Catholics, Wake Up!: Be a Spiritual Warrior

by Jesse Romero

Jesse Romero believes that Catholics are called to radically live their faith, not just study it, talk about it, and hide their light under a bushel. For those who find themselves living in a kind of spiritual coma, Jesse jolts them out of that lukewarm, tepid state. Instead of passively allowing circumstances wash over you, Catholics, Wake Up! shows how to claim every situation for the Lord. We are called to be spiritual warriors, and are meant to triumph with God’s strength over life’s difficulties. This powerful book will energize and empower you to take action and live your Catholic faith vibrantly and courageously.

Genres: Catholic, Faith, Religion

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 2014

About the author

Jesse Romero holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Mount St Mary's College in Los Angeles and he has a Master’s Degree in Catholic Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. Before and since then, he has spent his time teaching, speaking, writing, and giving Bible studies and conferences on all matters Catholic. Jesse also serves at the parish level as the director of religious education at a small, but growing, parish 40 minutes north of Los Angeles, CA. Jesse speaks to groups and at conferences about the Bible, the Catholic Church, Biblical theology, and numerous other Catholic topics.

After rediscovering his Catholic roots, Jesse studied and prayed his way back to a fervent on-going practice of the Catholic Faith. Through his experiences with non-Catholics and fallen-away Catholics alike, Jesse is well-versed on all Catholic issues and topics and, as a bilingual speaker, and specializes in evangelization, youth events, apologetics seminars, conferences of all sizes, and bible studies.

As the proud parents of Paul, AnnMarie, and Joshua, Jesse and his wife Anita have been happily married for 28 years.

Reviews

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first introduction to the writing of Jesse Romero, but based on how good this book was it will not be my last. In the introduction Jesse outlines 4 different types of Catholic, they are:

Cultural Catholics
Traditional Catholics
Cafeteria Catholics
Evangelical Catholics

Then he goes on to highlight from his own life how he has shifted through there four 'types' in his own life. Jesse's life is interesting by any standards, hold black belts in two different styles, being a county sheriff at the age of 21. Then drawing from his training and discipline in the martial arts, and as a law enforcement officer, once his faith was challenged he applied his rigor and discipline to his faith. He says: "Paul gave me a Christian tract that said if you are not moving forward spiritually, you are probably moving backward. The world had taught me that he who dies with the most toys wins, but this tract said that he who dies with forgiveness of sins wins. This now totally made sense to me. All the sacramental graces I had received throughout the course of my life were stirring within my soul." But when he was challenged he started pursuing Protestantism. But he was challenged just before leaving the Catholic church by his wife who said: "Before you run off to some other church-or worse yet, start your own-why don't you study Catholicism from Catholic sources? You have had your nose studiously in non-Catholic Christian literature for the past year and a half. If you can prove to yourself that Catholicism is wrong from Catholic sources, then I will respect you if you still want to leave. But first give it a chance." So that is what he did. And his love for the Catholic church grew in ways he could never imagine.

Jesse now holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Mount St Mary's College in Los Angeles and he also has a Master's Degree in Catholic Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. And now he is a Catholic evangelist who speaks at conferences and retreats in English or Spanish about Catholic Evangelization, Topical Bible Studies, Apologetics, Marriage & Family, Spiritual Warfare, Men's topics, Teen topics and Culture War issues that affect all Catholics. And this book is an extension of that ministry.

The chapters in this volume are:
From Martial Arts to the Art of Souls
The Catholic Evangelist
I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist
No Chance Encounters
Warriors Come in All Sizes
Raising Daughters for Christ
Raising Sons for Christ
How the Rosary Saved My Life
Called to Be a People of Hope
Dying for Jesus
He Is Risen!
A Band of Brothers
Evangelizing a Juvenile Delinquent
Sin and Mercy-The Story of David and Bathsheba
A Muslim Taxi Driver Hears the Truth
Your Faith or Your Career
Lessons Learned: The Story of Samson and Delilah
Humility: A Powerful Weapon
Ongoing Conversion-Renew Your Mind
The Church Militant: Prepare for Glory

Each chapter in this book follows the same format. It begins with a biblical quote. This is followed by the main teaching and then all chapters except one end with 3 questions for reflection. Only chapter 9 'Called to be a People of Hope' has more than three questions for reflection, it has 10! This whole book is argued from scripture and the Catechism. Every chapter is infused with quotes to underline and reinforce the points that Jesse is speaking to.
A sample of the reflection questions from chapter 13 'Evangelizing a Juvenile Delinquent' are:

1. Do you see yourself playing a role in seeking and saving the lost, or is this something for pastors and missionaries? What part could God be calling you to play?
2. How passionate are you when it comes to your relationship with Jesus Christ? Do you consider him your best friend?
3. Are there any areas of passivity where living your faith is concerned? What might you do to turn those into passion?

