Peace of Soul

by Fulton J. Sheen

In this challenging volume, Monsignor Fulton J. Sheen tells how you can find true peace. He covers such significant subjects as psychoanalysis and confession, sex and love of God, the philosophy of anxiety, fear of death, the psychology of conversion.

Genres: Catholic, Religion, Spirituality, Philosophy, Christian, Theology, Faith

292 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

Fulton John Sheen was an American bishop of the Catholic Church known for his preaching and especially his work on television and radio. Ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria in Illinois, in 1919, Sheen quickly became a renowned theologian, earning the Cardinal Mercier Prize for International Philosophy in 1923. He went on to teach theology and philosophy at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and served as a parish priest before he was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York in 1951. He held this position until 1966 when he was made bishop of the Diocese of Rochester in New York. He resigned as bishop of Rochester in 1969 as his 75th birthday approached and was made archbishop of the titular see of Newport, Wales.
For 20 years as "Father Sheen", later monsignor, he hosted the night-time radio program The Catholic Hour on NBC (1930–1950) before he moved to television and presented Life Is Worth Living (1952–1957). Sheen's final presenting role was on the syndicated The Fulton Sheen Program (1961–1968) with a format that was very similar to that of the earlier Life Is Worth Living show. For that work, Sheen twice won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality, and was featured on the cover of Time magazine. Starting in 2009, his shows were being re-broadcast on the EWTN and the Trinity Broadcasting Network's Church Channel cable networks. His contribution to televised preaching resulted in Sheen often being called one of the first televangelists.
The cause for his canonization was officially opened in 2002. In June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI officially recognized a decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints stating that he lived a life of "heroic virtues," a major step towards beatification, and he is now referred to as venerable. On July 5, 2019, Pope Francis approved a reputed miracle that occurred through the intercession of Sheen, clearing the way for his beatification. Sheen was scheduled to be beatified in Peoria on December 21, 2019, but his beatification was postponed after Bishop Salvatore Matano of Rochester expressed concern that Sheen's handling of a 1963 sexual misconduct case against a priest might be cited unfavorably in a forthcoming report from the New York Attorney General. The Diocese of Peoria countered that Sheen's handling of the case had already been "thoroughly examined" and "exonerated" and that Sheen had "never put children in harm's way".

Reviews

[Damos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book from start to finish. Highly relevant. I'm sure portions went over my head but for the most part it was truths embedded & reinforced. I am so proud to be a member of the true Church & appreciate Bishop Sheen & his deep spiritual & intellectual insight, further confirming my dedication to my faith, the Church, the Sacraments & a relationship with Jesus Christ the Saviour of the World.

To me this book was about a few key things; Responsibility, the Sacraments, Humility, Love, in general but especially, Love for our Creator God.

[Phillip Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Throughout this book, I found myself amazed that Fulton Sheen had written it in 1949. His wisdom is timeless and his insights profound. Now “Venerable,” Sheen argues that we are seeking answers in the wrong places and decries much of the scientism and secularism that has marked our culture for the last 100 years as we’ve sought to rationalize everything and lost sight of the divine.

Sheen offers a great perspective on psychoanalysis and challenges us to stop blaming our subconscious for our troubles. The book is short but packs a lot of punch as it brings Catholic theology to bear on a host of our modern issues and challenges us to find “peace of soul” in a God who is always seeking us.

I appreciate Sheen’s style and wit. He soars conceptually but always brings it back to earth to help us think practically about how to make his message work in our daily lives. This book is a great addition to a collection of other greats like G.K. Chesterton, John Henry Newman, C.S. Lewis, St. Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas.

Thank you Bishop Robert Barron for introducing Venerable Fulton Sheen to me.

[Melissa Bair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fulton Sheen now has my heart as a priest who could teach boldly and profoundly, and who had a deep love of music and literature (as evidenced by the references he makes in this book to Shakespeare and classical music). He truly knew the ills of modern society and what Christians should do about it. And he wrote this in 1949! All of what he said is still applicable to today. This book was a joy to read over many weeks, slowly and just a few pages at a time.

