Come on. Isn’t this a great way to spend your lunch hour? See you on Twitter.

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The Catholic Channel is on Sirius 159 and XM 117. Please tune in. If you don’t have satellite radio, you can get a seven-day free Internet trial HERE.

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It’s funny (in a sad and ironic sort of way), but when I first asked CNS to review my book, I told Dennis that the only way I saw it backfiring was if they gave the book to someone who didn’t like the Idiot’s Guide approach. And wouldn’t you know — Bingo! — my prediction came true.

Patrick Hayes, an assistant professor of theology at St. John’s University, railed against the title, the series, the mere suggestion that perhaps rank-and-file Catholics don’t find theological texts easy to read. It was a dismissive and mean-spirited little review and certainly not what I expected from Catholic News Service.

Nowhere did the review mention that my book has in imprimatur from the Bishop of Metuchen, or that I worked with a theological advisor from St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, or that it was glowingly endorsed by the Archbishop of Denver, all things that seem rather pertinent to me and I’m sure to other Catholics who might be interested in the book.

Here’s the review so you can read it for yourself. It was part of double review, but I’ll spare you the monotony and just give you the part about my book. He doesn’t get into full swing until the second paragraph:

“…One such offering is Mary DeTurris Poust’s contribution to the “Idiot’s Guide” series, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Catholic Catechism.” The guide offers an accurate, if simplistic, overview of the catechism. It contains a number of short synopses of topics such as the resurrection of the body, the benefits of baptism and the exercise of free will, among others — all with user-friendly language. Coupled with these treatments are little boxed “teachable moments” or quick definitions under the heading “church speak” that explain the why and the what of the church’s belief and practice.
“It is unfortunate the book is presented under such a deplorable title, as if people have to admit their ignorance to be guided to truths detailed in the catechism. In fact, I would say that all who search out those truths have brains that are fully switched on, even though they may not have facility in the technical points of doctrine.
“As a working theologian I am chagrined by the author’s approach to the catechism, which deliberately avoids “that long-winded, lingo-laden academic writing that can make anyone’s eyes glaze over.” I daresay that some of that can actually be useful, as the pope himself demonstrates. Memo to the publishing world: Catholics aren’t that callow. “

So what do you think of that? I’ve never considered myself a callow Catholic, but I do know that reading some parts of the full Catechism made my brain ache. Penguin/Alpha Books knew what they were doing when they specifically requested that a NON-theologian write the book on the Catechism, otherwise large portions would have been in Latin and Greek or its English equivalent and 1,000 pages long. Oh, wait, that’s the real Catechism, which is why I wrote a simplified guide to it! No matter what Mr. Hayes thinks, many people like to read about religion — or science, or finance, or nutrition — in informative, entertaining and, above all, understandable prose, and the success of the Idiot’s Guide series is proof of that.

I do take some small satisfaction in all of this knowing that, as a professor, Mr. Hayes will have to publish and publish some more. And, as the saying goes, what goes around comes around. I hope they give his next theological missive to a comic book author for review.

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And in case you missed it a couple of weeks ago, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver endorsed my book, saying that it is a “wonderfully clear, readable, absorbing and very enjoyable resource for exploring and understanding what Catholics believe.”

Lots of good stuff coming from Denver, and it isn’t even ski season.

The post One more review… appeared first on Not Strictly Spiritual.

“Mary DeTurris Poust’s name has always meant great writing and reporting, and her new guide to the Catholic Catechism proves her skill once again.  This is a wonderfully clear, readable, absorbing and very enjoyable resource for exploring and understanding what Catholics believe.  Poust and her colleague Msgr. David Fulton offer a real service to the Catholic community in these engaging pages.”

+Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
Archbishop of Denver

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Click HERE if you would like to read the article that’s running in today’s Rockland edition. If you don’t want to be annoyed and/or offended, skip the comments at the end, which run the gamut, from supportive to anti-Catholic to vulgar.

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Trinity carries all the usual Catholic paraphernalia and so much more. Here’s the beautiful icon that owners Mark and Patti Maher gave me as a gift for signing there this weekend. 

I absolutely love it. It’s the Old Testament Trinity. A larger, even more stunning version of this icon is the centerpiece of the store’s back wall. The store is so homey and inviting, with a fireplace and loads of interesting statues and wall hangings to peruse — lots of great Celtic stuff and things I’ve never seen anywhere else. I bought a really cool Kenyan-made sculpture of a family of five. I never find things depicting families with three children — always one or two — so I had to have this:

I would just like to thank Mark and Patti for making me feel so welcome on Saturday and for inviting me to sign copies of both of my books, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Catholic Catechism and Parenting a Grieving Child. And to all those people who braved the weather to buy a book and talk for a while, thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

If you want to visit Trinity’s website, click HERE.

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If you don’t have a subscription, you can get a three-day free trial membership, accessible via your computer, by clicking HERE. The interview will later be posted as a podcast, so I’ll let you know when that’s available for download in case you just can’t live without hearing me do yet another radio interview.

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Chiara will make the road trip with me, so that should keep things interesting. We’ll make an early stop at my 95-year-old grandmother’s apartment and then my Aunt Margaret will arrive to watch Chiara while I go to work. An interesting way to run a business, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. I’ll post a link to the story when it runs.

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