Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

What Does It All Mean?: A Guide to Being More Faithful, Hopeful, and Loving

Rate this book
What Does It All Mean? builds on the wisdom, accessibility, and insight of popular author Richard Leonard's previous writings in this down to earth exploration of a life of faith, narrated through stories and human experience.

224 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 5, 2017

16 people are currently reading
26 people want to read

About the author

Richard Leonard

55 books8 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
8 (30%)
4 stars
11 (42%)
3 stars
3 (11%)
2 stars
4 (15%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Profile Image for Gary Emig.
196 reviews
September 25, 2019
I can agree with much of what he says, but believe that we are all saints if we believe that Jesus is the son of God. "Sainthood" is not just for those we think meet human criteria for goodness, but the expectation when we commit our life to Christ.
130 reviews
April 21, 2020
This is an excellent book but a few times over my head. I read a chapter at a time to let it sink in during Lent. I have so much more to learn about my faith and the Catholic Church.
Profile Image for MargCal.
540 reviews9 followers
August 8, 2021
2 ☆
Finished reading … What does it all mean?: a guide to being more faithful, hopeful and loving / Richard Leonard SJ ... 03 August 2021
Sub-title variant: Faith's Big Questions
ISBN: 9780809106417 … 209 pp. incl. Notes, Index

I found this book a mixed bag. The first section, The Case for Faith, is mostly very good. It uses language and ideas that anybody could take on board and used if ever asked why they believe in God. Parts of the last section, on prayer, are also quite good. The rest isn't great.

I have two specific gripes.
First, in addressing the problem of sex abuse in the Church, Leonard highlights that sex abuse happens everywhere, and goes on a bit in that vein. Frankly, until the churches in general and Leonard's Catholic Church in particular, clean up their own house, however true his criticisms of others might be, his raising of them merely serves to add to the Catholic Church's denial, minimisation, and ducking and weaving of responsibility.

Second, as an Australian reading a book by an Australian, it is extremely irritating to read Mom instead of Mum, and ranch instead of farm or station. Are USAmericans so ignorant or incapable of understanding that across the globe there are spelling and word alternatives in the English language?

I recommend the first section of the book but the rest not so much.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.