[Mark Fischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite spiritual books ever

[Paul Gaya Ochieng Simeon Juma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am tempted to compare Fulton J. Sheen to Gearge Bernard Shaw, the author of Major Barbra. In the book, Shaw stipulates a number of ideologies which he supports. He delves into an array of topics including socialism, economic empowerment, confession, salvation army and religion as a whole.

Mr. Sheen also touches on these topics. He investigates them in detail. Also he looks at how man has transformed his behavior around such ideologies. He explores the reality of religion and compares them with secular justifications of the human behavior.

The difference between good and evil is studied. The world's indulgence of evil is considered in great detail. He believes that man should judge his behavior through the mirror of the bible. God in His wisdom has recorded a guideline to determine our actions. In contrast, secular education and philosophers also offer alternatives to which our behavior can be judged. Our environment, sexuality, the unconscious mind are some of the factors that determine our actions and destiny.

Fulton Sheen disagrees with the propounders of these philosophies especially Freud who argues that our actions are majorly determined by our sexuality. He gets his philosophy from the greek tragedy 'Oedipus'. He kills his father in order to marry his mother. The converse is known as the electra complex where the reverse happens with the daughter killing her mother to marry her father.

He also analyses phycoanalysis and the religious equivalent of confession thtouhh the examination of ones soul. He believes that the theory of psychoanalysis should not be limited to the examination of ones unconscious mind but to the examination of the conscious mind. Our actions are to be judged in light of God's word. Absolute freedom means absolute tyranny as stated by Dostoevsky and should be discouraged.

All in all, it is clear from Sheen's writings that every man is responsible for his or her actions.

[Chidi Brendan Obiechefu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found Bishop Sheen on YouTube this year, suggested to me from watching one of Bishop Baron’s videos. Quite frankly, this book is life changing. I can’t imagine one reads this book without feeling that call to genuine conversion. Well, I shall resist the urge to overly romanticize, and just write my review :).

Before I decided to buy this book there was only one thing I was concerned about: I wouldn’t like a book that is too overwhelmingly scripture-based with regards to its argument and message. Having known Bishop Sheen, I knew this was unlikely, but I still wanted to be sure. Not that I have anything against such books though, but it appeals to me more if a Christian author/preacher is knowledgeable in general philosophy, psychology, and history, and frequently incorporates arguments from them skillfully to buttress his message. Personally I think it is more robust if done this way and is more likely to draw in skeptics. Of course, this is because of my own interest in the afore-mentioned domains, especially philosophy. Well I went through most of the comments here and found one that gave the hint I needed, so I proceeded. The rest, they say, is history.

This book treats exceptionally, the inner conflicts of the modern mind. It masterfully argues that all our inner conflicts, tensions, and restlessness can be resolved by God, and thus attempts so seductively, to persuade us into seeking his redemption.

I briefly summarize some select topics treated in the book.

**Frustration, anxiety, and conflicts (Chapters 1,2 & 3)**

Bishop Sheen begins by outlining the “death of God,” so to say, as the root of the disorder of the modern mind. Man, says Sheen, no longer sees God in nature, - in the vastness of creation, beauty of the skies, etc, as he did in ages past., he is now ‘cut off’ from this approach and preoccupied by his own self. Man, however, has not stopped searching for God; he only now looks in abnormal places, - in the disorder, complexes, and anxieties of his own mind as directed by the psychologists, instead of outwardly (to God).

Three alienations are identified by Bishop Sheen as characterising disordered modern man, - self estrangement, isolation from others, and estrangement from God. Modern man must therefore return to God, he cannot find peace being locked within himself, or in his unconscious mind, man cannot lift himself up by himself. He needs help from God.

