If you ask Pat Carroll how long it took to write this book he will respond “82 Years,” a lifetime of reflection on scripture and life, blending together the stories of Jesus and the real-life questions and struggles we all face. A Jesuit priest for 33 years, Pat was a pastor, a teacher, a retreat director immersed in the lives of thousands of people and their search for meaning, for faith, for hope, for an increased ability to love. The past twenty years as a married man have added texture. His homilies are food for personal and/or group reflection. Each is part of Pat’s life-long effort to “tell the story of Jesus, over and over, until we get it right!”
Drawing on his extensive experience as a Jesuit priest, pastor and retreat leader, Patrick Carroll has now added to his published books this collection of homilies covering the full liturgical cycle. While the readings may be familiar, Carroll’s treatment of them is unfailingly novel and imaginative, especially in the vivid ways he brings Jesus and His message into the world of today. This is a treasure of spiritual reading. (G. Donald Maloney teaches theology at Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH. )As a Roman Catholic woman priest I have enjoyed reading Patrick Carroll’s homilies and used parts of them in my own preaching. He brings the gospel into our everyday living situations. I look forward eagerly to having all three cycles bound together in one book. (Rev. Dr. Juanita Cordero RCWP, San Jose, CA.)I have been using Pat Carroll’s homilies to help me with my own preaching for the past three years. Pat combines solid pastoral and biblical theology with wisdom born from experience with real people and an ability to find God working in many situations. I highly recommend his work both as a homiletic aid and for personal prayer. (Peter Henriot, S.J., founder of The Center for Concern and 30 years in Zambia-Malawi as a pastor and also national consultant on Social Justice and Educational issues.)
