Summer reading: Books offer practical guidance on living the Catholic faith

"As Faith Matures" by Mary Beth Werdel, "Answer Your Call" by Dick and Martha Lyles and "Louder Than Words" by Matthew Leonard all address first-half-of-life issues and practical ways to live the Catholic faith.

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Werdel specializes in pastoral care, counseling and campus ministry. "As Faith Matures" explains the problems involved in relying on a child's concept of the divine -- a "Sunday God" -- when facing adult experiences of tragedy, mystery and mortality. The author's loss of her brother on an Arctic expedition propelled her to seek God on a deeper level.

Summer reading: Doubters and believers alike can find answers in two new Liguori books

Reviewed by Regina Lordan for Catholic News Service


Doubting Thomases and inquiring Catholics can embrace questions and perhaps find answers in two vastly different yet complementary books from Liguori Publications.

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Richard Patterson's "Turtle on the Fencepost: Finding Faith Through Doubt" explores the benefits of honest uncertainty while recommending strategies for using doubt to find faith. "From the Heart: Stories of Love, Loss & Life" is a collection of beautifully written fictional stories revealing the certainty of God's presence in love, suffering, joy and relationships.
In "Turtle on the Fencepost," Patterson, a Catholic clinical psychologist and author, discloses that he is a hopeful and optimistic skeptic who misses the simple and strong faith of his youth. A confessed troublemaker, Patterson raises so many questions without providing answers that he can leave the reader seeking simple solutions frustrated and unfulfilled.