Bishop Sheen treats anxiety and conflict by acknowledging their increase in the modern man. This anxiety in modern man however is concerned more with the body (economic security, prestige, sex, etc), instead of the soul. A summary of the philosophy of anxiety is captured so beautifully by this quote:

“The philosophy of anxiety looks to the fact that a human is a fallen being composed of body and soul. Standing midway between the animal and the angel , living in a finite world and aspiring toward the infinite, moving in time and seeking the eternal, he is pulled at one moment toward the pleasures of the body and at another moment to the joys of the spirit. He is in a constant state of suspension between matter and spirit...This state of indeterminacy and tension between what he ought to be and what he actually is.. This wavering between sacrificing lesser values to attain higher ideals or else abdicating the higher ideals entirely, this pull of the old Adam and the beautiful attraction of the new Adam, this necessity of choice which offers him two roads, one leading to God and the other away from God - all this makes a person anxious about his destiny beyond the stars and fearful of his fall to the depths beneath.”

A rebuke of the psychological literature of his time where anxiety complexes are linked to our animal origins (I believe from Freud) follows, with Bishop Sheen affirming instead that only a being with a soul can have an anxiety, and using Kierkegaard’s arguments to suffice, like this one which sums it up:

“Despair, Kierkegaard tells us, is twofold. It is a desperate desire either to be oneself or to be not oneself; a person wants either to make himself into an absolute, unconditioned being, independent, self - subsistent; or else he wants desperately to get rid of his being, with its limitation, its contingency, and its finiteness . Both these attitudes manifest the eternal revolt of the finite against the infinite: Non serviam . By such a revolt, the person exposes himself to the awareness of his nothingness and his solitude. Instead of finding a support in the knowledge that he, though contingent, is held in existence by a loving God, he now seeks reliance within himself and, necessarily failing to find it, becomes the victim of dread.”

What then to do about this existential problem? For starters, indifference is not an option. There is already a tendency pulling us back to the animal, not resisting this tendency simply means we are slipping behind, - to the animal, - to destruction. Secondly, don’t take the route of the atheists, they just substitute the true God for some other earthly one. We should rather do three things: - control our desires, transfer our concern from body to soul, and increase our trust in God. Peace of soul comes to those with the right kind of anxiety about attaining perfect happiness, which is God.


**Finding God, denial of guilt, and the sacrament of reconciliation**

Bishop Sheen outlines fears that keep us from God; we want to be saved, but not from our sins, not at too great a cost, and in our own way. These lead us to seek some kind of comfortable Christianity where our consciences and whims are left intact. One of the manifestations of this is what he terms ‘social Christianity’, where some contend that Christianity should do nothing more than some kind of social justice. People want a religion that remakes society but not themselves, and so they formulate their own ideas of God. The call here is to submit completely to God’s will, remake ourselves first instead of cowardly projecting our inner conflicts to society - pontificating on what they should be doing, where God matters more than politics, where humanity is loved more in God instead outside of God. He calls for a God-centred soul, not governed by its own virtues or habits, but by the spirit of God.

Sheen calls for personal responsibility, and rebukes the denial of personal guilt ramping up in society which (in collaboration with scientists (read psychologists )) seeks to justify human actions by so many theories, almost completely throwing away the fact than man has a will.

In Chapters 6 and 7 are a majestic and convincing call to the church’s sacrament of penance. While Bishop Sheen agrees to, and even recommends psychoanalysis to those genuinely in need of it, it argues against the more radical claims of it (i.e., Freud’s version), for example - its emphasis on instincts - especially sex, and its claims that it rightly leads to a denial of God and an ethical ideal. This section of the book was a debate between psychoanalysis and the church’s sacrament of reconciliation in which the latter convincingly thrashed the former in my opinion. Sheen outlines the philosophy, theology, psychology, and practical utility of confession, in such a beautiful and compelling way. With regards to the psychoanalysis vs confession debate, my thoughts are that they serve different purposes. Bishop Sheen’s chief criticisms and arguments are against the sweeping claims of Freud’s psychoanalysis in his time. No one can deny the efficacy of psychoanalysis (or the now common Jungian analysis, whatever :)).

In the rest of the book, Sheen argues against casual sex, defends the church’s teachings on penance, and invites readers to conversion.

