Converts and Kingdoms: How the Church Converted the Pagan West and How We Can Do It Again is a new book by Diane Moczar being published by Catholic Answers.

This book illustrates some of the major movements of conversion throughout history.  Starting with the time just before Constantine and dealing with the growth of Christianity prominently in Europe and later the New World.  I was somewhat familiar with some of this history from the books of the late Warren H. Carroll and others, but I really liked the focus of this book and all the details amplifying the growth of Christendom and just how unlikely it all seems.

The relating of this history did bring to me often in mind the writing style of Warren H. Carroll  and I say that as the highest compliment.  Clearly shown just what is history and avoiding hagiography (in the negative sense of the word) while not being dismissive of miracles.  I also enjoyed some of the comments by the author peppered throughout that added some humor and here own clarification of what she thought of some streams of historical thought.  This is certainly not dry history and I found myself reading large sections of it at a time finding that I enjoyed it so much.  I found it an informative read.

The only complaint I had with the book is that it did not really live up to the subtitle. Specifically the “How we can do it again” part.  While I am sure there are lessons learned from these segments of history, the author really didn’t point them out as to their applicability today.  I expected that there would be a final chapter making these arguments.  Considering that many of these major conversion points in Christendom involved conversions of emperors, kings, and chieftains that aspect is much less important today.  Even in our celebrity-soaked culture, celebrity religious conversions don’t hold much sway” The same goes for nationality in relation to state religions.  We just don’t have the huge shortcut available today where the religion of the king becomes the religion of the people.  Though I can’t say I am very fond of that method in the first place.

What we can emulate is of course the same method always available of personal holiness and evangelical zeal.  While the conversions of leaders played a great part, these conversion came as a result of contact with saints.  The thing about conversion is that it is not a static thing and constantly requires reconversion.  Complacency is the enemy of holiness and we see so much complacency and luke-warmness today.  Though as this book demonstrates this is nothing new and a constant struggle.  Overall I greatly enjoyed this book and the unsanitized history it presented. Her other books now go on my must-read wish list.

“Praying the Rosary for Intercession” is a new book by Catherine M. Odell published by OSV. This book like so many that came before it has a standard format.  A history of the Rosary followed by meditations for each mystery and lastly specific instructions on praying the Rosary along with guidelines for intentions.

The reflections are mostly pretty good and on target.

What makes this book stand out for this type of book is both its strength and and its weakness.  After the scriptural reference and reflection on the mystery follows a section called “The Rosary in our lives”.  This section includes personal stories on how the Rosary has affected the lives of people.  There are modern conversion stories along with stories on the Saints and their devotion tot the Rosary.  This puts the Rosary in the context of people’s lives and thus would be quite helpful for the audience of this book.

The weakness of the  “The Rosary in our lives” is not the actual content of it, but the references to some dubious sources and apparitions.

For example four of the stories in this section relate to Medjugorje.  The introduction to one of these stories refers to Medjugorje as a place where “some people” think Mary is appearing.  Now there is a lot of controversy regarding this alleged apparition and I am definitely in the skeptical if not outright thinking it is a fraud camp.  Regardless I think a writer who brings up Medjugorje has a duty to say more than that “some people” accept them.  They have a duty to note that both Bishops of Medjugorje have not approved them and that the Bishop’s conference of Yugoslavia also did not approve them.   I believe that there are true conversion occurring in Medjugorje since wherever there is the Mass and the Sacraments and people looking for God there are conversions.  Even apparitions that were condemned by the Church had movements of conversions surrounding them.  So I have no problem with printing stories of conversion regarding Medjugorje, I just think there should be a firm disclosure regarding the current status of Medjugorje in relation to the Church.

The dubious sources I refer to is in one example referring to Dutch professor Fr. Edward Schillebeeckx O.P. in glowing terms.  Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a caution in 1986 that his theories regarding the laity were at odds with the teachings of the Church.  Under Cardinal Ratzinger this was somewhat cleared up in interactions by letters to explain himself, but he was drop the reference to lay ministry from any subsequent publications.   This is just one of he controversies surrounding him.  Fr. Rolheiser is also referenced and I find that he certainly flirts with heterodoxy with an oversexualization of everything.  For example he writes on St. Therese who he calls a a very lonely person “More deeply than we long for a sexual partner, we long for moral affinity—our deepest longing is for someone to sleep with morally.”  Really that is our deepest longing?  So much for “Our hearts our restless until they rest in you.”

I certainly might be too critical on this in that the use of material from these two men were not problematic in themselves.  People can read this book to their good, though if it interests them in Medjugorje or the writings of these two men in my mind that is not to the good.