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The Soldier of Christ: Talks before Confirmation
Any book on the sacrament of Confirmation can explain what Confirmation is, but this is the only book that explains, in the most original and engaging manner, what Confirmation does. It is both a dialogue and a travelogue, taking the reader on a journey from the Crusades to the Crimea; from medieval ceremonies of Knighthood to early modern methods of warfare.
What does it mean to be a Soldier of Christ? For the true child of God, life is a daily battle against a well-concealed foe-that is, our own flaws and failings-and Mother Mary Loyola proposes to arm young recruits adequately for this task, leaving no stone unturned in her quest to root out this 'enemy at home'. This is the sort of basic training no young Catholic should be without.
Please note: this is considered a revised edition due to the correction of errors in the original text, the addition of selected footnotes, and minor clarifications in punctuation or phrasing. No material has been removed or rewritten.
What does it mean to be a Soldier of Christ? For the true child of God, life is a daily battle against a well-concealed foe-that is, our own flaws and failings-and Mother Mary Loyola proposes to arm young recruits adequately for this task, leaving no stone unturned in her quest to root out this 'enemy at home'. This is the sort of basic training no young Catholic should be without.
Please note: this is considered a revised edition due to the correction of errors in the original text, the addition of selected footnotes, and minor clarifications in punctuation or phrasing. No material has been removed or rewritten.
378 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1904
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About the author
Mary Loyola
42 books11 followersMother Mary Loyola was born Elizabeth Giles in London in 1845, the second of 6 children in a family of strict Protestants. Her father was a grain dealer on the London Stock Exchange, and they lived a comfortable life. But 1850s London—the London of Dickens—was dirty, overcrowded and rife with infectious disease. When she was just nine years old, her baby brother fell ill, and within weeks, Scarlet Fever had claimed not only his life, but those of her elder sister and both her parents.
Still ill and reeling from the shock of the loss, Elizabeth and her remaining siblings were taken in by an uncle, Samuel Giles, who had converted to the Catholic faith. The Oxford Movement had recently brought many distinguished converts to the Church, and in the company of her uncle, Elizabeth profited from the sermons of Cardinal Manning and the hymns of Father Faber. After entering the Church in 1854, she attended the Bar Convent School in York, one of the finest in England.
When she had finished her studies there, she felt called to the religious life, and in 1866 decided to return to the Bar Convent, this time as a Sister. For many years she taught in the convent school, even serving as Headmistress and Mother Superior for a time.
Because of her exceptional teaching ability, she was encouraged by Father John Morris, S.J. to write a book for children preparing for First Communion. It was issued anonymously in 1896 as part of the Jesuit Quarterly Series, but it quickly became so popular that she was persuaded to publish it, and all her subsequent books, in her own name.
It was her ability to draw in her listeners with story after story—and not just any stories, but ones that incorporated current events and brand new inventions of the time—that made her writing so innovative. Despite the fact that those events are no longer current, and those inventions no longer brand new, her books scintillate with the appeal of an active mind that could find a moral in the most unusual places.
There were no limits to her missionary zeal—she was known to employ her skill with anyone who would listen, even including the furnace repairman toiling away in the cellar of the convent. She started up a branch of the Boy’s Brigade in York, running it herself for ten years, and its popularity was a testament to her exceptional ability to incorporate elements of faith and morality into the most unexpected activities. Many of her beloved boys would later serve in the First World War, and sadly, some did not return.
Her correspondence was extensive, but it was one particular letter that prompted what would become perhaps her most popular work. A young boy asked her to write him a story that would sum up what he had learned in his Catechism. With characteristic aplomb, she obliged him with The King of the Golden City in 1921. It was a crowning pinnacle to her decades of writing, incorporating the bulk of her prior insight and weaving it all deftly together in allegorical fashion.