******************************************************************************

Generally, this book was is exceptional and worth the read. Bishop Sheen is so eloquent in speech and penetrating in writing. The book has 14 chapters, and a few in the middle seemed repetitive and not as captivating as the first seven or the last three. This is one of those books you read slowly, soaking up each page as you go. It also highly merits a second and even a third read. I will do so myself.

With regards to philosophy and psychology, Freud is thoroughly criticised throughout this book, which is a little weird because some of Freud’s theories attacked are now dated and no one believes them anymore. Bishop Sheen seems more favourably disposed towards Jung and Kierkegaard’s arguments, of course, alongside the church fathers, doctors, and saints.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was first published in 1949, so some of the references are dated.

The premise of this book is that atheistic modern psychoanalysis is flawed, as it does not lead to peace of soul; it denies personal responsibility, guilt, God, and the role of faith. The only thing that will bring peace is conversion. Fulton Sheen elaborates on the malady, and proposes what it takes to achieve conversion.

This isn't really a book of apologetics. It seeks to approach Catholicism from a psychological point of view. People are looking for psychological wholeness, but the only way they will find it is through Christ. Fulton Sheen explains HOW Catholic ideas lead to peace; how the human person needs to admit their weakness, their guilt and their need for a higher power; how they need to reach out to God for forgiveness, and for a higher purpose. The writing here is very anthropological and philosophy-driven. So you won't get a lot of arguments as to WHY the Church is true, but rather, an appeal to common experience and generalization as to how man is, and what he needs to alleviate his existential frustration.

The book has a lot of good insights, especially to the person who's only testing the waters of faith. To him, much of what Sheen writes will be absolutely revolutionary. For the well-read Catholic, there are still quite a few nuggets of wisdom, but they are interspersed between a lot of things they already know, as well as a lot of dated references to Communism and Freudianism. Having to slog through some of those passages (especially those on Freudianism) was quite the pain and nobody believes in it any more and those passages tended to be less relevant. His comments on Communism were penetrating, but still somewhat dated. With this book, you have to put up with reading a lot of description of life 60-70 years ago to get to the good stuff. Luckily the prose is excellent. Sheen has a wonderful talent of communicating theological and psychological truths through every day references (and some of those references were pretty dated, too. Not many people listen to a staticky radio any more!)

So this is why I'm giving the book a 3/5. It's not a book I would go out and buy for anyone, but if someone happens to read it, it would be to their benefit, although maybe a little long. Perhaps in a hundred years, those dated references will be mere historical curiosities and people won't mind them so much.

[Keri Daskam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I'm certain that much of it was above my head. Some chapters I liked pretty well, but most of the book seemed to drag and drag. Some parts I really disliked. I find myself unable to recommend this book, though I fear my disliking it says more about me than Peace of Soul.

[Ray A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found "Examination of Conscience" to be the one useful chapter.

[Julie Lake · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Peace of Soul,” written by Bishop Sheen in 1949, makes an argument that the psychotherapeutical approach to healing can offer no cures to neuroses, angst, or ennui but strategies for adjustment, whereas sacramental confession and a life submitted to God through His holy Church provide ongoing sustenance for souls far beyond what these treatments make available.

To paraphrase Sheen, When the goal of civilization consists, not in union with the Heavenly Father but in the acquisition of material things, there is an increase in the potentialities of envy, greed and war. The post-modern subject becomes simply sick, not sinful, a victim of a judgmental superego, whereas more clearly it is given over to a self-seeking careerism that tempts us to transgress, causing neurosis. Our lapsarian inclination to evil inevitably leading us astray, we accommodate sin to such an extent that we cease to recognize its gravity, and by denying its existence, a cure becomes impossible. Psychiatry, in the eyes of the secularized, becomes an iron file whereby a person may hope to escape the mental prison wherein he has locked himself, acting as his own turnkey.

