Fulton Sheen, an American Catholic archbishop, writes beautifully about the faith. In his book Your Life is Worth Living he takes you by the hand and leads you through 50 lessons “to deepen your faith”; only these aren’t boring lessons; he doesn’t patronize or force anything down your throat. The 5o lessons are similar to how he would speak in TV shows and radio talks about theology and philosophy.
Sheen is certainly talented in telling the faith from an unusual perspective. Even when I was convinced that, surely by now, I must know everything about the Catholic faith, he managed to surprise me several times by his unique descriptions.
At the end of the book I felt sorry for having to leave a friend, I had only just got to know a little closer, and whose company I thoroughly enjoyed.
Fulton Sheen has been considered venerable, but his beautification has been postponed for the moment. Would I consider him a saint? After reading through the entire book, my impression was that I had met someone with a saintly character. He’s not only saddle fast in the Catholic faith (although he’s a bishop, you can’t take that for granted nowadays), he also has a great heart for the weak and sinner. This is expressed in his encounters with individuals during his time as a priest in the USA, Paris and Soho, London.
I hope more people get to know this friendly and humorous bishop. Even though he doesn’t dwell among us anymore, I’m sure he’s willing to become your friend from heaven.
Fulton Sheen, pray for us!