[.ca] How Firm a Foundation (ISBN 0970262124)

Much more than just another page-turner...:
Marcus Grodi gives us a compelling novel -- one that draws us in, like the novels of Grisham and Turow. But there's much more here, an element of faith and struggle that is honestly and vividly drawn from life. Mr. Grodi is himself a former Protestant minister who converted to the Catholic faith. Presumably, he knows the anguish and the turmoil of one who must choose between his livelihood on the one hand, and his intellectual and spiritual integrity on the other. Those pressures are depicted in the characters of his novel -- in the main character, of course, but also in his friends, his family and his flock. I recommend this book highly. It is more than merely diverting; it is highly instructive.

Engrossing:
I started reading this tale and found I couldn't put it down. I am a mental health professional and was particularly intrigued by how skillfully Grodi depicts the many factors at play with someone making such basic changes as a conversion. I count among my friends a number of Protestant clergy. Now I have a much better understanding of hints they have given me! As a cradle Catholic I found I have taken entirely too much for granted.

Be not afraid:
I grew up as a PK (preacher's kid), so a lot of this book hit home with me. My family switched churches quite a bit - denominations too. We were Baptists, Methodists, Congregationalists, and a couple others I can't even remember now. The way my father dealt with the variances within Protestantism was to adapt an ecumenical stance: "The smaller differences don't matter, as long as we all love Jesus". It sounds reasonable enough on the surface, but there are two major problems with this sentiment: The first has to do with the "smaller differences". If it "really doesn't matter" how or when we baptize (for example), then why does it matter if we baptize at all? If it "really doesn't matter" if there are two or seven sacraments, then why does it matter if there are any sacraments at all? If none of the individual parts of Christianity matter, then it becomes easier and easier to conclude that the whole thing doesn't matter - which, sadly, is where many Christians end up. The second problem has to do with the part that we all supposedly agree on: "loving Jesus". Even loving Him is different for the various denominations. Some believe that loving Him means simply accepting Him as their "Lord and Savior". But Jesus, Himself, said on at least two occasions, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not DO the will of my Father?" Clearly, mere assent to His Lordship is not sufficient. One of the characters in this book says that there are three reasons most Protestants won't even consider the possibility that the Catholic church is Christ's one true church: 1) prejudice, 2) ignorance of the Church's true teachings, and 3) the bad example of individual lukewarm Catholics. I agree, but that character left out one more important reason: fear. I've found that many Protestants are simply afraid of pursuing the possibility that there is one single truth to Christianity. You see, discovering that one church has the truth necessarily means that the others are wrong - and that's scary! We live in a culture that says if little Johnny thinks two plus two equals five, well don't correct him, because it might embarrass him and hurt his feelings...and hurting someone's feelings is the one unpardonable sin of this age. Furthermore, if it's discovered that one church indeed has the truth, then that might mean that someone has to change - and that's scary too! So scary, in fact, that multitudes of Christians studiously avoid any line of discussion or reasoning that might lead to the truth. Instead, they continue to repeat comfortable, safe and unchallenging Christian sounding platitudes, patting themselves on the back for not being "judgmental", and all the while never even scratching the surface of the kind of faith and life that Christ intended for them. I congratulate Marcus Grodi on this book. His use of fictional characters to express real concerns is very effective. I especially liked some of the points made by the priest - particularly when he shows that the very earliest controversies in the Church on record (as described in the book of Acts) were resolved NOT with scripture, but by the authority of the Church - and, in particular, by the authority of Peter - just as Christ intended. If you have a hunger for the truth, I strongly recommend you read this book. I guarantee you'll enjoy it. Be not afraid.