Yet true peace of soul cannot come from within but rather from without, a grace visited upon the individual by the Divine once the individual sins are confessed, absolved, and atoned for.
This peace of soul can be maintained when, as observed by St. Augustine, we recognize our restlessness within time as a hunger for the eternal, the things of God. Relief from anxiety comes not by giving ourselves by halves to personal indulgences but by all-encompassing love. The God-responsive soul thinks of religion in terms of submission to His Will and seeks to surrender to it rather than for the Infinite to assist in personal, finite projects.

In beautiful prose Bishop Sheen intelligently reminds the sinful and suffering of the healing mercy made available to us by Our Lord’s Holy Catholic Church.

[林 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fulton Sheen has the gift of words. He was able to explain many things related to finding peace within our souls.

My takeaway is to truly depend on God's great mercy. Yes, we are sinners. We cannot save ourselves, so how do we fulfill our mission of helping others? By first recognizing where we have fallen and what grace we need to ask from our Lord. This first step alone takes so much courage. This is a courage I lack. How to find this courage? Remember that God loves you. There is no prerequisite to "earning" His grace. His grace is freely given; but it is our choice to accept it or not. Many times we want the object of salvation but not the process of sanctification. The journey will be difficult and may not make sense to the limited human mind during the time of trial. But when the suffering has passed and the heart is enlightened, the mind will realise how God uses our experiences to shape us.

A great book for Catholics who desire sanctification and to understand its process. Also recommended to any Christian with the same desire... just that I am unsure if this book is able to speak in the language of the other Christian theologies.

[Kevin Estabrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Timeless Wisdom on Finding Serenity and Joy" is a perfect subtitle for this insightful tome. The Venerable Archbishop "asks us to stop blaming our subconscious for all our ills and to examine instead our conscience, to turn away from the psychoanalyst and turn to God." As the New York Times Book Review stated: "Peace of Soul shows that inner conflicts can be resolved only through their redemption by God."

Contents: "Frustrations", "The Philosophy of Anxiety", "The Origin of Conflicts and Their Redemption", "Is God Hard to Find?", "Morbidity and the Denial of Guilt", "Examination of Conscience", "Psychoanalysis and Confession", "Sex and Love of God", "Repression and Self-expression", "Remorse and Pardon", "Fear of Death", "The Psychology of Conversion", "The Theology of Conversion", "The Effects of Conversion"

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fulton Sheen writes theology with the tone and pacing of a novelist. While this work is academic, his arguments are hard-hitting and not a word is wasted. In Peace of Soul, Sheen develops on a topic he often brought up in his series of televised broadcasts, the mental health crisis afflicting Americans in the wake of the second world war, and the inefficacy of Freudian psycholanalysis to treat an epidemic of anxiety. Sheen highlights here not only the gaping holes in Freud's logic, but the ways in which a materialist, Freudian worldview is incompatible with Christianity. This work was published in 1949 and, as such, some of Sheen's language is outdated, but this work stands as evidence that mental health struggles are not unique to the 21st century, but endemic to the human condition.

[Joshua Ocon · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, Fulton Sheen makes a powerful case for Christianity as the privileged way of attaining the "peace of soul" which no other whatsoever can give. Armed with his erudition, not only in philosophy and theology, but even in psychology, Sheen pictures the contemporary situation of a world gone wayward (still observable even up to this day) morally, mentally, and spiritually, and presents how these competing and ever-changing epochal ideals and trends fail and faint in the face of the serenity and joy that can only be received through one's free opening to the grace of God. This is a must read for anyone who is genuinely seeking peace in today's tremulous world.

[Jake Oliger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really good book on peace of soul, conversion, and the psychology of faith.

Timeless? I'm not sure. There's an awful lot of Freud and Marx, and while they're still influential today, the conversation definitely has a "dated" quality to it. Searching for and Maintaining Peace would be more fittingly called timeless.

Because of the dated quality and occasional long-windedness, I don't know if I can give this more than a 3.5 out of 5, but it's quite good, contains great wisdom, and has Sheen's characteristic wittiness and quotability.

[Juan Cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first, I didn't expect too much for this book.

But oh, how wrong was I. I ended up loving it, such and interesting insights can be found here. It's useful for the ones interested in converting to Christianity or for the already converted.