But she was far from finished with her writing career. A serious fall in 1923 resulted in a hip fracture, and confined her to bed. She bore the pain with grace, using the time to write more books and a profusion of pamphlets for organizations such as the Catholic Truth Society. It was just before Christmas in 1930 when she passed peacefully from this world to the next, bringing an end to her suffering and to a life spent in the service of our Lord.
Her work continued to be popular after her death, but as times changed, they fell out of use and out of print. Despite her status as a beloved author, little was preserved of her history or belongings, as was common for religious of that period. It is only in the last two decades that her work has been rediscovered, particularly through The King of the Golden City, and painstaking genealogical research has revealed much of what we know her early life. Much more remains to be brought to
Still ill and reeling from the shock of the loss, Elizabeth and her remaining siblings were taken in by an uncle, Samuel Giles, who had converted to the Catholic faith. The Oxford Movement had recently brought many distinguished converts to the Church, and in the company of her uncle, Elizabeth profited from the sermons of Cardinal Manning and the hymns of Father Faber. After entering the Church in 1854, she attended the Bar Convent School in York, one of the finest in England.
When she had finished her studies there, she felt called to the religious life, and in 1866 decided to return to the Bar Convent, this time as a Sister. For many years she taught in the convent school, even serving as Headmistress and Mother Superior for a time.
Because of her exceptional teaching ability, she was encouraged by Father John Morris, S.J. to write a book for children preparing for First Communion. It was issued anonymously in 1896 as part of the Jesuit Quarterly Series, but it quickly became so popular that she was persuaded to publish it, and all her subsequent books, in her own name.
It was her ability to draw in her listeners with story after story—and not just any stories, but ones that incorporated current events and brand new inventions of the time—that made her writing so innovative. Despite the fact that those events are no longer current, and those inventions no longer brand new, her books scintillate with the appeal of an active mind that could find a moral in the most unusual places.
There were no limits to her missionary zeal—she was known to employ her skill with anyone who would listen, even including the furnace repairman toiling away in the cellar of the convent. She started up a branch of the Boy’s Brigade in York, running it herself for ten years, and its popularity was a testament to her exceptional ability to incorporate elements of faith and morality into the most unexpected activities. Many of her beloved boys would later serve in the First World War, and sadly, some did not return.
Her correspondence was extensive, but it was one particular letter that prompted what would become perhaps her most popular work. A young boy asked her to write him a story that would sum up what he had learned in his Catechism. With characteristic aplomb, she obliged him with The King of the Golden City in 1921. It was a crowning pinnacle to her decades of writing, incorporating the bulk of her prior insight and weaving it all deftly together in allegorical fashion.
But she was far from finished with her writing career. A serious fall in 1923 resulted in a hip fracture, and confined her to bed. She bore the pain with grace, using the time to write more books and a profusion of pamphlets for organizations such as the Catholic Truth Society. It was just before Christmas in 1930 when she passed peacefully from this world to the next, bringing an end to her suffering and to a life spent in the service of our Lord.
Her work continued to be popular after her death, but as times changed, they fell out of use and out of print. Despite her status as a beloved author, little was preserved of her history or belongings, as was common for religious of that period. It is only in the last two decades that her work has been rediscovered, particularly through The King of the Golden City, and painstaking genealogical research has revealed much of what we know her early life. Much more remains to be brought to
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October 16, 2021
Saya beri 4 bintang bukan karena ada masalah pada kontennya, melainkan lebih pada gaya penulisannya (yang sebenarnya bukan masalah juga, lebih ke arah selera atau preferensi pribadi saya).
Buku ini pertama kali diterbitkan lebih dari seratus tahun silam, dan ditulis dengan menggunakan banyak kisah (terutama kisah sejarah yang berhubungan dengan pertempuran) guna mengilustrasikan ajaran iman Katolik. Mereka yang tinggal di Barat pada masa itu bisa jadi sudah familiar dengan cerita-cerita tersebut, sedangkan saya cenderung malas untuk membacanya dan inginnya segera masuk ke intinya saja (karenanya ada bagian2 yang saya lewatkan atau baca sekilas saja). Hal ini tidaklah mengherankan, karena, mungkin anak remaja akan mendapati gaya penyampaian tersebut lebih menarik karena lebih imajinatif dan bukan sekadar pemaparan fakta belaka.