Stealth apologetics!:
Written in the genre of the apologetic's novel, the likes of How Firm a Foundation have not been seen perhaps since Cardinal John Henry Newman's novel Loss and Gain. Marcus Grodi's novel revolves around the life of Stephen LaPointe - a Congregational pastor who finds himself at a crossroads. In a story familiar to most converts, LaPointe discovers that his preconceived belief, that the Bible alone is a sufficient foundation for his life, suddenly no longer holds true. This discovery sets him on an irreversible course towards the Catholic Church. Naturally, how LaPointe wrestles with his questions of faith impact not only himself, but also all those around him - his loving, but troubled wife, Sara, whom is haunted by a secret in her own past, their two sons, his pastoral colleagues, and his parishioners, most especially Walter Horscht, a passionate yet confused father and husband. The novel effectively builds to a climactic confrontation between LaPointe and Horscht. Essentially a conversion story, How Firm a Foundation brings to the story not only Grodi's own conversion experience, but also the experiences of the hundreds he has interviewed through his apostolate, the Coming Home Network, and on his popular EWTN television program. Therefore, the novel carries an air of authenticity. LaPointe's interactions, especially those with his colleagues, ring true. We realize that the story we are reading is the story of so many others whom have gone before. One of the most enjoyable sections of the book involves Stephen's conversations with Catholic priest, Father Bourque. Here we can clearly see the intellectual wrestling that faces LaPointe. His questions threaten not only the faith of his youth, but also his marriage and family. Because the novel draws heavily from Grodi's own life, in some places it is difficult to distinguish fiction from fact. One example includes a passage where pastor LaPointe performs a kind of exorcism on a mute woman - a true-to-life incident that Grodi once faced as a pastor. In addition, although not named, Grodi's own apostolate figures in the novel, as do the thinly-veiled names of real Catholics. The novel serves as a stealth apologetic in that Grodi makes use of authentic sources. Most of the books referenced and excerpted from in the story - books by James Cardinal Gibbons, Karl Keating, the early Church Fathers, and anti-Catholic Loraine Boettner, for example - are real books. Grodi generously quotes from the books, also utilizing Scripture references to prove his point. Additionally, there is nothing about the book which would lead someone to believe that they were picking up something overtly Catholic. Yet, it should be noted that Grodi has written this book for a very particular audience -Protestant pastors. Herein lies the book's major weakness. It suffers from myopia. So focused on the life of a pastor and his church, LaPointe's character lacks true depth. We are given a glimpse of the life of those who live in the world of the pastorate, yet the reader is not given a sense of how LaPointe's family fits into the larger culture that surrounds them. The details of daily life seem missing. One might ask, "what do the characters do for fun?" At certain points along the way, the story gets lost at the expense of trying to prove a point. While Marcus Grodi's first novel is not great literature, it still makes for enjoyable reading. At times the narrative is cliché. At one point, sweat drips off Pastor LaPointe's forehead as he gives a sermon, and in another a car flips over and bursts into flames. It's easy to overlook the errors as those of a first-time novelist. Overall, the story compels the reader to continue forward. The second edition is recommended, as the first is filled with many spelling and grammatical errors. Catholic readers will come to a deeper appreciation of their faith. Non-Catholics at the very least will enjoy a fast-moving tale. At the most, they might be brought one step closer to the Church. Clearly, that is Grodi's purpose. By all accounts, the novel appears to be succeeding. To date the Coming Home Network has received more than 100 letters confirming as such, as well as strong praise from Bishop Paul Dudley. To my way of thinking, if the book leads just one person to the Church, then it's all worthwhile.

Pillar and Foundation of Truth:
Marcus Grodi suggests that most Christians, particularly Protestants, will recognize that Sacred Scripture, as we read in 2 Tim 3:15, is the "pillar and foundation of truth." Unfortunately, as he points out in this occasionally overheated but nonetheless apologetically effective novel, it is the CHURCH, not the Bible, about which Paul writes to Timothy. Mr. Grodi uses this novel as a means of providing a useful short course in Catholic theology and apologetics. The plot involves a good man and minister who slowly realizes that sola scriptura cannot serve as a reliable guide to faith. Slowly, if inevitably, he is drawn into the Catholic orbit; along the way, Mr. Grodi provides numerous biblical and historical references and citations to corroborate his judgments about the necessity of Sacred Tradition (as in 1Thess 2:13, 2 Thess 2:15, 1 Cor 11:2, 1 Cor 4:17, Jude 3, 1 Pt 1:25, 2 Pt 3:1-2, and so on). With a new Protestant "bible-based faith" beginning every five days, one need not be much of a theologian to recognize that, ironically, it is sola scriptura that is a tradition of men and that Sacred Tradition (the doctrines, life, and worship of the Church) flows with and complements Sacred Scripture. Both sources, integrated with the Magisterium (as in John 14:26 and 16:13), provide us with the Standard, with the Authority, we need in our lives as Christian men and women. Mr. Grodi does not have his characters ask--as well he might--where in the bible alone does one find the basis for resisting human cloning or even for the tenets of Just War. Of course, we need Christ's Church--Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium--for the resolution of such vital matters. Mr. Grodi's plot is overworked and, in places, implausible, to be sure, but the novel "works" as a means of conveying a theological message all of us need to think through and pray about. One who knows something of Mr. Grodi's own conversion experience will find the novel rather more credible than those who don't know about his fine EWTN TV series. Even Mr. Grodi is quick to point out that the minister's wife Sara is NOT a character based upon Mrs. Grodi. CH Resources, the book's publisher, must learn to do a much better job of editing. For example, simple words such as "quizzical," "preferred," "failed," "variance," "east," and "prophecy" are misspelled; words like "someone" and and "everyone" are indefinite prounouns that take a singular pronoun; phrases such as "recently elected governor" or "happily married couple" do not take hyphens; the word "quote" is NOT a noun, but "quotation" is; periods and commas go inside quotation (not quote!) marks, something CH Resources appears to get right sometimes; Mr. Grodi appears never to have heard the term "misplaced modifier"; the term "Apostle's Creed" leads one to ask, "Which Apostle?"; CH Resources apparently does not know when question marks are put inside quotation (to say again: not "quote") marks and when outside; and, while Mr. Grodi is techically correct in using "reticent" for "reluctant," he ought to know that its primary meaning is "laconic" and use it that way! If CH Resources is going to charge for its books, it owes its readers professional editing. All that said, the book's editing, although poor, detracts very little from the novel's main purpose, which is to teach, in a readable and even enjoyable manner, the lessons of a lifetime--or of an eternity. It does that very well indeed, and the book should find its way to every Catholic DRE and to every Christian--Catholic or Protestant or Orthodox--who loves Sacred Scripture but who thirsts for the context and meaning which can be reliably supplied only by the authority of the Church established by Jesus the Christ (cf. Luke 10:16).