The book is from the 1950s but applies also to our age, the age of frustrated modern men as the author tells us.

The knowledge regarding psychology, confession, guilt, peace and Christ are fantastic.

I made a summarized version of it to re-read the topics over the years.

I definitely recommend it.

[Paweł · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with deep content. It astonishes me how relevant this book still is. Despite being written over 70 years ago, I could say it describes exactly the problems the current world is facing.

However, I'm removing one star from the rating, because the way the book is written makes it hard to read. This could be just me - I'm not used to reading authors with such a sophisticated writing style - and abp Sheen for sure is one of them.

[Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible deep dive into the philosophy and rhetoric behind the eyes of the twentieth century. There are so many parallels to be made to the twenty first century that it loses none of its relevancy. Very thought provoking on the subject of conversion and what it constitutes as well. Probably the most useful part to me.

[Bryan Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the Lithuanian language edition published by Kataliku Pasaulio Leidiniai in 2022. The book itself has many insightful gems and also a few skippable sections. The Lithuanian translation is pretty bad, in my view, and the translator's notes sometimes just seem to express the translator's dislike of the author.

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked reading Fulton Sheen's reflections on the purpose of life. This helped spiritually center me at a rough time in my life, and I would recommend this to anyone who is vaguely interested in a Catholic perspective on meaning/purpose.

[Basia Belroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can see why Bishop Sheen is up for sainthood. This man really touches on “timeless” issues. He seems to be speaking to us right now. Prophetic... His suggestions for attaining peace of soul are spot on. I want to read all of his books.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timeless and relevant even more today.

[Chidi Agbakwuru · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read as Blessed Fulton Sheen brings his deep knowledge of philosophical, political and psychological insight to bear to expound Biblical truths.

Loved it.

[Joshua Birdsong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read. Archbishop Fulton J Sheen has an amazing way of explaining different things, such as confession.

[Leo Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best read of the year by far. Cannot say enough good things about the Ven. Fulton Sheen and his writing style, and content.

[Aaron Crofut · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting companion read to someone like, say, Jung or Fromm. All three see modernity is in some serious trouble, but only Sheen has anything resembling an answer. I wish I had the opportunity to devote more attention to this book than I had this time around.

[Mar*jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, but wish to read it again to understand more.

Btw: one of Grandma Jost’s favorite books

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rated—PG (my personal opinion based on content)

*mentioning of sex

[Emmanuel Iddio · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this well written master piece by Venerable Sheen, he helps the reader understand what peace of soul is, why it should be sought and how to seek it. Peace of soul is not peace of mind, instead it "is a different and a finer thing; it results from justice, not from adjustment, from rebirth, not from integration to the values of the moment." Peace of soul does not lie in conforming with the 'norm' as sins do not become virtues by being widely practiced. Right is still right if nobody is right, and wrong is wrong if everybody is wrong.

Peace of soul does not also mean blind toleration as "one of the cruellest things that can happen to a human being is to be tolerated. Never once did Our Lord say, "Tolerate your enemies!" But He did say, "Love your enemies; do good to them that hate you" (Matt. 5:44)". He also points out the fact that people do want to be saved, but on their own terms. They seek indifference as the antidote to evil, rather than doing good. They do want to be purged of the disgust of sin, but not of the pleasure of sin.

Peace of soul is true peace born of the tranquillity of order, wherein the senses are subject to the reason, the reason to faith, and the whole personality to the Will of God. The true peace that follows conversion is deepened, not disturbed, by the crosses, checks, and disquietudes of the world, for they are all welcomed as coming from the hands of the Loving Father.

With striking anecdotes and clear arguments, Venerable Sheen does true justice to an ideal the world seeks in its wealth, relationships, achievements, feats etc but never truly finds because we are "nine hundred miles from our starting point" traveling in the wrong direction!

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I could read this book one hundred times and still gain some new insight after each read into life, Catholicism, and morality. It's a tough read, and a book that deserves deep study rather than a quick run-through. I recommend it, but prepare to be challenged.