Catholic Mom Book Club Selection The Catholic Home by Meredith Gould

June 2004

The Catholic Home : Celebrations and Traditions for Holidays, Feast Days, and Every Day
by Meredith Gould
Doubleday, February 2004
Hardcover, 256 pages

Purchase The Catholic Home from Barnes & Noble

About the Book

For centuries, Catholicism has offered its members a wealth of splendid traditions extending beyond church walls into daily life, but in recent decades, many of these faith activities have fallen by the wayside. Now, Meredith Gould rekindles the joy of these home-based rituals in The Catholic Home. With insight, reverence, and irrepressible enthusiasm, she shows Catholics how to use these older practices?and new ones?to enrich faith identity and instill a sense of tradition and heritage that may be passed from one generation to the next.

Organizing her guide according to the liturgical calendar, Gould?a convert to Catholicism?suggests ways to bring the particular meaning of each liturgical season into the home. From Advent wreaths to May crowns, from special meals to Bible readings, Gould presents a wide variety of activities. Focusing on much more than Christmas and Easter, Gould covers the entire Church year, from Epiphany to Pentecost; from Mary?s month (May) to select saints? days. She also includes sections on how to prepare at home for the Sacraments such as Baptism, Confirmation, First Eucharist, and Matrimony.

Throughout The Catholic Home, Gould?s down-to-earth practicality and sense of humor give the activities she describes modern relevance no matter how ancient their origin. To emphasize the meaning behind each ritual, Gould gives its concise history, including the non-Christian origins of the most popular traditions, such as mistletoe and Easter eggs. Sidebars throughout this guide highlight variations on practices in different parts of the United States and in other countries, underscoring the universal spirit of the traditions she describes.

Valuable appendixes explain the liturgical calendar, provide essential Catholic prayers, teach readers how to pray the rosary, and much more. The Catholic Home is an inspiring resource for all Catholics who want to enrich their daily lives with a stronger religious identity and revive neglected traditions that will deepen their faith.

A Note to Our Readers from Author Meredith Gould

I'm delighted you've chosen my book, The Catholic Home : Celebrations and Traditions for Holidays, Feast Days, and Every Day as your featured book for June. I've been (uncharacteristically) unprepared for the enthusiastic and warm reception it's receiving from readers.

When I stop to think about it, I don't know why I've been so surprised. As a sociologist, I'm always either noticing or forecasting social trends. As a perpetual student of culture, I'm always fascinated by how our most dearly-held beliefs manage to survive the social havoc that, to borrow a phrase, is the work of human hands.

Today's Catholics are hungry for information about how to create a Catholic home and how to sustain Catholic culture. I truly believe that I was able to discern this need because in addition to being a sociologist, I'm a convert from Judaism.

In Judaism, the home, and the mother who runs it, rules. This is not just a cultural stereotype! An abundance of ritual takes place in the home. Faith is seeded and nurtured in the home, primarily by moms. It was like this for American Catholics until suburbanization and secularization nearly obliterated all that. (Let's stop blaming the Second Vatican Council, okay?) I hope my book helps your readers retrieve lovely and delightful customs, many of which find their roots in ethnic Catholic communities.

Given our faith's commitment to social justice and outreach, your readers might also enjoy reading Deliberate Acts of Kindness : Service as a Spiritual Practice (Doubleday, 2002). In that book, I provide tips for successfully managing the challenges of volunteer work, challenges that can be even more daunting in a parish setting where we're all supposed to be so Christlike?so loving!

Your readers can find out more about me by wandering through www.meredithgould.com. I'm guessing that busy moms will find my Space Queen page of particular interest. I?m in the process of writing an article about that ministry for Faith and Family Magazine. I'm also in the process of creating a regular column for a new and thought-provoking Catholic website www.godspy.com. And I'm starting research for a book about the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church that describes their connections to Jewish belief and practice.

Last but certainly not least, I'd like readers to know that my mother has been extraordinarily supportive of my interior and exterior life of faith. Is she thrilled that her Jewish daughter has converted to the Roman Catholic Church? Not exactly. But she does recognize the glorious changes our Faith hath wrought in my life and sees that they are all good. In 2003, she sent me a gorgeous Christmas cookie platter for Hanukkah and her typical response to my mishagas (Trans: lunacy) is, ?Oy vey, Maria.? How blessed am I? Pax vobiscum to you.

Meredith Gould

Visit Meredith Gould's Website

Additional titles by Meredith Gould include: Deliberate Acts of Kindness : Service as a Spiritual Practice (Doubleday, 2002)