And from the final chapter:

1. How deep is the level of your commitment to Christ? How can you increase it?
2. Do you see your body as the temple of the Holy Spirit? What would you do differently if you truly saw yourself this way?
3. What kinds of heroism are you called to in your own family? At work? In your community?

As you can see this book will challenge your faith, and how you live it out day by day. Jesse writes with great passion, and he shares many personal stories. His personal stories will challenge and encourage us in our own spiritual growth, obedience and evangelism. This was a great read and I can highly recommend it.

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More.

(Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: A Year of Reading Intention - Catholic Reading!)

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love listening to Jesse Romero's mens conference talks on YouTube. His passion and love for Christ fires me up! His stories of evangelization inspire me! This book was an easy read, filled with scripture, prayers, and encouragement for how we can go out and live our faith loudly. One thing he speaks about is how we as Catholics must not forget our role in evangelization. He says that God gives each of us opportunities to evangelize, which made me think of something that happened recently. Talking to a mom at a playdate, a fallen away Catholic, she said that as a child she didn't mind going to church because they got to have "snack time" half way through mass. It took me a minute to realize what she meant by "snack time". She meant receiving Jesus in the Eucharist!! I didn't say anything because I was so taken aback that I honestly had no idea what to say. I realize now, perhaps that was one of those moments that Jesse talks about. God gives each of us opportunities to speak up and live our faith unabashedly in front of others, to show others what Catholicism truly is, to demonstrate our faith through our actions and words. This is something I know I need -- want -- to get better at. While my faith runs deep, I don't feel that I have what it takes to speak to others about why I believe what I do (Holy Spirit guide me). I am a product of the typical 1980s suburban Catholic childhood and was/am very poorly catechized. However it's never too late to deepen our understanding of the Holy Mother Church and all that she stands for. It's never too late for us to grow spiritually. I am truly grateful to be Catholic and this book helped remind me of that.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

[Ashley Tambunga Ratcliff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this last year and had to put it down. At the time, my whole focus was on everything that offended me--Romero can come across as a little outdated. For me, I shelved it when I started feeling offended by his discussion on spiritual gender roles. I thought it was great up until that point, but it was enough to put it down for a while.

Now, I've picked it up again, and this time, I'm not listening to be offended. I was listening for the truth, which this book is full of. The truth, and all of Romero's incredible spiritual experiences, allowed me to get more out of this book than I would've if I'd finished a year ago. This is one man's experience in finding the truth for himself, in plunging himself deeply into the Word of God and seeking to allow that Word to transform his mind. While his approach might feel outdated (written in 2014), I'm grateful for the candor.

I feel honestly that getting past that initial knee-jerk reaction of taking offense will allow for more open dialogue, just generally speaking, as we could be missing out on something meaningful just because of the delivery.

[Darren Cary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read. Motivational.

[Diana Chaves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! I have read it more than once. Every Catholic should read this book. I love how honest and to the point Jesse is in his writing.

[Don Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jesse Romero's new book is easy to read and reflects his energetic presentation style. The books is part Catechetical, apologetics and testimonial. While the intended audience is existing Catholics, I think someone curious about Catholicism would enjoy the book. I have a particular warm spot in my heart for Jesse Romero, because hearing him speak on an EWTN special is what inspired me to form the group that is now Joe Catholic. Jesse presents Catholicism in a regular guy sort of way and makes no excuses for his beliefs. The life stories will resinate with men in particular because Romero shares the challenges he faced as a husband, father and worker. He also addresses head on the issues of sexual temptation, anger management and authentic masculinity. I found the section on prayer particularly strong.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a FANTASTIC book! Some of you may have heard of Jesse Romero, a former LA Deputy Sherriff turned Catholic evangelist. I heard him speak at the Midwest Catholic Family Conference in August and my husband and I were really impressed. We saw this book mentioned in the most recent edition of Catholic Digest and I picked it up last week. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a spiritual booster shot!

[John C Prejean Sr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

straight Shooter

Jesse shoots straight from the hip in this book. This book has helped me to look at areas in my life that I can improve upon to become that spiritual warrior.