"A refreshing, almost curious study of one very modern man's investigation of the spiritual life."LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK REVIEWJoseph is a well-known journalist who lives a very public life. Yet in is way he is a devout Catholic, drawn to the cloistered life of a Trappist monastery he had visited years before on a story. He's hoping to write a book about the hidden souls there, but his visits with the charismatic Father Columban begin to waken his long-dormant spirituality. Then he begins to hear stories about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the recent death of a young, aspiring monk. And as he struggles between the sacred and the profane, Joseph begins to wonder which is worse....

Temptations

Wilkes, Paul

Literature & Fiction

Ballantine Books

"A WONDERFUL BOOK...Lucid, compassionate, inspiring, touching, affecting, extraordinarily well-written and well-reported." --Chicago Tribune Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum, though not famous or especially distinguished, is an extraordinary individual--a spiritual leader deeply committed to his congregation in Worcester, Massachusetts; a Jewish scholar steeped in ancient tradition; an American man all too familiar with the temptations of an affluent, secular society. Award-winning author Paul Wilkes spent a year with Rabbi Rosenbaum--silently observing his life and work, getting to know his congregation, listening in as he performed the myriad tasks both spiritual and practical that occupy a rabbi's long day. This fascinating, thought-provoking book is at once an intimate portrait of a year in a rabbi's life and a vivid account of the state of American Judaism today. "The heart of his book is the story of a community acting out the dilemma and contradictions of its dual identity....[It is] a useful contribution to the ethnography of modern religious life." --The New York Times Book Review "Sensitive and insightful...This is a strong and honest book, and finishing it one can't help but admire Rosenbaum, his long-suffering wife and a patient and observant author for embarking on this journey." --Newsday "To call this a 'revealing portrait' is an understatement. It is a mirror of organized Jewish life." --The Cleveland Plain Dealer

And They Shall Be My People

Religion & Spirituality

Judaism

The most any of us can do--and ever be expected to do--is our best. But when it comes to commitment to our faith, should we demand something more of ourselves? The concept of being "good enough" in our dedication to God fascinates Paul Wilkes, one of America's leading authorities and writers on religious belief, and a practicing Catholic himself. In The Good Enough Catholic, Wilkes addresses the basic dilemma of how Catholics can at once be faithful to their traditions, drawing upon the wellspring of Catholic teaching, spirituality, and practice, yet still remain open to new discoveries, both about themselves and Catholicism itself. The Good Enough Catholic plumbs the hunger in Catholic souls for a relationship with God and a spiritual life, explores their relationships with other human beings--both those close and distant, known and unknown--and boldly confronts the controversial issue of Church authority. After each chapter, there is an invitation to put into practice what has been explored through a rich mixture of doctrine, history, current thinking, and the personal experiences of "good enough" Catholics across America. Paul Wilkes has written a book of religious common sense, at once demanding and accepting, conventional and unconventional, a book that calls upon faith--and upon intellect. Wilkes beckons to all Catholics--those now in the pews, those who operate in the shadows of the official Church structure, and those openly estranged--to look to the essence of their religion for the guidance and strength to live lives brimming with personal satisfaction and filled with spiritual transcendence. Based on the bedrock truths of a venerable religion, yet aware of the profound changes that have occurred in Catholicism and in the lives of modern Catholics as well, The Good Enough Catholic is a call to greatness: a greatness within reach, the kind of moral stature that we genuinely want for our lives.

Good Enough Catholic

Christian Books & Bibles

Many Catholics face a dilemma: how can one be faithful to traditions, yet remain open to new discoveries, both about yourself and Catholicism? In The Good Enough Catholic, Paul Wilkes plumbs the hunger in Catholic souls for a relationship with God and a spiritual life, and boldly confronts the controversial issue of Church authority. After each chapter, there is an invitation to put into practice what has been explored through a rich mixture of doctrine, history, current thinking, and the personal experiences of "good enough" Catholics across America. With this book, Wilkes beckons us to look to the essence of our religion for the guidance and strength to live lives filled with spiritual transcendence.

The Good Enough Catholic: A Guide for the Perplexed

Random House Publishing Group

An account of a parish priest's renewal of faith describes how Father Joseph Greer was forced to confront his own mortality when he was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer at age fifty-five. Reprint.

In Mysterious Ways: The Death and Life of a Parish Priest

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Avon/Books

With earnest resolve and the vague hope of a deeper spiritual life, Paul Wilkes began his monthly visits to a Trappist monastery. His plan was to spend time each month with the monks and take back into his hectic world of family and profession what he had garnered from the cloistered life. But Wilkes naively misjudged how difficult it would be to achieve his seemingly simple good intentions. Monasticism turned out to be far more complx and demanding that he had imagined, calling upon him to look deeply into himself and requiring a bravery he was not sure, at first, that he possessed. A year later, he had not only discovered the simple path of monastic spirituality, but had journeyed to the depths of his soul and realized that the influences on his daily life were truly immense. With the ever-increasing call for access to authentic spiritual traditions, Beyond The Walls breaks new ground. This is a book that points a way for "new monks" to live a rich, challenging life filled with grace and faith.

Beyond The Walls: Monastic Wisdom For Everyday Life

Doubleday Religion

Beyond the Walls: Monastic Wisdom for Everyday Life

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An inspirational portrait of Father Joseph Greer, a parish priest in the Boston suburb of Natick, relates his struggles to deal with the concerns and crises of his parishioners while coping with his own fatal bone marrow cancer

Random House]

"A refreshing, almost curious study of one very modern man's investigation of the spiritual life." LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK REVIEW Joseph is a well-known journalist who lives a very public life. Yet in is way he is a devout Catholic, drawn to the cloistered life of a Trappist monastery he had visited years before on a story. He's hoping to write a book about the hidden souls there, but his visits with the charismatic Father Columban begin to waken his long-dormant spirituality. Then he begins to hear stories about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the recent death of a young, aspiring monk. And as he struggles between the sacred and the profane, Joseph begins to wonder which is worse.... From the Paperback edition.

United States

The adventures of a stray dog that survives by scavenging in Central Park and eventually goes to live with the author and his wife in a brownstone in Brooklyn.

Fitzgo: the wild dog of Central Park

Lippincott

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wilkes, Paul. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Wilkes, Paul

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wilkes, Paul. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Temptations

And They Shall Be My People

Good Enough Catholic

The Good Enough Catholic: A Guide for the Perplexed

In Mysterious Ways: The Death and Life of a Parish Priest

Beyond The Walls: Monastic Wisdom For Everyday Life

Beyond the Walls: Monastic Wisdom for Everyday Life

In Mysterious Ways: The Death and Life of a Parish Priest

Temptations

Fitzgo: the wild dog of Central Park