The best-selling author of another title, THE HOLY LONGING, has also written this book. As a specialist in the field of systematic theology and religion, he also owns a column in THE CATHOLIC HERALD. AS a Roman Catholic, OUR ONE GREAT ACT OF FIDELITY is written from a solidly Roman Catholic perspective and tradition, while he is aware of the different perspectives of other Christian denominations. This fast-paced book focuses on what is called either The Lord's Supper, Holy Communion, Mass or the Eucharist. This is the act of commemorating the death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, by discerning His Body and Blood through bread and wine. This author uses his knowledge of traditions and stories to illustrate what the Eucharist is, what it is all about, how we should relate to the Eucharist and respond to it in every area of our lives. This book includes three famous sermons by others on the Eucharist and a few pages of notes and references.
This book is much what I expected. I'm not a Roman Catholic and never plan to become one. But I know Roman Catholics, have read other Catholic literature and I know about what Roman Catholics believe. So I was not surprised that Rolheiser wrote about the Eucharist from his Catholic tradition. As a person from a Protestant tradition which does not observe the Eucharist daily, I was not aware of all that daily Mass (as Catholics often call the Eucharist) means to those who observe it at that level, and that it is intended to be central to every area of life. In Scripture we are not given a rule about how often, as followers of Jesus, we are to observe this Sacrament. We ARE given firm guidelines that when we observe this Sacrament, we must discern Jesus' Body and Blood in this Sacrament, be repentant and contrite in heart of all known sin, and examine ourselves and our spiritual conditions before we come and partake of this Sacrament. I liked the fast reading and that it was easy to read. I did not see much in this book that discusses some of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church which are in conflict with Scripture and which I cannot agree with; these teachings include the Immaculate Conception of Jesus' human mother Mary, her co-operative role in the salvation of sinners, the Canonization of saints, and reciting the Rosary. I did not see in this book this author's theology of salvation though he indeed mentions Christ. He includes a chapter on the Eucharist as "God's physical embrace" and while this is appealing to one who often wants a God with "skin on," I wonder if this comes close to making a "golden calf" out of this Sacrament. In the tradition I grew up in, we believed that the Eucharist is both bread and wine and, when consecrated, ALSO becomes Jesus' Body and Blood in and under these emblems. In the Roman Catholic tradition, when consecrated, bread and wine actually become Christ's Body and Blood and this is called transubstantiation. That is, if I am understanding this correctly. I grew up believing that Roman Catholicism was just another Christian denomination, but I have encountered and heard of increasing numbers of people, still very much in the Christian community, who call themselves "former Catholics." I did not see much personal information in this book about the author himself, except how much the Eucharist means to him. Perhaps this is because he did not want to book to be about him and I respect that.
Recommendations for this book? As this is a solidly Roman Catholic book with a narrow focus, I can recommend it only for the obvious targeted audience. That is all Roman Catholics, including nominal Roman Catholics. I see no point in recommending this book to anyone else, except to those who may be curious about what Catholics believe about the Eucharist and why.
I received this book free of charge from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review of this book.
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