love by Therese J. Borchard
An Elder Catholic Looks Forward with Hope by Michael Leach
Acknowledgments	155	(2)
Permissions	157	(4)
About the Editors	161