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The Poor Catholic
by Mr. Angelo Paul Ramunni
Review by Mr. Martin Gaudinski
The appeal made by Mr. Ramunni in his book The Poor
Catholic is a simple one: faith in a living God
requires a living relationship with God. Mr. Ramunni
diagnoses correctly that too often the lives of
Catholics (and Christians as a whole) are lived
doubly, dividedly. The life lived most sincerely by
some Catholics is the life centered around the world
destined to die which is focused on materiality and
vanity. The other life led only marginally is the way
of holiness that leads to Life as Jesus would have us
understand it. Mr. Ramunni rightly calls for a
reorienting of these priorities in such a way that the
common moments of life are lifted up, hallowed, so
that every moment is lived for God through walking
with God.
The Poor Catholic takes up its charge by asking the
question: how does one assess if he is going to
inherit eternal life with God? The answer to this
question says that the manner in which life is lived
temporally on earth decides whether one will live
eternally in peace and splendor or cursedly in Hell.
Mr. Ramunni's answer to this question is solid. He
stresses that one accepts the fruits of the Passion of
Jesus Christ by living in the dignity of God's image.
The question is one of reasonable consequences. If one
lives as if he is saved then he shall be saved on the
last day, yet if not, not. The Poor Catholic
accurately answers that all questions pertaining to
the consequences of the first death are necessarily
answered by our conduct in the first life.
What does the life lived for God look like? The
answer to this question forms the bulk of The Poor
Catholic. Mr. Ramunni answers this question by
relating a personal story regarding a book he read
entitled In His Steps. In this book a community
pledges to ask themselves "what would Jesus do" prior
to making decisions. Deciding to do likewise was the
turning point in Mr. Ramunni's life. He decided to
forgo the worldly way in which he was living in favor
of a way of life for God. The potency of this personal
testimony stems from its commonness; one could easily
imagine it happening to himself. It is inspiring to
read of the agony St. Augustine in the garden which
lead to his conversion, yet it may not be as
accessible to most people as Mr. Ramunni's own story.
The Poor Catholic then depicts the color of Mr.
Ramunni's life thereafter, which is a particular man
living his particular vocation to God. Such a story
prompts one to envision what his own vocation to God
may be.
Mr. Ramunni uses the experiences of his own
particular life to extrapolate a generalized blueprint
that can be lived by all people who want to live with
God. He gives recipes for prayer that begins by
accepting the gift of Life that God is so willing to
extend to mankind. This prayer echoes Christ call to
prayer constantly, and continues as a journey in which
the pilgrim increasingly experiences the grace of God
the further he proceeds along the narrow path. Mr.
Ramunni calls this path the "Road to Grace". This
metaphor binds the book. Mr. Ramunni understands that
it is not sufficient to pledge allegiance to Christ
through words and promises; those same words and
promises must be made through the works we do and the
deeds we commit. Truly, it is inescapable that our
deeds demonstrate whether our wills are with God's or
against it, no matter what our lips purport;
justification through faith is demonstrated by works.
At times The Poor Catholic sounds as if it were
written by a protestant than a Catholic, but the
reason for this is that so many people identify Mr.
Ramunni's call to a lively and personal relationship
with God as alien to Catholicism. Nothing could be
further from the truth. The Catechism of the Catholic
Church is clear on this point, yet some Catholics have
been poor ambassadors of their own message. Mr.
Ramunni implores Catholics to remember the vibrancy of
their faith and encourages his protestant brothers and
sisters to do the same. Nevertheless, he does not
entertain in writing that the Tradition of the
Catholic Church is as vibrant now as it was prior to
Martin Luther. The entire problem that exists for some
Catholics does not lie in Catholicism but instead that
they do not behave as Catholicism would have them
behave. The same can easily be said of protestants.
There is nothing in the text of The Poor Catholic that
would lead one to believe Mr. Ramunni to be a liberal
revolutionary in the Catholic church (believe him to
be orthodox) but for whatever reason he does not call
on the chief strength of the Catholic Church to aid
his plea: the Tradition of the Church that comes to
her from the Apostles.
If one picks up The Poor Catholic in order to
strengthen his apologetic armory he will not be
satisfied. Mr. Ramunni is effective in challenging
those with a slumbering faith to rekindle it, but he
does not instill faith into those who are not disposed
to it already. He ignores or offers ineffectual
arguments to legitimate questions posed by
unbelievers: e.g. is there a God? Mr. Ramunni answers
this question by asserting that deep in the heart of
man resides a yearning for God that proves he exists.
While I agree I do not consider this an effective
argument to prove God's existence. In an age of
malleable natures and evolutionary hand waving such a
desire could be accounted for through other ways,
though untrue. Apologetics is best left to those who
can give fullness to the possible dialogue between
Christians and non-believers. Mr. Ramunni is best left
to bolster the troops before they confront such a
dialogue, not because it is where he does the least
damage but instead because he is sincerely good at
that task.
This book is at its best when it is showing that Life
after death comes from embracing Life while on earth.
This is the meaning of Christ's call to stockpile
treasures in Heaven. There are many dead men who walk
the earth and are proclaimed healthy, and just as many
who truly live yet are declared invalids. Mr. Ramunni
helps one to shift one's gaze from the worldly
pronouncements of well being and satisfaction to God's
view of assessing one's Being. Every reader of this
book is given the chance to personally ask himself if
he is a rich man. Furthermore, every reader is lent a
helping hand when the answer "I could be richer"
inevitable follows.
Mr. Ramunni will not let a reader reach
self-complacency while reading this book, and
instructs with altruism naked of self-righteousness.
Mr. Ramunni sees each of his readers as a fellow man
in need of assistance in coming home, and I heartily
invite him to my feast as an honored guest when my
father rejoices at my return and serves the fatted
calf.
About the Reviewer:
Mr. Gaudinski is a Roman Catholic, who agrees with
Pope John Paul II that now is the springtime of
evangelization. He is a graduate of St. John's College
(not religiously affiliated), where he received his
Bachelor of Arts degree after a period of study in the
western tradition of the Liberal Arts. He is now
studying in a post-baccalaureate program at the Johns
Hopkins University pursuant to a medical degree. He
lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
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