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Letters to a Young Catholic
In this remarkable tour of the Catholic world, George Weigel helps us understand how Catholicism fosters what Flannery O'Connor called "the habit of being." Taking the reader by the hand, Weigel embarks on a journey to Catholic landmarks as diverse as Chartres Cathedral and St. Mary's Church in Greenville, South Carolina; the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and G.K. Chesterton's favorite pub; the grave of a modern martyr in Warsaw, and the Sistine Chapel. Weaving together insights from history, literature, theology, and music, Weigel uses these touchstones to illuminate the beliefs that have shaped Catholicism for two thousand years.With clarity and conviction, Weigel examines the foundations of Catholic faith and explores the topics of grace, prayer, vocation, sin and forgiveness, suffering, and-most importantly-love. Putting a dramatic face on this invitation to Catholicism, Weigel introduces some of the figures who have shaped his faith and thought-Michelangelo and Fra Angelico; Evelyn Waugh and Cardinal John Henry Newman; Father Jerzy Popieuszko and Pope John Paul II; Edith Stein and Mother Teresa-as he also shares anecdotes from his own Catholic life. To a world that sometimes seems closed and claustrophobic, he suggests, Christian humanism offers a world with windows and doors-and a skylight.In these letters, George Weigel conveys the power of a faith that is at once personal and universal, timely and eternal. His book will inspire not only the young generation of Catholics whose World Youth Day celebrations have launched an era of renewal for the Church, but also the faithful, the doubtful, and the searchers of every age.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
78 people are currently reading
1399 people want to read
About the author
George Weigel
124 books154 followersAmerican author and political and social activist. Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Weigel was the Founding President of the James Madison Foundation.
Each summer, Weigel and several other Catholic intellectuals from the United States, Poland, and across Europe conduct the Tertio Millennio Seminar on the Free Society in Krakow, in which they and an assortment of students from the United States, Poland, and several other emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Europe discuss Christianity within the context of liberal democracy and capitalism, with the papal encyclical Centesimus Annus being the focal point.
He is a member of the advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
Each summer, Weigel and several other Catholic intellectuals from the United States, Poland, and across Europe conduct the Tertio Millennio Seminar on the Free Society in Krakow, in which they and an assortment of students from the United States, Poland, and several other emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Europe discuss Christianity within the context of liberal democracy and capitalism, with the papal encyclical Centesimus Annus being the focal point.
He is a member of the advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
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October 2, 2024
This little review of mine unleashed a fortissimo firestorm of fury when I first published it earlier, two years ago! I will never stop apologizing for the outrage I caused by it. I probably reopened old wounds.
I couldn’t have ventured it at a worse time in American Church history!
Yes, quite a large number of folks have been wounded by the Catholic Faith lately, and a strongly-worded apology has to be Universal - and come from All its members.
I can at least apologize for these incendiary results that I myself have apparently precipitated from my undying adherence to the Church.
Though no longer - due mainly to age and diminishing powers - a frequent churchgoer, I stand fast to my Faith.
And to most of my review: which I have duly modified.
It is, after all, our originary (though now much modified) Christian church.
And - though perhaps as you all realize - I was originally a true circumstantial solipsist (totally untenable as that sounds) I have since that early time gained some self-knowledge through a deeper knowledge of my extensive faults.
Religious thought is NOT a form of self-transcendence. It’s an extension of self-Knowledge. And it leads to an extremely bitter knowledge of the real Fallen World as well.
But folks have ascribed a sort of evangelistic self-transcendence to George Weigel, and I would probably agree with them.
But let me explain in a brief digression about this writer’s GOOD POINTS.
I must note here, that I will address any more negative comments - justified as they are, and in addition to the anger I caused at a stupidly Wrong moment - as my failing courage permits!
Self-transcendance, in this life, is always necessarily constructed upon a foundation of repression - and even suppression of facts.
Jacques Derrida argues this point cogently in his remarkable study of the self-imposed transcendence of Platonic and Christian thought, The Gift of Death.
But while philosophical idealism is doomed to such duality, Christian ideals don’t HAVE to be.
Not if they’re founded on love, a love that has been purified endlessly in the crucible of egoless nonaggression toward evil: returning love for hate.
That’s the key to Christianity, and the collapse of all attempts at repression.
If you try to rise above others in transcendence, though, you’re doomed to an endless entanglement in your own mind weeds, like the murdered Medusa.
But Weigel uses this same weapon of transcendence - my friend Black Oxford is right - in his authorized three-volume biography of John Paul II.
Weigel seeks a transcendence that is almost evangelical in its fervour.
But what authorized biography ISN’T founded on the twin rocks of repression and suppression of any ‘dirty laundry’ in its subject’s life?
George Weigel is learning, and daily life is the best teacher for him, as for us. And with true, unornamented faith, his writing will progress and mature.
That point took me a whole lifetime to see.
Here, though, this highly respected American religious commentator and essayist takes a break from his serious responsibilities and puts his feet up for a change, to pen these light and conversational letters to an imaginary young Catholic - a youth just starting to get his bearings for life’s long journey ahead of him.
This is the George Weigel we’d meet if we were mulling over our thoughts, fortified with a glass or two of fine brandy and chatting amiably in front of his fireplace on a cool autumn evening. You have to admit we all sometimes have a GOOD side! And good times...
These are many compelling tales here about the Church in olden literary and artistic times.
As Weigel talks, we can almost feel the vine branches of the lives of selected sainted writers intertwining with stories from our own past.
And what a storyteller he is!
For, fresh from a marathon of work on his monumental three-volume life of John Paul II (read it - you'll SEE how good it is), Weigel is now REALLY unwinding for the first time in years.
This book is lots of fun to read, though I never meant to offend in saying it. Heaven forbid! Though all our realities are to some extent morally impugned, the struggle must continue.
For bad faith is, alas, a part of each one of us.
And Weigel writes with such apparent ease. Note I say apparent. For it’s also a bit contrived.
But it’s a pretty decent book!
I couldn’t have ventured it at a worse time in American Church history!
