IN PRINT: BOOK REVIEW
Reactivating Our Catholic Faith

REACTIVATING OUR CATHOLIC FAITH: Reflections to Get Real About Faith
by the Rev. Frank P. DeSiano, CSP
(Paulist Press, New York/Mahwah N.J., 2009,  74 pages, paper, $7.95)

Reviewed by Mike Hayes, author of Googling God, The Religious Landscape of People in Their 20s and 30s (Paulist, 2007).

In the lives of many Americans faith is an activity that is eclipsed by other priorities.  Family, work, making money, vacations, and the tasks of “getting ahead” on the way to the ever more elusive American dream have served as distractions to the needs of faith.

In Reactivating Our Catholic Faith, Paulist Father Frank DeSiano examines this phenomenon well, exposing its emptiness and allowing for an examination of the readers’ own consciences regarding the rhythms of our lives.  He refers to our modern distractions as the modern myths that we settle for, rather than taking faith seriously and not dropping it down on the list of priorities.

With some certainty we can say that young people are immersed in this very struggle.  They often hold few if any grudges against the Catholic Church; rather, faith is simply not ranked high on their “to-do” lists.  They often settle for a childish faith complete with a superficial theology rather than one that can work with their critical sensibilities as adults.  Is it any wonder then that faith is relegated to the back burner? DeSiano’s eight reflective essays examine deep questions of human meaning and couple them with the traditions of the church and Scripture, uncovering the need for faith to be reactivated so that people can push aside those distractions that keep them embedded in emptiness and more deeply accept their roles as disciples of Christ.    

DeSiano’s strongest reflections revolve around Jesus. His explanation of Jesus’ constant theme in the gospels of “The Kingdom of God” are must reading for even the most actively practicing Catholics and certainly for those who may not have a clue as to what Jesus means.  DeSiano’s constant prodding on a more tangible practice of the faith is a boon in comparison to other writers’ approach on this topic: he doesn’t “guilt” people into returning to tradition but rather awakens them to understanding our need for placing absolute trust in God. Additionally he helps readers understand that this need for God is not a crutch but rather the undeniable and essential human condition.

A small quibble: while DeSiano admits that the busy world keeps people from practicing faith, I thought that perhaps a few more practical solutions that would help people take at least some “baby steps” into integrating faith into their busy world were needed.  He does provide some of this in an epilogue with instructions on how to start reactivating faith, but this seems to be an afterthought.  The topic could be a book in its own right, and perhaps that’s what we have to look forward to from this faithful priest whose short book of reflections is sure to bring many to the point of examining where God is playing a role in their everyday lives.