A great trip without the travel

Letters to a Young Catholic by George Weigel
Basic Books, 2004

George Weigel has hit on the perfect concept book with Letters to a Young Catholic. The title, however, is a bit deceiving and doesn’t begin to give a sufficient preview of what’s between the covers.

These aren’t ho-hum letters written by some middle-aged guy sitting at his desk determined to share with the world’s throngs of searching adolescents what he thinks matters most about the faith. First, the letters are more like postcards – they’re all written from some place that’s shaped and touched the church. There are the places you’d expect, like Rome and Jerusalem, but there’s also Greenville, South Carolina, and an old pub in London. The 14 letters are each a combination of a history lesson about what happened at the locale, as well as a skillful explanation of some Catholic dogma or meaningful, deeply entrenched characteristic of the church that has, in one way or another, some connection to the place.

Weigel employs the technique masterfully. Each letter leaves the reader anxious to get to another. What interesting place will we get a letter from next? What happened there? Why is it important to Catholicism? Fortunately, the reader need only turn the page instead of having to wait for the another letter to arrive.

Secondly, while these letters certainly might be of interest and value to adolescents, they by no means discriminate by age. There is great value here for any Catholic still growing in and expanding their understanding of the faith (and, honestly, that’s all of us, isn’t it?). Weigel’s writing style makes the letters accessible to younger readers (high schoolers and college kids), but is smart enough that it will still readily engage mature readers of all ages, as well.

The revised edition published in 2015 includes five additional letters, but no matter the edition be prepared to take a great trip through some of the fascinating places that have shaped and exemplify Catholicism though the ages.