Yes, quite a large number of folks have been wounded by the Catholic Faith lately, and a strongly-worded apology has to be Universal - and come from All its members.
I can at least apologize for these incendiary results that I myself have apparently precipitated from my undying adherence to the Church.
Though no longer - due mainly to age and diminishing powers - a frequent churchgoer, I stand fast to my Faith.
And to most of my review: which I have duly modified.
It is, after all, our originary (though now much modified) Christian church.
And - though perhaps as you all realize - I was originally a true circumstantial solipsist (totally untenable as that sounds) I have since that early time gained some self-knowledge through a deeper knowledge of my extensive faults.
Religious thought is NOT a form of self-transcendence. It’s an extension of self-Knowledge. And it leads to an extremely bitter knowledge of the real Fallen World as well.
But folks have ascribed a sort of evangelistic self-transcendence to George Weigel, and I would probably agree with them.
But let me explain in a brief digression about this writer’s GOOD POINTS.
I must note here, that I will address any more negative comments - justified as they are, and in addition to the anger I caused at a stupidly Wrong moment - as my failing courage permits!
Self-transcendance, in this life, is always necessarily constructed upon a foundation of repression - and even suppression of facts.
Jacques Derrida argues this point cogently in his remarkable study of the self-imposed transcendence of Platonic and Christian thought, The Gift of Death.
But while philosophical idealism is doomed to such duality, Christian ideals don’t HAVE to be.
Not if they’re founded on love, a love that has been purified endlessly in the crucible of egoless nonaggression toward evil: returning love for hate.
That’s the key to Christianity, and the collapse of all attempts at repression.
If you try to rise above others in transcendence, though, you’re doomed to an endless entanglement in your own mind weeds, like the murdered Medusa.
But Weigel uses this same weapon of transcendence - my friend Black Oxford is right - in his authorized three-volume biography of John Paul II.
Weigel seeks a transcendence that is almost evangelical in its fervour.
But what authorized biography ISN’T founded on the twin rocks of repression and suppression of any ‘dirty laundry’ in its subject’s life?
George Weigel is learning, and daily life is the best teacher for him, as for us. And with true, unornamented faith, his writing will progress and mature.
That point took me a whole lifetime to see.
Here, though, this highly respected American religious commentator and essayist takes a break from his serious responsibilities and puts his feet up for a change, to pen these light and conversational letters to an imaginary young Catholic - a youth just starting to get his bearings for life’s long journey ahead of him.
This is the George Weigel we’d meet if we were mulling over our thoughts, fortified with a glass or two of fine brandy and chatting amiably in front of his fireplace on a cool autumn evening. You have to admit we all sometimes have a GOOD side! And good times...
These are many compelling tales here about the Church in olden literary and artistic times.
As Weigel talks, we can almost feel the vine branches of the lives of selected sainted writers intertwining with stories from our own past.
And what a storyteller he is!
For, fresh from a marathon of work on his monumental three-volume life of John Paul II (read it - you'll SEE how good it is), Weigel is now REALLY unwinding for the first time in years.
This book is lots of fun to read, though I never meant to offend in saying it. Heaven forbid! Though all our realities are to some extent morally impugned, the struggle must continue.
For bad faith is, alas, a part of each one of us.
And Weigel writes with such apparent ease. Note I say apparent. For it’s also a bit contrived.
But it’s a pretty decent book!
September 16, 2016
It took me about a year and a half to finish this one (I started it last winter, dropped it for a year and picked it up again this summer) but it's a good one! It's a series of essays on Catholic thought as demonstrated through various Catholic figures and pieces of history. He discusses the ideas of a few of my favourites such as Flannery O'Connor, G. K. Chesterton, Evelyn Waugh and Karol Wojtyla. (<----I'd put Weigel's mammoth bio of this great servant of God on my to-read list, but I'm too scared to.) For those who aren't familiar with these brilliant minds, this book is a good into!
But favorite authors aside, this book is full of the hard truths that modern teens NEED to hear and be challenged by. Weigel isn't afraid of scaring you away, and I like that. He doesn't dumb things down. This book is intellectual (although it's also very clear), and it challenges you to rise to your responsibilities as a follower of Christ and a citizen of this world. Forget "Do Hard Things", I'm giving my (future) children this book!
But favorite authors aside, this book is full of the hard truths that modern teens NEED to hear and be challenged by. Weigel isn't afraid of scaring you away, and I like that. He doesn't dumb things down. This book is intellectual (although it's also very clear), and it challenges you to rise to your responsibilities as a follower of Christ and a citizen of this world. Forget "Do Hard Things", I'm giving my (future) children this book!
July 11, 2016
Rereading this and enjoying immensely. It seems like a perfect bookend to Robert Barron's Catholicism. Both informative and inspirational, it would be the perfect gift for any Catholic, especially American Catholics.
May 22, 2017
This is a better book than the 3 stars suggest, but I feel like there has to be a cap on any book that takes me more than a year to read.
I decided to read Letters to a Young Catholic because I had failed at just about every theology book I had tried to read in the past few years. 12 years of Catholic school (albeit a very long time ago) should be enough to understand them, right? Nope. OK then, maybe a book written for young people would be more my speed? Plus I had been reading George Weigel's columns and generally enjoyed them. So I started it early spring 2016 and I think I got lost about chapter 4 or 5 and set it aside. Argh! I didn't get back to it until almost a year later, mostly because I was embarrassed to keep seeing it on my "currently reading' list.
For whatever reason, I didn't get stuck in that spot this time around. Even so, it still took me a long time to finish. The chapters are very much stand-alone reads and are generally worth spending some time thinking about, so I limited myself to one at a time. Each chapter contains a religious point or two wrapped around a visit to / discussion about a Catholic site around the world. The author does an effective job connecting the place with the point, and most of the chapters are very interesting as well as thought-provoking.
Even though the book was written in 2004, it was updated in 2015 and feels very "current." It's worth a try for any Catholic who wants to learn more about his or her faith, or any non-Catholic who'd like to better understand why Catholics believe some of the seemingly odd things we do.
