Books, Books,Books

For the next couple of days, this blog is going to be All Books All The Time. I have so many that I have read or am reading, that I need to tell you about...so let's get rolling here.

First up is the very charming and interesting Bad Catholic's Guide to Good Living by John Zmirak and Denise Matychowiak.

Some of the material has appeared in Godspy, so you can get a taste of it, so to speak here, here and here. John also has a blog here, which actually isn't a blog, but a page with links to his articles, so you can really check him out.

The Bad Catholic's Guide to Good Living is a sharp, loving excavation of Things Catholic via a trip through the liturgical year  - and recipes. Saints' lives are cheerfully and when needed, bluntly recalled, the sacraments are introduced, and the suggestion is made to celebrate Reformation Sunday by selling indulgences. (And we won't even go into that Guy Fawkes thing again).

It is cheeky, dare we say edgy, but friends...that is Roman Catholicism. This is a faith in which spiritual practices include, not just cool, relaxed silent prayer sitting on you floor cushion with your lovely garden in view and your herbal tea brewing, but also the extremes: jamming crowns of thorns on your head, physically consuming relics, putting the head of a holy woman on display, and levitating.  We define edgy. We live right on the thin edge of good taste.

The Bad Catholic's Guide to Good Living expresses that holistic and mostly healthy Catholicity, where, as the authors say, the worst things in life are recycled and turned into the best. It's heartfelt, satirical, and, we can't neglect to say, accurate in its presentation of the faith. It's part of this body of Catholic literature that's growing, I'm happy to say, which books like Lickona's Swimming with Scapulars, Judge's God and Man at Georgetown Prep, Scott's Catholic Passion also represent: books that get this one important thing about Catholicism: It's all about connections. It's all about looking at God's earth and the creatures he's made, and the stuff he's inspired those creatures to make, and seeing the possibility and promise of God at work in all of it. No divisions, no dualism, just a faith that's holistic, joyous but honest and bracing in the face of suffering.

Have a look at the Bad Catholic's Guide.

Because, you know, a book that suggests celebrating Easter with Easter Bunny Fricassee has got to be worth a look, no?

The Curt Jester adds a review here.

Comments

[Vivian]

I dont quite get the cover of the Pope making google eyes or something, is he saying he is bad or something? I am confused

[Maclin Horton]

I'm going to have to read Zmirak's book. That recent Godspy piece in which he recounted his adolescent fear that he himself was the anti-Christ was very funny.

Yeah, Catholics live on the edge of good taste--and frequently fall over.

[Lickona]

Amen, Maclin - St. Catherine of Siena, drinking the discharge from a person's wound? Bad, bad taste. And yet the woman is a Doctor of the Church. The Church is the original carnival.

Vivian - I think the idea of the cover photo is that even serious Catholicism (embodied by the pope) allows plenty of room for the odd, the mysterious, and the irreverent (toward the right objects).

[Ed]

Bad taste, yes. And it has happened over many centuries. If memory serves correctly,Will Durant's multi-volume "History of Civilization" mentioned that several cathedrals in medieval Europe all claimed they had the head of John the Baptist. Another cathedral, church, or monastery, claimed it had the only relic of Christ's circumcision.

Good taste has always been at risk in the Church. It's unfortunate those times when truth took a beating as well.

[Jeff]

Vivian:

I remember the picture. The Pope was just playing around--I think there were some kids about or something.

[mfundis]

Bought it, LOVED IT. My daughter thought I was nuts, sitting in the corner of my den cracking up- being Catholic is SO cool as I tell my jr high catechism class!

[Roberto]

What about that request in REALLY bad taste that we eat Jesus' body? Enough to send away even well meaning disciples, then as now.

Good thing Jesus went on to explain that he was just kidding... Oh wait: He didn't! Maybe I should read this book!

[rcesq]

I've had that picture of John Paul on my refrigerator for years. He's looking back at a crowd that's armed with binoculars and cameras. And "good taste" is what's made contemporary church architecture look like Pottery Barn. Give me that old time religion with plaster statues, St. Anthony's larynx, and lace doilies on everything and everyone.

[Anne]

I'm 21 and go to a very secular university, but fortunately I have quite a few hardcore Catholic friends and we sort of make our own Catholic fun. For the feast day of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist we made a cake that looked like a head and put it on a silver platter and before eating it read the Gospel account of the beheading. For All Souls Day we went to the Catholic Cemetary at night armed with a jug of holy water and prayer books and essentially tried to get as many souls out of purgatory as possible (while also critiquing the use (or lack thereof) of saints and other Catholic things on gravestones). So...basically, I think this book sounds real cool and definately captures what is so awesome about Holy Mother Church.

[Maggie]

If we can't laugh lovingly at ourselves we have lost something.

I give a religious book to each of my kids each year this year I will be giving this to my devoted husband for Christmas.

[Nicole]

Just picked it up at Borders. Hilarious so far.

Nicole

[Matthew]

I can't stand these type of books that demean and trivialize Catholicism.

[Nicole]

Matthew, just curious, have you read it? To me it does anything but. Nicole

[Matthew]

I leafed through it at the local Barnes and Noble, it was placed near the book, Catholicism for Dummies. I am more traditional in nature, and I feel that 'mainstreaming' the Catholic faith only brings it down to the level of Protestantism.

Granted I did not see an Imprimatur, I see no reason to help this person profit on something that is basically a cartoon version of the Catechism.

[John Zmirak]

Dear Matthew,
Just by way of explanation--the book is MEANT to look as if it might be a slam at the Church by a burned out ex-believer...because we want to sell the books to those people. When they pick it up, they will indeed laugh (no false advertising there!) but WITH the Church, not at Her. Along the way, they'll get completely orthodox explanations of the Sacraments, Humanae Vitae, and other controversial Church teachings... along with a strong dose of Catholic history and apologetics. But laughter (and the "Bad Catholic" persona) help lower the barriers which lapsed Catholics put up against the Truth. At least, that's our hope, as authors!
God bless,
John

[Nicole]

John, I think it's awesome. I am glad to have a way to learn about the Saints and I was excited to see you mentioning two of my favorite authors Greg Popcak and Christopher West. I am learning a lot already and my husband and I have been laughing our heads off.

I sure wish I'd thought of it!
Nicole

[John Zmirak]

Thanks, Nicole! I'm hoping that wiseacre disaffected Catholics buy the book as a gift for the pious relatives; and vice-versa!