Beatitude Saints (PDF)

I was in the shower when I realized I needed to write this book--for me. Not you. Not the editors who had offered me the opportunity and the basic idea--pair modern-day "saints" with canonized saints of old. Nor for the money (it was not much, so that was a no-brainer). Not for any dream of establishing myself as a gifted thinker on divine truths. Nope. It was for me.

I still clearly recall the moment--more than 30 years ago--because it moved me into action. I had been mired down in pedantic research on the lives and impact of the 16 very holy humans who people this wee volume. I had been approaching the book as a project, a report, a synthesis, a term paper. You know the drill. But then I realized the obvious: this was MY book. I could do with it what I wanted. If the editors did not like it, they could just try to run fast enough to catch me and demand I return the tiny advance.

As a convert, I still had many questions about the Catholic Faith and its practice. (Still do.) Was I joining a Marian cult? Could the pope role out of bed one morning and declare all Catholics must wear orange underwear on Mondays, and we need to comply? Why were we encouraged to dig deep in our pockets for the Church, but some bishops lived opulent lives, even with chauffeurs? How can rote prayer be much more than reciting holy nursery rhymes? Are miracles really for real? Hmmm? Lots of questions.

So, I rolled up a bunch of them and laid them before the men and women in this book. They were very patient with me. Candid. Kind. And they will be with you, too.