I decided to read Letters to a Young Catholic because I had failed at just about every theology book I had tried to read in the past few years. 12 years of Catholic school (albeit a very long time ago) should be enough to understand them, right? Nope. OK then, maybe a book written for young people would be more my speed? Plus I had been reading George Weigel's columns and generally enjoyed them. So I started it early spring 2016 and I think I got lost about chapter 4 or 5 and set it aside. Argh! I didn't get back to it until almost a year later, mostly because I was embarrassed to keep seeing it on my "currently reading' list.
For whatever reason, I didn't get stuck in that spot this time around. Even so, it still took me a long time to finish. The chapters are very much stand-alone reads and are generally worth spending some time thinking about, so I limited myself to one at a time. Each chapter contains a religious point or two wrapped around a visit to / discussion about a Catholic site around the world. The author does an effective job connecting the place with the point, and most of the chapters are very interesting as well as thought-provoking.
Even though the book was written in 2004, it was updated in 2015 and feels very "current." It's worth a try for any Catholic who wants to learn more about his or her faith, or any non-Catholic who'd like to better understand why Catholics believe some of the seemingly odd things we do.
October 7, 2021
SO excellent! Weigel explores contemporary Catholicism through the lens of places + people, and somehow manages to capture the *feeling* of American Catholicism very well, while also giving action points and spurs to the young Catholic.
I especially loved the parts where he talked about O'Connor, Waugh, and Chesterton, but I am biased, I suppose. :)
I did learn quite a bit, ESPECIALLY from the chapter on Newman (I am literally living at a Newman Center. How did I not know about his critique of liberal religion??) and the one on Jerzy Popiełuszko (<3 <3 <3 I need to go back to Poland, y'all), and other chapters reminded me of things I need to know and should bring back into the center.
I would recommend this book to literally any young Catholic, especially ones who want to take their faith and the *culture* of their faith more seriously.
4 stars! Probs higher on a reread!
I especially loved the parts where he talked about O'Connor, Waugh, and Chesterton, but I am biased, I suppose. :)
I did learn quite a bit, ESPECIALLY from the chapter on Newman (I am literally living at a Newman Center. How did I not know about his critique of liberal religion??) and the one on Jerzy Popiełuszko (<3 <3 <3 I need to go back to Poland, y'all), and other chapters reminded me of things I need to know and should bring back into the center.
I would recommend this book to literally any young Catholic, especially ones who want to take their faith and the *culture* of their faith more seriously.
4 stars! Probs higher on a reread!
May 24, 2019
I didn't expect much from this book. Other than the profound biography of Pope John Paul II, I'm not a big Weigel fan. Letters turned out to be an amazing series of essays on the parts of the Catholic Faith that too many people ignore... Weigel takes us to the Bird & Baby to sit with Tolkien and the inklings. He takes us to Brideshead manor to meet Cordelia. All the while, he draws the reader to realize that the ethos and the culture that authentic Christianity evokes is what ought to used to draw in the young - not ideologies, debates, theology and service projects. Worth reading, even if you're not a young Catholic.
April 2, 2022
Excellent book for confirmation prep. George Weigel in this small volume manages to weave history, geography, literature, music, art, into these short messages that inform, form, inspire, exhort. Well done.
The letters aren't chronological so they can be given singly to a teen, if there's a specific lesson that needs to be imparted or discussed.
(I also added many places to my want-to-go list as well as books to my want-to-read list.)
The letters aren't chronological so they can be given singly to a teen, if there's a specific lesson that needs to be imparted or discussed.
(I also added many places to my want-to-go list as well as books to my want-to-read list.)
April 22, 2023
Okay, I'm not going to be popular among my 10th grade religion classmates for saying this, but I enjoyed reading Letters To A Young Catholic (besides the 10 essays and presentations we had to do on it). Letters (I'll be calling it this from hereon-out) is written in the style of 19 letters, which are more like academic critical essays, each travelling to a different place and teaching a unique Catholic lesson. While at times overly intellectual, and at other times slightly controversial, I managed to take away some valuable things from this book.
Let's start by saying that I am not a "Young Catholic." So while I do attend Catholic school (hence my completion of this book), I have not grown up in a religious world, nor do I have much knowledge on the faith or traditions. That is precisely why I liked this book so much. While I might not be an avid church-goer, I am an avid learner and find it distressing to know absolutely nothing about any given topic. Letters was a wonderful glimpse into the Catholic world and provided some decent explanations of some elusive traditions. I feel as though I understand the faith much more than before.
I also learned quite a bit of history from this book. In each letter, Weigel takes readers to different geographical locations - from the Rome, to Cambridge, to Lithuania, and more - and through time as well - from Jesus' crucifixion, to the Second World War, to our world today. And in every letter, you learn a little more about the world you live in. In my opinion, whether you are Catholic or not does not matter - one must have at least a basic understanding of religion, of the past, to fully grasp what is happening in our world today. Even in our ever-secularized world, so much of our culture is rooted in the religion and traditions of our ancestors.
Finally, I found this book quite masterful. It is no doubt that George Weigel is a thoroughly educated individual who has a grasp of culture and is gifted in writing. As I began this book, I was humbled by my ignorance on the subject. However, as I kept reading, I realized that I was grateful to be the pupil of someone clearly very experienced and passionate about what he was writing about. Even if one doesn't agree with what they are reading, at least they know they are arguing with someone competent enough to have evidence to back up their arguments.
Overall, I found this book very spiritually awakening, but I see how that may not resonate with everyone. I also found this book very intellectually stimulating, so I implore the non-Catholics to approach this book from an educational point of view. It is truthfully very educational. I now have about 8 essays and 2 presentations diving into the specifics of each chapter of this book, which will likely never see the light. Despite the pain of writing said essays, my overall impression of this book is positive and I hope to revisit it later in my life.
4 stars.
Let's start by saying that I am not a "Young Catholic." So while I do attend Catholic school (hence my completion of this book), I have not grown up in a religious world, nor do I have much knowledge on the faith or traditions. That is precisely why I liked this book so much. While I might not be an avid church-goer, I am an avid learner and find it distressing to know absolutely nothing about any given topic. Letters was a wonderful glimpse into the Catholic world and provided some decent explanations of some elusive traditions. I feel as though I understand the faith much more than before.
