Rediscover Jesus: An Invitation

BOOK TITLE: 

 

Rediscover Jesus. The book is for those who may have in their accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but may have now lost the path or have not had a deeper understanding of him. Who he is, what his mission is, what he brings to us Christians and what it means to be Christians. 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

 

Mathew Kelly was born and raised a catholic and was an example of the books audience. He was”restless and discontent” about his faith until his teen years.  Then someone encouraged to look deeper into his faith and he soon reconnected. 

 

Mathew is a motivational speaker, author and business consultant.  Kelly founded the Dynamic Catholic Institute (http://www.dynamiccatholic.com) in 2009, with the mission of “re-energizing the Catholic Church in America by developing world-class resources that inspire people to rediscover the genius of Catholicism.” He is an author with 27 books published, many dealing with the issues that face Catholics.

 

He is a partner in Chicago-based Floyd Consulting (http://www.floydconsulting.com).

 

 

This book is a purple-colored paperback version, ISBN number 978-1-942611-20-2 copyright 2015 by Beacon publishing. It organizes the 187 pages into 40 chapters with each ending with chapter review items. (a) Points to ponder, (b) Verse to live by, (c) Questions to consider and a (d) Short prayer. These items help the reader reinforce the message and lessons of the chapter.

 

 

When I was younger, I was a reader of a daily prayer book. As a flipped through the pages, I got the impression I could use this book in the same way even though there are only 40 chapters.

 

Mathew Kelly starts the book it’s the question of who is Jesus and describes as someone “Who is known” vs “Knowing someone”? Who is Jesus and then builds a profile of who he says he is (Chapter 5)? He then describes how Jesus brings radical teaching and ideas during his time. Radical for the time but necessary. That Jesus’s spiritual and social teaching cannot be separated (Chapter 13, page 67)

 

Kelly describes four things we can do in our daily lives to help rediscover Jesus. (a) Read the four Gospels. Fifteen minutes each day. (b) Practice the prayer process in our daily prayer. (c) Deny yourself and (d) Practice spontaneous prayer.

 

In Chapter 26, Kelly shows us the correct format for a focused prayer. Prayer we can use to help Rediscover Jesus. 

 

There is a funny incident here. We had just finished watching “The Avengers; Endgame” yesterday and I was talking about the movie theater chairs, the reclinable ones. I had just mentioned that I was not comfortable with the chairs, that I could not get the correct adjustment. Then I pickup the book and open it to chapter 33 titled, “Comfortably Comfortable”. And the first sentence reads “One if the greatest temptation in life is to get comfortable”. Is there a message here?

 

In Chapter 38, he asks us to consider, “What if everything is true?”, how would you live your life? Do you want to be on the wrong side of life? Is living the way the Gospel teaches us not the best way? This reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend who was an atheist. She did not believe in the existence of God. So I asked her, “What if he does exists? Would you not rather live your life believing he exists and be wrong, than to live your life like he does not exist and be wrong?”

 

The book provides plenty of practical and simple ways to help us reconnect our lives to Jesus. The word “Radical is used a little too often for my taste, much the same way a priest in our local church uses the word “Love” a little too often in his sermon.But that is what the priest believes in, that is what Matthew Kelly believes in. Neither is wrong, just a matter of opinion.

 

The book can provoke some soul searching and thinking. If you are looking for a simple and practical way to help you reconnect and rediscover Jesus, then this book is for you.