What to Read

Continental Achievement: Roman Catholics in the United States
Kevin Starr
Ignatius Press, 327 pages

Eminent U.S. historian Kevin Starr continues his series on the intersection of Catholic figures in American history with this follow-up volume to his 2016 work Continental Ambitions: Roman Catholics in North America. Here he directs his narrative to the role Catholics played in the Revolutionary War and the founding of the United States. Though representing a tiny minority of citizens in colonial times, Catholics from Declaration of Independence signatory Charles Carroll to Continental Army colonel Tadeusz Kosciuszko to St. Elizabeth Bayley Seton left significant impact on the development and survival of the experimental republic, and Starr’s meticulous and honest research gives them due credit.

How I Became a Man: A Life with Communists, Atheists, and Other Nice People
Fr. Alexander Krylov
Ignatius Press, 162 pages

Freedom is something some Americans might not appreciate unless they have experienced true oppression, as one professional women’s basketball star learned recently. Father Alexander Krylov grew up in the Soviet Union at a time when Catholics had to practice their forbidden faith underground. The brief chapters of this book provide insightful snapshots of his young life under communist rule, but it also reveals how a resilient and committed Catholic faith can survive even in times of deprivation and persecution. His wit and wry observations help turn his otherwise alarming descriptions into passages that have the power to inspire.

Forgive Everyone Everything
Fr. Gregory Boyle, S.J.
Loyola Press, 112 pages

Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles is billed as “the largest gang rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world,” offering services including education, mental health, drug rehabilitation, tattoo removal, and job training to thousands annually. Jesuit Fr. Gregory Boyle, its founder, recognizes that human experiences such as pain, rejection, loss, and resentment cannot be overcome without the ability to truly forgive others for one’s hurts or perceived hurts. His stories and meditations in this small volume consistently echo that theme of restoration, which itself reminds one of what it takes to be restored to communion with Christ through the Sacrament of Penance.