I also learned quite a bit of history from this book. In each letter, Weigel takes readers to different geographical locations - from the Rome, to Cambridge, to Lithuania, and more - and through time as well - from Jesus' crucifixion, to the Second World War, to our world today. And in every letter, you learn a little more about the world you live in. In my opinion, whether you are Catholic or not does not matter - one must have at least a basic understanding of religion, of the past, to fully grasp what is happening in our world today. Even in our ever-secularized world, so much of our culture is rooted in the religion and traditions of our ancestors.
Finally, I found this book quite masterful. It is no doubt that George Weigel is a thoroughly educated individual who has a grasp of culture and is gifted in writing. As I began this book, I was humbled by my ignorance on the subject. However, as I kept reading, I realized that I was grateful to be the pupil of someone clearly very experienced and passionate about what he was writing about. Even if one doesn't agree with what they are reading, at least they know they are arguing with someone competent enough to have evidence to back up their arguments.
Overall, I found this book very spiritually awakening, but I see how that may not resonate with everyone. I also found this book very intellectually stimulating, so I implore the non-Catholics to approach this book from an educational point of view. It is truthfully very educational. I now have about 8 essays and 2 presentations diving into the specifics of each chapter of this book, which will likely never see the light. Despite the pain of writing said essays, my overall impression of this book is positive and I hope to revisit it later in my life.
4 stars.
August 16, 2024
If I had annotated this book as I went along, there no text would be visible due to all the underscoring, highlighting, note-taking, and sticky notes I would've placed along the sides. It is that good. Now, I plan on rereading it and marking up the book.
January 30, 2022
An excellent daily morning read for the past 2 weeks. Absolutely stellar, phenomenal, and most importantly prophetic. I really cannot fathom how Weigel was able to write this in 2004 and yet have it still be SO relavent and pertinent to today's young Catholics. Beyond a few references to upcoming events, and the fact that all the references stop in 2004, it really could have been written yesterday, and still all of the very real things marked as important and necessary would still be true. Amazingly, he mentioned that by 2050 there could be as many as 240 million Catholics in Africa, so I looked up the current number, and there are already 236 million, compared to the 120 million in 2004. WOWZA! For all of my young adult friends, Catholic or Catholic-sympathetic, I absolutely encourage you to take the time to read this, 1 letter a day, and be reminded and renewed of so much good. It is incredible. And incredibly, I was able to pick this up at a used book sale for 25 cents. Amazing!
August 5, 2014
I checked this out of my local libary and fell in love with it. It's an atypical travelogue, and a very special one. I particularly loved reading about my favorite scene from Brideshead, the pub that GKC frequented, and St. Peter's, as I'd just been there. After I finished the book, I ordered a copy for myself and one for a friend. When my son backpacks across Europe one day, I will send this with him. I hope there's a Nook version by then.
June 16, 2017
This is far and away the most important book I have ever read. Weigel weaves together a series of letters so personal they transcend to the universal. His prose at moments leaps secretly into poetry. He regards the spiritual, physical, patriotic and counter cultural capacities of Catholicism with equal and incredibly digestible gravity. This is a book for anyone willing to wade out into the estuary where the pragmatic meets the mysterious. 5/5
July 3, 2019
"They grew up with nothing. They have found Jesus Christ. They want to explore all that that means."
This quote from Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger sums up this phenomenal, powerful book. The gap between the largely lukewarm Catholics of the baby boomer generation and the engaged, on fire, shockingly Orthodox youth is growing day by day. Even now, secularists and religious alike are dumbfounded by young people's cries for Latin Mass, traditional liturgies, more Adoration, and Rosary groups. Wasn't this the Catholicism of pre-Vatican II that had been rejected? Why are traditional religious communities thriving and the "forward-thinking" ones dying? What to make of it? And what about that other group of young people - Catholic in name only? Or those many, many young people with no religion at all? What has a completely materialistic worldview wrought in the 21st century? How can we understand our faith - our history - in the wake of the truly incomprehensible events of the 20th century - how do we live in a post-Aushwitz world? Can a world of such immense suffering still be infused with an infinitely good God? What is Truth, anyway?
These are just some of the questions addressed in this collection. Weigel brilliantly takes readers on a "Catholic tour of the world" - from the Vatican to Chartres Cathedral to a brilliantly revamped Church in South Carolina - from Krakow, Poland to pubs in London to an Adoration Chapel in SoHo to the gas chambers at Aushwitz - a sacramental imagination infuses the entire tour with the enormous weight, meaning, and purpose of time, place, and history.
We learn from luminaries like JPII, Newman, Chesterton, Lewis, Tolkien, O'Connor, Augustine, Waugh, and many others. Weigel tackles difficult and controversial topics - the thinly veiled immortality project and the role of suffering/death in creating meaning in human life - the dignity of men and women and their sexuality - the importance of Beauty in an often ugly world.
I honestly can't say enough good things about this book. Weigel's optimism is empowering - and he presents a noble, compassionate, imaginative, beautiful faith to his readers - a faith so often misrepresented and misunderstood. As Tolkien once said, "There is some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for." And as JPII once said, "Life with Christ is a wonderful adventure."
Recommended for: Young Catholics (touche), All Catholics, People of all religions/no religion, Humanity in general.
----
Favorite quotes (there are many more - half the book is underlined!)
"When Peter keeps his eyes fixed on Jesus, he can do what he imagines impossible; he can walk on water. When he starts looking around for his security - when he starts looking elsewhere - he sinks. So do we. When we keep our gaze fixed on Christ, we, too, can do what seems impossible. We can accept the gift of faith, with humility and gratitude. We can live our lives as the gift for others that our lives are to us. We can discover the depths of ourselves in the emptying of ourselves."
"Emptiness and oblivion are not our destiny. Love is the final word. And love is the most living thing of all, because love is of God."
"In Christ, we meet the truth that man without God has lost touch with the deepest yearnings of his humanity [...] Humanism without God is unhuman, and ultimately, inhuman."
