Why I Am Roman Catholic - (Ecumenical Dialogue) by Matthew Levering (Paperback)

About the Book

What does it mean for our daily realities to claim the Roman Catholic tradition? Bringing together theology and personal memoir, Matthew Levering offers this vulnerable, honest, and hopeful of why he identifies as Roman Catholic-without shying away from challenges the tradition presents.

Book Synopsis

What does it mean for our daily realities to claim the Roman Catholic tradition? Bringing together theology and personal memoir, Matthew Levering offers this vulnerable, honest, and hopeful of why he identifies as Roman Catholic-without shying away from challenges the tradition presents.

Review Quotes

"In this frank yet gracious reflection, Levering shares his deepest fears, longings, and hopes, and the secret he is learning-as a Catholic Christian alongside the saints-of finding peace, whatever the circumstances. This book will help Christians draw closer to each other across ecumenical boundaries by showing how a wise, committed, leading theologian of today understands his faith. But at its very core it is more than a work of ecumenism. It is an inspirational work of Christian devotion that conveys the sheer joy of drawing close to Christ."

"Like Augustine's Confessions, Matthew Levering's Why I Am Roman Catholic is not just another testament to how someone with a great heart and a great mind found his way to the Catholic Church. It is a treasury of saintly wisdom, theological insight, and personal testimony, and as such, an invitation to consider anew the tradition Levering loves and from which he has learned so much."

"One of the most important things about this wonderful book is the relationship between Levering's honest and direct description of his own inner faith and the extensive footnotes that reference writers from throughout the Christian tradition and across the Christian world. Levering shows how much his famous work as a theologian is most certainly a gift to the church but also reflects the rich inner life of one who searches for and looks toward his Lord."

"Reading Matthew Levering's testament to his Catholic faith shows me that 'we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses' (Hebrews 12:1), urging us to repentance and perseverance in Christ. Inspiring!"

"Rising above the noise of sensationalist apologetics is Matthew Levering's calm yet passionate apologia. Levering is a scholar's scholar, so his treatment of the question is both welcome and needed, and he is able to cut to the heart of the discussion in a nonconfrontational and engaging way. With an encyclopedic knowledge of the journey of saints down through the ages of the history of the church, Levering brings us into communion with the great cloud of witnesses who cheer us on as we run the race that is our faith. And it turns out that the reason Matthew Levering is a Catholic is not because other faiths or communions are ugly but because Catholicism is beautiful."

"The remarkably fruitful and faithful Matthew Levering has offered us a new gift with this small jewel on Why I Am Roman Catholic. Personal, penetrating, humbly forthright, and with a sweeping spiritual vision of the divine life, Levering follows his own ecumenical advice: share joyfully with others what the Lord has given you. The volume marks a testimony, not an apology, for his Christian ecclesial commitments, though it is not without a store of gentle persuasions. Richly adorned with the gleaming traces of one the most profound gifts of his tradition-the communion of saints-Levering's limpid discussion takes us through his own sense of blessing, challenge, and hope in his Christian vocation as a Catholic. Non-Catholics in particular will find this an encouraging witness, and all Christians should receive it with thanks, as do I."

"This is above all an honest book: Levering is honest about himself, honest about the problems of belief, honest about the difficulty of being a Catholic. It is also a generous book: Levering's reading and sympathies are wide-ranging; he looks for, and finds, what is inspiring and encouraging. Finally, while feeling deeply why one might be discouraged, even despair, he is alert to grounds for hope that come from the future-the future that is in the hands of God who loves us into being and will never desert us, his creatures."

About the Author

Matthew Levering (PhD Boston College) is the James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology at University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois. He is the author or coauthor of over thirty-five books including Scripture and Metaphysics, Participatory Biblical Exegesis, and Engaging the Doctrine of Israel. He is also the director of the Center for Scriptural Exegesis, Philosophy, and Doctrine, and a longtime member of Evangelicals and Catholics Together.