Tagged: catholic fiction

The Samurai

Book Review / Books and Reading / Spirituality

Book Review: The Samurai by Shusaku Endo

I just finished reading Shusaku Endo’s The Samurai, and it was eye-opening in so many ways. It is the story of two men: Father Velasco, the flawed but well-meaning missionary to Japan, and Hasekura Rokuemon, the quiet Samurai who only wants to do his duty. Both men have a mission, both of them are forced to compromise their integrity for the sake of that mission, and neither of them get what they want. In the end, however, The Samurai is a gentle reminder that God “writes straight with...

The Penguin Complete Father Brown

Books and Reading

Last Rites: Mysteries Featuring Catholic Detectives

For some reason there are a lot of Catholic detectives on the mystery shelves. I’m sure there are amateur detectives from other faiths (Rabbi Small, for instance), but Catholic priests and nuns seem to form their own sub-genre. Here are a few examples: Father Brown – The greatest of all ecclesial sleuths, G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown belongs in the ranks of the great detectives with Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and Miss Marple. Chesterton’s stories are witty and clever, and very satisfying. All of his stories are collected in...

St. Vidicon to the Rescue

Book Review / Books and Reading / Technology

St. Vidicon, Pray for Us!

If you are a computer troubleshooter, you need to know about St. Vidicon of Cathode. He was martyred in the year 2020 when he was electrocuted in order to keep the Vatican broadcast equipment working so that Pope Clement could send his message to the world. Since his death, people throughout the world have prayed for his intercession to combat those terrors of technology, Murphy’s Law, the Imp of Perversity, and Finagle. His story is recounted in St. Vidicon to the Rescue, a novel by Christopher Stasheff. St....

Father Elijah by Michael D. O'Brien

Book Review / Books and Reading

Reflecting on Father Elijah

I have just finished Michael D. O’Brien’s Father Elijah for the second time. I hadn’t read it in about five years, and I wanted to re-read it before Tom Curran discussed it later this month on his Sound Insights radio show. I remember liking it a lot more the first time I read it, probably because it was such a revelation to me. The book attempts to look at the second coming from a Catholic perspective. If you’ve read or heard about the Left Behind series, and wondered...