"The uncommon nonsense that has spilled over from the twentieth century into the twenty-first is the gnostic nonsense that takes everything in the human condition as infinitely malleable and infinitely plastic, subject to change by acts of human willfullness."
"Is life a permanent pleasure hunt, as so much of contemporary culture suggests [...] or is life a matter of learning-to-love?"
"If you settle for anything less than the greatness that has been made possible for you by Christ, you're ignoring the twitch of the divine weaver on the thread of your life. Let the grace of God lift you up to where, in your heart of hearts, you want to be."
"Our souls are really longing for [not deathlessness] but wholeness, wisdom, goodness, and godliness - longings that cannot be satisfied fully in embodied earthly life."
Cardinal George: "Those who gather at his cross and by his empty tomb, no matter their nationality, are on the right side of history [...] There is nothing progressive about sin, even when it is promoted as enlightened."
"Rights imply responsibilities. In a culture like ours, which often thinks of rights as free-floating claims to do whatever one likes (so long as 'no one gets hurt'), that linkage between rights and responsibilities could stand some revisiting."
"The moral life involves rules for living that emerge from inside the human heart and its thirst for happiness with God."
This quote from Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger sums up this phenomenal, powerful book. The gap between the largely lukewarm Catholics of the baby boomer generation and the engaged, on fire, shockingly Orthodox youth is growing day by day. Even now, secularists and religious alike are dumbfounded by young people's cries for Latin Mass, traditional liturgies, more Adoration, and Rosary groups. Wasn't this the Catholicism of pre-Vatican II that had been rejected? Why are traditional religious communities thriving and the "forward-thinking" ones dying? What to make of it? And what about that other group of young people - Catholic in name only? Or those many, many young people with no religion at all? What has a completely materialistic worldview wrought in the 21st century? How can we understand our faith - our history - in the wake of the truly incomprehensible events of the 20th century - how do we live in a post-Aushwitz world? Can a world of such immense suffering still be infused with an infinitely good God? What is Truth, anyway?
These are just some of the questions addressed in this collection. Weigel brilliantly takes readers on a "Catholic tour of the world" - from the Vatican to Chartres Cathedral to a brilliantly revamped Church in South Carolina - from Krakow, Poland to pubs in London to an Adoration Chapel in SoHo to the gas chambers at Aushwitz - a sacramental imagination infuses the entire tour with the enormous weight, meaning, and purpose of time, place, and history.
We learn from luminaries like JPII, Newman, Chesterton, Lewis, Tolkien, O'Connor, Augustine, Waugh, and many others. Weigel tackles difficult and controversial topics - the thinly veiled immortality project and the role of suffering/death in creating meaning in human life - the dignity of men and women and their sexuality - the importance of Beauty in an often ugly world.
I honestly can't say enough good things about this book. Weigel's optimism is empowering - and he presents a noble, compassionate, imaginative, beautiful faith to his readers - a faith so often misrepresented and misunderstood. As Tolkien once said, "There is some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for." And as JPII once said, "Life with Christ is a wonderful adventure."
Recommended for: Young Catholics (touche), All Catholics, People of all religions/no religion, Humanity in general.
----
Favorite quotes (there are many more - half the book is underlined!)
"When Peter keeps his eyes fixed on Jesus, he can do what he imagines impossible; he can walk on water. When he starts looking around for his security - when he starts looking elsewhere - he sinks. So do we. When we keep our gaze fixed on Christ, we, too, can do what seems impossible. We can accept the gift of faith, with humility and gratitude. We can live our lives as the gift for others that our lives are to us. We can discover the depths of ourselves in the emptying of ourselves."
"Emptiness and oblivion are not our destiny. Love is the final word. And love is the most living thing of all, because love is of God."
"In Christ, we meet the truth that man without God has lost touch with the deepest yearnings of his humanity [...] Humanism without God is unhuman, and ultimately, inhuman."
"The uncommon nonsense that has spilled over from the twentieth century into the twenty-first is the gnostic nonsense that takes everything in the human condition as infinitely malleable and infinitely plastic, subject to change by acts of human willfullness."
"Is life a permanent pleasure hunt, as so much of contemporary culture suggests [...] or is life a matter of learning-to-love?"
"If you settle for anything less than the greatness that has been made possible for you by Christ, you're ignoring the twitch of the divine weaver on the thread of your life. Let the grace of God lift you up to where, in your heart of hearts, you want to be."
"Our souls are really longing for [not deathlessness] but wholeness, wisdom, goodness, and godliness - longings that cannot be satisfied fully in embodied earthly life."
Cardinal George: "Those who gather at his cross and by his empty tomb, no matter their nationality, are on the right side of history [...] There is nothing progressive about sin, even when it is promoted as enlightened."
"Rights imply responsibilities. In a culture like ours, which often thinks of rights as free-floating claims to do whatever one likes (so long as 'no one gets hurt'), that linkage between rights and responsibilities could stand some revisiting."
"The moral life involves rules for living that emerge from inside the human heart and its thirst for happiness with God."
July 25, 2025
3.5/5 … thank you @Claire for the book rec! I always love reading books others recommended to me. I wanted to read this while I was in Europe because a lot of the places the author talks about are on this side of the Atlantic, and a few of them I had just recently visited. I wanted to read what the author had to say about those places while they were still very fresh in my mind! Overall, I feel like I wasn’t fully grasping ~50% of what the author was getting at. Maybe it was because my brain is on vacation mode and I wasn’t in a “theological” enough mindset? I’m not sure. I will say, the chapters that made the most sense and stuck with me the most were those discussing places I had been before. So maybe something about seeing the places with my own eyes made me better able to understand what the author was describing and connecting to the place. All in all, I think I will need to revisit this book later in my life - perhaps buying a physical copy and taking it with me on travels where I go to see all of the different places! Reading the chapter while there! Could be an idea ;)
January 8, 2018
“We all live in ‘the gap’ between the person we are today and the person we ought to be. That’s the inherent dramatic structure of the spiritual life, and of the moral life. Living in and closing that gap — better: living in and letting God’s grace, at work in our lives, close the gap — is a matter of becoming the kind of people who can live with God forever, the kind of people for whom heaven is a (super)natural pleasure, not an acquired taste.” (p. 119)
Absolutely loved this, and the image of preparing for the supernatural joy of heaven has not left my mind since the day I read this page.
