Book excerpts

"The aspect of the cross that stops me short is that, throughout his passion and death, Christ was himself. He never tried to be anything else, never tried to please anyone, never tried to run away, never wavered from the truth: he only occupied himself completely and authentically with his own calling. He just loved, no matter the outcome; just loved, because that is what he was created to do. The miracle of the cross is that God loves anyway, no matter the result, no matter our choice, no matter the flighty vacillations of the sometimes fickle human heart—loving one minute, resenting the next, indifferent or self-involved in still the next. Instead, he flings the door to his very sacred saving heart wide, wide, and invites all to enter and make themselves at home. Ultimately, there is only one reason for me to Catholic: the cross. At every Mass, in every sacrament, in every spiritual discipline, in these ways and innumerably more, we are invited to the cross, that wide flung door."

"Mine is not an extraordinary faith, so much as a faith growing a little messy, a little rough and subversive around the edges." So writes Liz Kelly in this work, recipient of the 2007 Catholic Press Association Award for 'Popular presentation of the Catholic Faith. Here she celebrates with wit, affection, and candor, the "litany of reasons to love being Catholic."
These include everything form the crucifix, kneelers, and Ash Wednesday to Flannery O'Connor, the Swiss Guard, and Tenebrae.

"Liz Kelly's love of her Catholic faith is an inspiration. I highly recommend her wonderful book."
—Matthew Kelly, author of The Rhythm of Life