"Prajurit Kristus" adalah buku yang dirancang khusus bagi mereka yang hendak menerima Sakramen Penguatan. Sesuai judulnya, buku ini bermaksud menguraikan hal-hal seputar menjadi Prajurit Kristus: apa pentingnya, keutamaan apa yang diperlukan, "persenjataan perang" seperti apa yang dibutuhkan, siapa dan seperti apa musuh yang dihadapi, dst.
Singkatnya, hidup iman sebagai pertempuran rohani amat ditekankan dan dianggap serius.
Bukan hanya tentang perlunya menghadapi tiga musuh yang sekaligus juga sumber godaan: dunia, diri manusia, dan iblis, melainkan penekanan tentang sisi psikologis dari perilaku iblis juga dijabarkan dengan amat baik, khususnya tentang bagaimana mereka menggoda manusia untuk menjerumuskannya ke dalam dosa.
Saya yakin bahwa materi persiapan penerimaan Sakramen Penguatan yang dilakukan di Indonesia perlu diperbarui, dan bahkan sejak remaja harusnya sudah diajarkan tentang pertempuran rohani, sebab umat Katolik di dunia adalah Gereja Militan dan setelah menerima Sakramen Penguatan, sudah selayaknya kita melatih diri dan hidup sebagai Prajurit Kristus.
Buku ini bisa menjadi referensi yang baik bagi para katekis, khususnya mereka yang merasa tidak puas dengan materi pengajaran yang digunakan saat ini.
Buku ini pertama kali diterbitkan lebih dari seratus tahun silam, dan ditulis dengan menggunakan banyak kisah (terutama kisah sejarah yang berhubungan dengan pertempuran) guna mengilustrasikan ajaran iman Katolik. Mereka yang tinggal di Barat pada masa itu bisa jadi sudah familiar dengan cerita-cerita tersebut, sedangkan saya cenderung malas untuk membacanya dan inginnya segera masuk ke intinya saja (karenanya ada bagian2 yang saya lewatkan atau baca sekilas saja). Hal ini tidaklah mengherankan, karena, mungkin anak remaja akan mendapati gaya penyampaian tersebut lebih menarik karena lebih imajinatif dan bukan sekadar pemaparan fakta belaka.
"Prajurit Kristus" adalah buku yang dirancang khusus bagi mereka yang hendak menerima Sakramen Penguatan. Sesuai judulnya, buku ini bermaksud menguraikan hal-hal seputar menjadi Prajurit Kristus: apa pentingnya, keutamaan apa yang diperlukan, "persenjataan perang" seperti apa yang dibutuhkan, siapa dan seperti apa musuh yang dihadapi, dst.
Singkatnya, hidup iman sebagai pertempuran rohani amat ditekankan dan dianggap serius.
Bukan hanya tentang perlunya menghadapi tiga musuh yang sekaligus juga sumber godaan: dunia, diri manusia, dan iblis, melainkan penekanan tentang sisi psikologis dari perilaku iblis juga dijabarkan dengan amat baik, khususnya tentang bagaimana mereka menggoda manusia untuk menjerumuskannya ke dalam dosa.
Saya yakin bahwa materi persiapan penerimaan Sakramen Penguatan yang dilakukan di Indonesia perlu diperbarui, dan bahkan sejak remaja harusnya sudah diajarkan tentang pertempuran rohani, sebab umat Katolik di dunia adalah Gereja Militan dan setelah menerima Sakramen Penguatan, sudah selayaknya kita melatih diri dan hidup sebagai Prajurit Kristus.
Buku ini bisa menjadi referensi yang baik bagi para katekis, khususnya mereka yang merasa tidak puas dengan materi pengajaran yang digunakan saat ini.
Displaying 1 of 1 review