“The truth of faith is something that seizes us, not something of our own discovery” (p. 28) — There were many moments in this book where the truth of faith truly seized me, and I was reminded of the power of beauty!! This is good stuff.
Absolutely loved this, and the image of preparing for the supernatural joy of heaven has not left my mind since the day I read this page.
“The truth of faith is something that seizes us, not something of our own discovery” (p. 28) — There were many moments in this book where the truth of faith truly seized me, and I was reminded of the power of beauty!! This is good stuff.
April 25, 2020
This is an amazingly insightful and extremely well-written book that all young Catholics should read. Composed in a series of letters, each letter uses a particular place of importance, and particular significant people in Church history to convey a spiritual truth and elucidate the ways those truths apply to our modern world. Weigel provides an educational world tour of key moments and places in Church history, describing the transcendent beauty of Chartres, the horrid austerity of Auschwitz, the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe, just to name a few. Yet, along with these historical lessons, he offers profound considerations all young Catholics should ponder for the sake of our world and faith depend on them.
March 4, 2025
Should’ve dnfed at page 50.
He has a way of citing and introducing people that is just mangled and half-assed and his conditional phrases are absolutely infuriating. I had to read some sentences 3 times and still not know what he was saying.
The conclusions he draws seem to come from almost no where and always happen at the wrong timing to where the chapter it occurs in seems completely irrelevant to the point he’s trying to make
The chapter on st Mary’s Greenville is the reason this isn’t one star
He has a way of citing and introducing people that is just mangled and half-assed and his conditional phrases are absolutely infuriating. I had to read some sentences 3 times and still not know what he was saying.
The conclusions he draws seem to come from almost no where and always happen at the wrong timing to where the chapter it occurs in seems completely irrelevant to the point he’s trying to make
The chapter on st Mary’s Greenville is the reason this isn’t one star
January 23, 2023
Buy it. Attempt not to underline every single sentence. Be inspired, vilified, encouraged, and challenged. Then buy it for every Catholic young adult you know.
Honestly upset I can’t give this more than 5 stars. Weigel takes you through historic and modern Catholicism in physical and metaphysical spaces and ideas. It’s the ultimate Catholic pep-talk as well as an incredibly important reminder of who the Church is and what she has done throughout history.
Get your hands on a copy. Now!
Honestly upset I can’t give this more than 5 stars. Weigel takes you through historic and modern Catholicism in physical and metaphysical spaces and ideas. It’s the ultimate Catholic pep-talk as well as an incredibly important reminder of who the Church is and what she has done throughout history.
Get your hands on a copy. Now!
August 20, 2017
The book was a gift from a friend because we have visited many of the places the author mentions. Each chapter with Les about the places and more a jumping off point for private meditation about Catholicism and the nature of it. In addition, source list in the back provides lots of material for my spiritual reading list.
February 2, 2023
Beautiful & interesting read about living the seeing the world through the lens of the Catholic Faith. An example of how to see the world sacramentally unfolds through Weigel’s pilgrimage journey of his letters, which powerfully and simply invite readers to experience, rather than simply read of, deep Catholic truths.
January 18, 2025
It has its strengths, especially when talking about the history of the Church, of liturgy and of beauty, but at times it comes across as a bit naive or bland, especially as regards the current state of the world and social doctrine. Would still recommend. Very easy read.
April 12, 2021
Feelin’ holy.
December 4, 2025
George Weigel does a great job of describing what’s it’s like to live out the faith, one of my favorite authors.
November 9, 2019
Weigel, a defender of the Catholic faith, demonstrates with great wit, style and appeal, the importance of tradition and corporeality with chatterly accounts of mundane locations where he unravels the key events and ties it has to the catholic tradition. And what he delivers is liquid gold, at times.
The Catholic faith is capable of enduring change but also engaging in dialogue with all-comers. It has survived to this day. Highlights include the conversions of two of Catholicism's great figures, G.K. Chesterton and John Henry Newman. As a Christian myself, I am partisan to this perspective, however, I feel there is no other alternative which can make sense our suffering 'estate' that we have inherited/been given and purpose with which live out with the highest ardor. I am positively moved by Pope John Paul II's biographical details and actions and now would like to take up the challenge of reading more on his Weigel's works on the man, saint and pope.
The Catholic faith is capable of enduring change but also engaging in dialogue with all-comers. It has survived to this day. Highlights include the conversions of two of Catholicism's great figures, G.K. Chesterton and John Henry Newman. As a Christian myself, I am partisan to this perspective, however, I feel there is no other alternative which can make sense our suffering 'estate' that we have inherited/been given and purpose with which live out with the highest ardor. I am positively moved by Pope John Paul II's biographical details and actions and now would like to take up the challenge of reading more on his Weigel's works on the man, saint and pope.
July 19, 2020
George Weigel's book 'Letters To A Young Catholic', which intends to be an inspirational guide through Roman Catholic teachings, takes the reader on a globetrotting journey through the catholic world, introducing the Church’s views on personal and public matters through matching them with buildings and locations of historic significance.
While the book introduces the reader successfully to the facts and positions, it unfortunately fails to inspire.
I joined the Catholic Church as a full member, taking my first communion and partaking fully in the Eucharist in 2013.
Preparing for this, books and resources were recommended to me, which brought my attention to George Weigel's 'Letters to a Young Catholic', which is part of 'The Art Of Mentoring' series by Basic Books.
This series takes its inspiration from Rielke's 'Letters to a Young Poet' and tries to deliver similar inspiration and advice to young chefs, lawyers, activists, etc... in letter form.
With this book George Weigel, who enjoyed previous success as the biographer of Pope John Paul II, tries to do the same for a new generation of Catholics. Unfortunately, at this very first and fundamental point Weigel fails.
