{"id":1828,"date":"2015-02-05T22:12:20","date_gmt":"2015-02-06T03:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tomzampino\/?p=1828"},"modified":"2015-02-05T22:12:20","modified_gmt":"2015-02-06T03:12:20","slug":"the-10-who-brought-me-back-to-the-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tomzampino\/2015\/02\/the-10-who-brought-me-back-to-the-church\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10 Who Brought Me Back To The Church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Pope Francis<\/strong> \u2013 His election instantaneously compelled me to reconsider my 41-year absence.<\/li>\n
  2. Thomas Merton <\/strong>\u2013\u00a0His\u00a0Seven Storey Mountain<\/em> was the<\/em> turning point in how I viewed the Church.<\/li>\n
  3. Father Jim Martin<\/strong> \u2013 His books, excellent in their own right,\u00a0led me directly to Thomas Merton.<\/li>\n
  4. Professor Peter Kreeft<\/strong> \u2013 His teachings are consistently clear, insightful, and deep \u2013 yet accessible.<\/li>\n
  5. St. Augustine<\/strong> \u2013 His Confessions<\/em> introduced me to the very beginnings of the Church.<\/li>\n
  6. St. Thomas Aquinas<\/strong> \u2013 I have barely begun to tap into this rich resource. But I\u00a0instantly recognized genius and my desire to learn from him.<\/li>\n
  7. St. Francis<\/strong> \u2013 His life has always intrigued and compelled me. His is a wonderful and inspiring insanity.<\/li>\n
  8. Venerable Fulton J. Sheen<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0His videos and talks kept me tethered to the Church without my even realizing it \u2013 and even during\u00a0my most absurdly hate-filled, anti-Catholic\u00a0days.<\/li>\n
  9. Father Robert Barron<\/strong> \u2013 A modern day Fulton J. Sheen. An extraordinarily gifted teacher.<\/li>\n
  10. St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict <\/strong>\u2013 So much left to read, contemplate, grasp. Two intellectual and spiritual giants. I didn\u2019t\u00a0get<\/em>\u00a0Benedict until after he stepped down. Now I do.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Ok, that was really 11<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    So sue me<\/p>\n

    Peace<\/p>\n

    Photo Image Credit Here<\/a><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Pope Francis \u2013 His election instantaneously compelled me to reconsider my 41-year absence. Thomas Merton \u2013\u00a0His\u00a0Seven Storey Mountain was the turning point in how I viewed the Church. Father Jim Martin \u2013 His books, excellent in their own right,\u00a0led me directly to Thomas Merton. Professor Peter Kreeft \u2013 His teachings are consistently clear, insightful, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1976,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe 10 Who Brought Me Back To The Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pope Francis - His election instantaneously compelled me to reconsider my 41-year absence. 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