Fulton J. Sheen

W

Fourteen addresses delivered in the Catholic Hour, produced by the National Council of Catholic Men, through the courtesy of the National Broadcasting Company and associated stations.

This book is not a proof of the great truths of Christianity but a description and an analogy of these verities in terms of life. The great arcana of Divine Mysteries cannot be known by reason, but only by Revelation. Reason can however, once in possession of these truths, offer persuasions to show that they are not only not contrary to reason, or destructive of nature, but eminently suited to a scientific temper of mind and the perfection of all that is best in human nature. Such is the purpose of this book: an analogical description of Revealed Truths in terms of biology. In other words it might be called a Supernatural Biology - a treatise on Divine Life... (from inside front cover.)

The author in this book shows that the Revolutions of Communism are on the conscience of the Western world. This book has shocking statements made 67 years ago that have been fulfilled. Some quotes from this book, include: “The Western world generally has lost the concept of man as a creature made to the image and likeness of God, and reduced him… to a component part of the universe… This distortion of the true nature of man was due principally to the philosophy of historical liberalism, which saw man as endowed with no higher destiny than the economic. There is no word more “dangerous” than liberalism, because to oppose it is a new “unforgivable sin.” “As Western civilization loses its Christianity it loses its superiority.” “It is a characteristic of any decaying civilization that the great masses of the people are unconscious of the tragedy. . .Only those who live by faith know what is happening in the world… the great masses without faith are unconscious of the destructive process going on, because they have lost the vision of the heights from which they fallen.” “The Antichrist will not be so called; otherwise he would have no followers…he will come disguised as the Great Humanitarian; he will talk peace, prosperity and plenty not as means to lead us to God, but as ends in themselves…He will tempt Christian(s) with the same three temptations with which he tempted Christ… He will have one great secret which he will tell to no one: he will not believe in God. Because his religion will be brotherhood without the fatherhood of God, he will deceive even the elect. He will set up a counterchurch … It will have all the notes and characteristics of the Church, but in reverse and emptied of its divine content. It will be a mystical body of Antichrist that will in all externals resemble the mystical body of Christ.” “Thus does a society which lost its faith in the authority of a Church sneak authority back into society through the door of the counterchurch… Once inner faith is lost, a dictatorship becomes imperative to reestablish some kind of order by force.”

Pilgrimage in words and pictures, conducted by Fulton J. Sheen, and photographed by Yousuf Karsh.

Fulton Sheen correlated the Seven Last Words from the Cross with these Seven Capital Sins and shows how when we make God the enemy, we can never be sure that we have won the day. When God is our ally, as He was on the Cross, we can be sure that the victory is ours.

All chapters are excerpts from Way to Happiness (1998), Way to Inner Peace (1995), Walk with God (2008), and You (2003) by Fulton J. Sheen, published by Society of St. Paul / Alba House, New York.

Were St. Francis of Assisi to be asked the way to inner peace, he -- like Archbishop Sheen -- would have undoubtedly pointed to the way of the cross. Humility, love, and service would have been the virtues recommended to pave the way and make the going easier. Sorrow for sins, patience with others, and a healthy sense of humor would be considered almost equally important. In this classic -- written some 50 years ago -- we find many nearly forgotten age-old truths surprisingly and specifically apropos to the needs of our own times. Rich in psychology and richer yet in New Testament spirituality, these pages will provide an invaluable guide to all those who, for whatever reason, are seeking the way to inner peace.