The chapters do not read like letters that an inspired and passionate mentor would have written to a young and thirsty mind, but instead more like a theological tourist guidebook through places most young people would not have had the chance to visit before picking up this book.
Personally, I would have loved to read these chapters on my flight to Poland just after visiting Jerusalem, but I'd wager most readers in Weigel's target audience were reduced to looking up the mentioned locations with a Google image search on their phones.
Which begs the question why this approach was chosen to address young Catholics in the first place. Would it not have been easier and more effective for Weigel to stay true to the pure letter form instead?
Which brings me to my second critic.
Weigel seems to regard his arguments for magic bullets, some of which do not seem to require any further explanation or investigation. This is most blatantly displayed by his statement that 'stuff matters', which we encounter quite early in the book.
To him, the unique thing about Catholicism as a 'lens' through which one sees and experiences life quite distinctly from the rest of humanity, is its 'grittiness'. Sin, redemption, prayer, martyrdom and many more facets can be experienced right now, through (to paraphrase) 'the power of stuff'.
Things really did happen; the apostle Peter really was martyred in the circus, and really did look at the centre pillar during his final moments. Our proof is that we can now see and touch said pillar in front of St. Peter's at Vatican City, and that we can physically descent into the early Christian tombs and stand in front of his grave. These things are real and give quality and validity to the catholic story.
I have no problem with explaining and demonstrating ones faith, but to defend belief with the help of places and structures that are ancient and still here is weak at best. By the same token we can argue for our belief in Horus and Isis by observing the pyramids, our faith in Islam by travelling to the Kaaba, and our jewish convictions through touching the Wailing Wall.
I do not want to decry Weigel's attempts too much. He's very knowledgable in his subject and his writing style is suited for readers who already know what they believe in.
However, I cannot recommend this book to young (or old) Catholics on their journey to faith. This book is only suitable for people who have already made up their minds about the validity of the Church's teachings, and are looking for some anecdotal reasoning to reinforce and entertain their convictions.
While the book introduces the reader successfully to the facts and positions, it unfortunately fails to inspire.
I joined the Catholic Church as a full member, taking my first communion and partaking fully in the Eucharist in 2013.
Preparing for this, books and resources were recommended to me, which brought my attention to George Weigel's 'Letters to a Young Catholic', which is part of 'The Art Of Mentoring' series by Basic Books.
This series takes its inspiration from Rielke's 'Letters to a Young Poet' and tries to deliver similar inspiration and advice to young chefs, lawyers, activists, etc... in letter form.
With this book George Weigel, who enjoyed previous success as the biographer of Pope John Paul II, tries to do the same for a new generation of Catholics. Unfortunately, at this very first and fundamental point Weigel fails.
The chapters do not read like letters that an inspired and passionate mentor would have written to a young and thirsty mind, but instead more like a theological tourist guidebook through places most young people would not have had the chance to visit before picking up this book.
Personally, I would have loved to read these chapters on my flight to Poland just after visiting Jerusalem, but I'd wager most readers in Weigel's target audience were reduced to looking up the mentioned locations with a Google image search on their phones.
Which begs the question why this approach was chosen to address young Catholics in the first place. Would it not have been easier and more effective for Weigel to stay true to the pure letter form instead?
Which brings me to my second critic.
Weigel seems to regard his arguments for magic bullets, some of which do not seem to require any further explanation or investigation. This is most blatantly displayed by his statement that 'stuff matters', which we encounter quite early in the book.
To him, the unique thing about Catholicism as a 'lens' through which one sees and experiences life quite distinctly from the rest of humanity, is its 'grittiness'. Sin, redemption, prayer, martyrdom and many more facets can be experienced right now, through (to paraphrase) 'the power of stuff'.
Things really did happen; the apostle Peter really was martyred in the circus, and really did look at the centre pillar during his final moments. Our proof is that we can now see and touch said pillar in front of St. Peter's at Vatican City, and that we can physically descent into the early Christian tombs and stand in front of his grave. These things are real and give quality and validity to the catholic story.
I have no problem with explaining and demonstrating ones faith, but to defend belief with the help of places and structures that are ancient and still here is weak at best. By the same token we can argue for our belief in Horus and Isis by observing the pyramids, our faith in Islam by travelling to the Kaaba, and our jewish convictions through touching the Wailing Wall.
I do not want to decry Weigel's attempts too much. He's very knowledgable in his subject and his writing style is suited for readers who already know what they believe in.
However, I cannot recommend this book to young (or old) Catholics on their journey to faith. This book is only suitable for people who have already made up their minds about the validity of the Church's teachings, and are looking for some anecdotal reasoning to reinforce and entertain their convictions.
January 7, 2011
I purchased this book a week and a half ago and finished it in a few days. Simply put: it is incredible. I warmly recommend it and think it an absolute must have for your library. With his typical verve and style, Weigel introduces the reader to the optic that is Catholicism--he shows you what it is to look at the world with Catholic lenses. And what a beautiful picture it is. Readers of Weigel will notice similar themes to other of Weigel's writings especially "Witness to Hope" and "Truth of Catholicism." But he deepens and personalizes those themes and goes beyond them to answer the questions posed by young Catholics (and I suppose old ones as well). The Catholicism presented by Weigel is earthy and crusty; it deals with the minutiae of everday life. Christ came to redeem it all and still comes to find us through the same mode he came to us in 2000 years ago, namely the incarnational mode.
This means that Christ is found at the pub, in the Church, and in the family. Weigel draws this out by telling us stories of great people, great places, and great moments in the life of the Church. Two that stick out in my mind. The first is Weigel's description of the Scavi under St. Peter's Basilica where the bones of the Apostle Peter lay. This is an example of the earthiness and reality of Catholicism's claim. It's not about some doctrine or some set of esoteric teachings. Rather, it is about real places and people. Peter's bones rest under St. Peter's. This fact stands out there to be dealt with by us. There sit the bones of a man who walked with Christ. There in the ordinariness of a catacomb we come face to face with the extraordinary, as Weigel describes it.
