God Underneath : Spiritual Memoirs of a Catholic Priest

Rating:
Summary: Sensitive and Honest Account of a Priest's Spiritual Journey
Review: A friend wanted to read this book, so I picked it up for her. Before I gave it to her, though, I read it myself,in all of one day. That right there says something about the book, as I am a very slow reader! Edward Beck is a Passionist priest who does a lot of retreat work. I was drawn to the book in the first place because I had made several retreats with the Passionists in high school, and they were great experiences. I was glad to see Fr. Beck had the same experience. This book is about his own spiritual journeys from childhood to the present, and how God was present ("underneath") all of these experiences. In telling these stories (and we all have them), he shows that God really is there in our everyday lives, in ways that we don't often think about until after the fact. Beck has some great stories: some are funny, others horrifying, and some tearjerking. The story about him meeting Carly Simon was wonderful, it brought a smile to my face. I think this is the most honest firsthand account by a Catholic priest to be published in a long time. It is also a very compassionate book that I would recommend to anyone interested in growing in the spiritual life. Good work, Father Edward!

Rating:
Summary: The Soul is made of Stories
Review: After reading Fr. Beck's book I am once again reminded that the SOUL is made of STORIES ( S O U L = Story Of U/US Longing). God Underneath is an honest, realistic yet hopeful memoir by a vibrant catholic Priest who reveals himself as a real human being. Like so many in this muddle age, Fr. Beck is wondering in the middle ground of not only middle-age but amid the important religious issues of power, sexuality and honest relationships. Fr. Beck reveals just enough about himself to get to a point that the reader can identify with yet not so much that the stories end up just pointing back at him. With an uncommon talent and skill Fr. Beck's very personal stories point always to the GOD UNDERNEATH. This is an exceptional book for those who long for God, whether catholic, heterosexual, conservative or plainly other-wise.

Rating:
Summary: God Comes Out From Underneath
Review: As a Catholic, but also as a struggling believer, I found Fr. Beck's book insightful and refreshing. Far too often many of us put the "men/women of God" on stone cold pedestals, stripping them of their humanity. I have been one of those, and when news comes out concerning any acts we find inappropriate to the title they bear, we settle into a sadness and sometimes outrage, which is often transferred to God, himself. By allowing us to peek into a world many of us find deeply mysterious, and even unusual(in our current society, celibacy may be considered such!), Fr. Beck not only holds out his own hands, but those of all clergy, to ask for some compassion, some understanding, perhaps even some forgiveness, for they, like us, are human too. In so doing, the hands of God are extended as well, one we call Father/Mother, and yet one we feel so distanced from. I enjoyed this book tremendously. It has helped to open the doors to healing for me. I recommend it to not only Catholics, but to those who struggle to understand God himself.

Rating:
Summary: And Everywhere Else
Review: Father Beck's autobiographical vignettes are a sterling testimony to the dynamics of contemporary religious life, with its attention to family of origin issues, the importance of wholesome relationships, and the challenges of serving in the multi-faceted and diverse Catholic Church. His frankness and facile turns of phrase are at once entertaining and heartening.
His sense of humor has clearly sustained him through many a storm. May it continue to propel him through a rich ministry
for years to come.

Rating:
Summary: Moved beyond words
Review: Father Edward Beck takes the reader on a journey through various incidents in his career as a passionist priest. Begining each chapter with a passage of scripture, Father Edward then uses his own human experience to personally exemplify that passage. Father Edward removes the mystery and uses his very humaness in a variety of situations to show that he is just another man, seeking GOD and trying to apply those teachings in his own life. This book so moved me and has helped me along my own spiritual journey. It brings seeking and experiencing GOD to a place where I understand and feel comfortable. Father Edward is insightful, funny and self depricating; never taking himself too seriously. This book is a must read for anyone on a spiritual quest.

Rating:
Summary: This book spoke to me!!!!
Review: Father Edward takes the world of GOD and spirituality and applies it to our everyday lives. In a series of incidents from his own life, Father Edward demostrates how his life parallels a passage of scripture that starts each chapter. He takes the mystery out of the clergy and shows through his example his humaness. He shows how each of us, with all of our frailties and foibles, can be an extention of GOD to all we come in contact with. Father Edward has become part of my spiritual patchwork and I am richer for it. This book is a must read for anyone on or contemplating a spiritual path.

Rating:
Summary: Worth a Second and THIRD read!
Review: Father Edward's book is absolutely wonderful. From the moment that I first opened the book, I knew that I was meant to read it. Father Beck has a "real" style of storytelling...it's as if he was talking directly to you. Since reading this book I've sent copies to all of my friends and they've begun to send it to THEIR friends! It's a wonderful gift to give and a wonderful gift to receive and cherish.

Rating:
Summary: Worth a Second and THIRD read!
Review: Father Edward's book is absolutely wonderful. From the moment that I first opened the book, I knew that I was meant to read it. Father Beck has a "real" style of storytelling...it's as if he was talking directly to you. Since reading this book I've sent copies to all of my friends and they've begun to send it to THEIR friends! It's a wonderful gift to give and a wonderful gift to receive and cherish.

Rating:
Summary: Worth a Second and THIRD read!
Review: Father Edward's book is absolutely wonderful. From the moment that I first opened the book, I knew that I was meant to read it. Father Beck has a "real" style of storytelling...it's as if he was talking directly to you. Since reading this book I've sent copies to all of my friends and they've begun to send it to THEIR friends! It's a wonderful gift to give and a wonderful gift to receive and cherish.

Rating:
Summary: God Underneath-comes to the surface
Review: Fr Beck writes with a journalist's facility and brings the story of his tentative first steps toward the priesthood to his ordination to his life as a Passionist priest and itinerant Retreat Master. Eminently readable,he shows the life of a priest in the modern era who hears confessions with compassion,says Mass with great devotion to God and yet jogs frequently-one time while wearing a Rolling Stones t-shirt with the long red tongue..His brushes with the worldly and the enticing teach us that we are all loved by God and that we can resist the temptations of everyday life and still carry on a full Catholic life-he as a Passionist priest,others like us as ordinary laypeople. He is saddened by what is happening to the modern Catholic Church and his concern shows through..He is also brave enough to point out the lack of leadership from the top and at the parish level that is sometimes lacking and that has allowed some of the misfortunes to happen within our beloved Church.

He also points out the personal miracles he saw-miracles of a relic of St Martin De Porres.a Dominican lay brother-who administered to to poorest of the poor to men of all races.Born in Lima,Peru of Spanish and black parentage,honored even by the animals who recognized his blessedness, and venerated by the local population as soon as word had gotten out that he had passed on to his Eternal Reward..Very appropriate as Fr Beck ministered to the poor African Americans in Chicago and New York while he was undergoing his seminary training and his Retreats all across the country now are for all men and women of whatever race or faith..

He is a good Priest-a Priest forever..we hope he goes on to have a good literary career and that his Retreats thrive for many years..