{"id":1047,"date":"2012-09-26T16:20:36","date_gmt":"2012-09-26T21:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/?p=1047"},"modified":"2012-09-26T19:53:18","modified_gmt":"2012-09-27T00:53:18","slug":"the-rite-by-matt-baglio-and-a-book-giveaway-at-snoringscholar-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/2012\/09\/the-rite-by-matt-baglio-and-a-book-giveaway-at-snoringscholar-com\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rite by Matt Baglio (and a book giveaway at SnoringScholar.com)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Hey everyone, I\u2019m Jennifer, and I\u2019d like to make my debut here on the Happy Catholic Bookshelf by talking about demons.\u00a0 Just a coincidence, I promise.\u00a0 What happened is this: The very day Julie invited me to the \u2018shelf, fellow bookshelf-writer Sarah Reinhard announced a book give-away of Matt Baglio\u2019s <\/a><\/em>The Rite<\/a> on her blog<\/a>. I reviewed it last year at my own blog, highly recommend it, and encourage you to go over to Sarah\u2019s right now and sign up<\/a> for the give-away.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist<\/em>, by Matt Baglio<\/a>, Doubleday, 2009.<\/p>\n

I see on the author\u2019s page<\/a> that the paperback has updated material in it \u2014 my comments here are based on the original hardback edition.<\/p>\n

I recommend this book, on the condition that you read the whole thing<\/strong>.\u00a0 Otherwise,\u00a0 please skip it.\u00a0 It\u2019s just not healthy to dive into this topic half-heartedly, and you do not get a complete picture of the subject unless you read the whole book.<\/p>\n

UPDATE: If you doubt the seriousness of the occult, please read this post from Jen Fulwiler.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t think the occult was real either<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Before I continue, let me add: No, I have not seen the film.\u00a0 Father Longenecker reviewed it here<\/a>, and has even more to say on the topic here.<\/a>\u00a0 No, I am not planning to see the film, ever, because for one thing I\u2019m wimpy about scary movies, and for another I am too impatient to watch things when I could be reading instead.<\/p>\n

Anyhow, back to the book.\u00a0 Here\u2019s what it is, per the author:<\/p>\n

The purpose of this book is not to promote any one faith over another, but to offer a detailed account of one priest\u2019s journey from a rational skeptic to a practicing exorcist. I didn\u2019t set out to write with any preconceived bias and as such the book is written in a straightforward journalistic style, which means that I give respect to the beliefs and testimonies on all sides, including medical science.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We follow Fr. Gary Thomas (a real guy) as he heads to Rome on sabbatical in 2005, after being freshly appointed diocesan exorcist.\u00a0 His travails are, wow, amazingly normal.\u00a0 If you spend any amount of time in the Catholic Church, you will recognize all the institutional quirks you\u2019ve come to know and love \u2014 no special treatment for exorcists.\u00a0\u00a0 You couldn\u2019t write fiction like this.<\/p>\n

After some effort, Fr. Thomas does finally manage to secure an apprenticeship with a practicing exorcist.\u00a0 The book clearly shows the humdrum, hard, dull work that goes with the territory.\u00a0 Interestingly, the reports of boring Catholic exorcisms related in the book match very closely to what I have heard described by Evangelical Protestants who have experience with boring exorcisms of their own.\u00a0 Different details as far as the methods of the exorcists, but identical phenomenon on the recipients\u2019 end.<\/p>\n

The author sticks to the straightforward, journalistic style all the way through.\u00a0 It is not a \u201cCatholic\u201d book in the sense of trying to evangelize or prove a point of the faith.\u00a0 The reporting could come straight out of the Herald Tribune<\/em>.\u00a0 But it is a firmly Catholic book in the sense that any book which earnestly reports the truth is necessarily Catholic.<\/p>\n

In addition to following Fr. Thomas\u2019s personal story, the book explains Catholic teaching on the supernatural in very clear terms.\u00a0 There is an examination of how demon possession relates to psychological disorders, including interviews with secular researchers who reject supernatural explanations.\u00a0 [One of the first jobs of the exorcist is to find a qualified psychiatrist to rule out natural causes.] \u00a0 One of the reasons I think it is important to stick with the book through to the end, is that it is not at all clear how things are going to turn out for Fr. Thomas, or whether the book will ultimately end up affirming the Catholic faith.<\/p>\n

The book follows Fr. Thomas through his training in Rome, the transition back to normal parish life in the U.S., and finally his first \u201cfor real\u201d, no-doubts-about-it exorcism, in 2007.\u00a0 And here\u2019s the conclusion, so you can rest easy, since if you are smart you will naturally be quite wary of picking up books on these sorts of topics:<\/p>\n

These prayers do have power,<\/em> he thought.\u00a0 It was a visceral reminder that the age-old conflict between good and evil, sin and salvation, was far from over.\u00a0 Not only did this validate his calling as a priest, and his choice to become an exorcist, but it was a powerful confirmation of one of the deepest mysteries of his faith.\u00a0 Even though evil existed in the world, there was a way to defeat it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Matt Baglio was not a practicing Catholic when he started his research.\u00a0 But tell a true story, and you end up that much closer to the Catholic faith.\u00a0 I don\u2019t recommend this book for everyone \u2014 an untoward interest in the occult should be a warning flag.\u00a0 But if you need a book on the subject, this is a good one.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hey everyone, I\u2019m Jennifer, and I\u2019d like to make my debut here on the Happy Catholic Bookshelf by talking about demons.\u00a0 Just a coincidence, I promise.\u00a0 What happened is this: The very day Julie invited me to the \u2018shelf, fellow bookshelf-writer Sarah Reinhard announced a book give-away of Matt Baglio\u2019s The Rite on her blog. 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