The second is Weigel's description of Chartres Cathedral in France. Weigel uses the beauty of that great piece of architecture to teach about beauty itself and its importance. He gives us a tour of Chartres and tells of its construction and how the people poured themselves into the project. Through this tour we learn of our thirst and desire and need for beauty.
Each letter takes the reader to a place or tells him about a person. "Letters to a Young Catholic" helps to put meat on the bones of Catholicism. After reading this book, you come away with a deeper appreciation for the fleshiness and reality of Catholicism. You learn about how the moral life is related to the thirst for beauty, how contemplation is connected to our ordering of society.
Do I have any criticisms? None really. I only wish Weigel had been a little more personal when talking about vocations. He speaks eloquently to his young reader about finding that task or call which God has picked out for us. I wanted to know about Weigel's journey on that road as he spent time in the seminary. But perhaps that will be in the next book. I wait with anticipation for that next book. You will too after reading this book...
This means that Christ is found at the pub, in the Church, and in the family. Weigel draws this out by telling us stories of great people, great places, and great moments in the life of the Church. Two that stick out in my mind. The first is Weigel's description of the Scavi under St. Peter's Basilica where the bones of the Apostle Peter lay. This is an example of the earthiness and reality of Catholicism's claim. It's not about some doctrine or some set of esoteric teachings. Rather, it is about real places and people. Peter's bones rest under St. Peter's. This fact stands out there to be dealt with by us. There sit the bones of a man who walked with Christ. There in the ordinariness of a catacomb we come face to face with the extraordinary, as Weigel describes it.
The second is Weigel's description of Chartres Cathedral in France. Weigel uses the beauty of that great piece of architecture to teach about beauty itself and its importance. He gives us a tour of Chartres and tells of its construction and how the people poured themselves into the project. Through this tour we learn of our thirst and desire and need for beauty.
Each letter takes the reader to a place or tells him about a person. "Letters to a Young Catholic" helps to put meat on the bones of Catholicism. After reading this book, you come away with a deeper appreciation for the fleshiness and reality of Catholicism. You learn about how the moral life is related to the thirst for beauty, how contemplation is connected to our ordering of society.
Do I have any criticisms? None really. I only wish Weigel had been a little more personal when talking about vocations. He speaks eloquently to his young reader about finding that task or call which God has picked out for us. I wanted to know about Weigel's journey on that road as he spent time in the seminary. But perhaps that will be in the next book. I wait with anticipation for that next book. You will too after reading this book...
February 14, 2013
Reviewed on November 6, 2007:
Reading this book--about halfway through my journey through RCIA--was a joy from beginning to end.
Weigel begins with the idea that having a uniquely Catholic worldview has a great deal to do with actually being Catholic. And so, he takes his readers on a tour of the "Catholic world," beginning in Flannery O'Connor's hometown of Milledgeville, Georgia, where he discusses the "habit of being," and ending at the Basilica of the Holy Trinity in Kraków, Poland, which preaches a sermon "on not being alone."
Along the way, Weigel covers several distinctives of the Catholic worldview. The Sistine Chapel speaks to us of the theology of the body, and Chartres Cathedral in France teaches us about the importance of beauty. One of my favorite stops was the pub frequented by G.K. Chesterton--the Olde Cheshire Cheese in London--where Weigel expounds upon the idea of a sacramental imagination.
Weigel writes in an elegant, understated manner, and defends the orthodox positions of his faith with a graceful dignity and conviction. And, although the book is addressed to young Catholics, Weigel writes with the courteous assumption that his young audience is comprised of intelligent readers capable of exercising their intellects in pursuit of truth. There is no dumbing down, watering down, or cute attempts to appeal to youth by being pop culturally "relevant."
In summary, Letters to a Young Catholic is a brilliantly beautiful book. As another reviewer mentioned, it is simple and yet surprisingly deep, and its appeal is not limited to the young, or to the Catholic. Weigel writes of truths that will resonate with Christians from other traditions, and his presentation of those truths will appeal to readers of all ages.
Reading this book--about halfway through my journey through RCIA--was a joy from beginning to end.
Weigel begins with the idea that having a uniquely Catholic worldview has a great deal to do with actually being Catholic. And so, he takes his readers on a tour of the "Catholic world," beginning in Flannery O'Connor's hometown of Milledgeville, Georgia, where he discusses the "habit of being," and ending at the Basilica of the Holy Trinity in Kraków, Poland, which preaches a sermon "on not being alone."
Along the way, Weigel covers several distinctives of the Catholic worldview. The Sistine Chapel speaks to us of the theology of the body, and Chartres Cathedral in France teaches us about the importance of beauty. One of my favorite stops was the pub frequented by G.K. Chesterton--the Olde Cheshire Cheese in London--where Weigel expounds upon the idea of a sacramental imagination.
Weigel writes in an elegant, understated manner, and defends the orthodox positions of his faith with a graceful dignity and conviction. And, although the book is addressed to young Catholics, Weigel writes with the courteous assumption that his young audience is comprised of intelligent readers capable of exercising their intellects in pursuit of truth. There is no dumbing down, watering down, or cute attempts to appeal to youth by being pop culturally "relevant."
In summary, Letters to a Young Catholic is a brilliantly beautiful book. As another reviewer mentioned, it is simple and yet surprisingly deep, and its appeal is not limited to the young, or to the Catholic. Weigel writes of truths that will resonate with Christians from other traditions, and his presentation of those truths will appeal to readers of all ages.
October 9, 2008
A great book. This book reminds us that being Catholic is not just about doctrine and rules, but rather about Truth and the reality behind that Truth. This book reminds us that being Catholic is a human experience in total - our minds, emotions, feelings. This book made me feel proud to be Catholic. George Weigel challenges us to live boldly for Christ because as Catholics reality matters - that is, everything matters. Truth is real and as such is worth living, fighting, and even dying for.
August 28, 2015
This book was not at all what I expected it to be going in and as a young adult catholic I did not feel engaged by Weigel's stories and travels around to different places. I ended up abandoning the book about halfway through as I was not feeling inspired and at times just struggled to follow along.
September 4, 2008
This book had some good points, and it had a lot of things that made me really think, but I'm not sure how I feel about it all...
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