by Fr. C. George Mary Claret
Reviewed by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D.
Claret begins his book with the quote of St. Augustine “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the great human achievement.” He further states that his mission is to help people know, accept, personalize and actualize the gifts and graces given to them by God. The author continues by stating that the incarnation is the journey God took to reach humans, from heaven to the world. So the book is a journey in the Creator’s footsteps, who became a creature! The book is for experiential purposes, for example, experience the book. Claret wants us to keep a journal with our thoughts of the experiences. It is not an intellectual journey, but an experiential one, demanding your entire being.
In Chapter one the author offers the point that God is a family of three divine persons and the second person of the Trinity takes flesh and shares the human lot which is a mystery that needs to be accepted. This can only happen through revelation. Humility is the doorway to receive revelation from God. God emptied Himself to express His love for you and now is waiting for your turn to love Him as He loved you. God is passionate about you and at the same time jealous. He wants you to belong to Him exclusively, to abide in Him as He abides in you!
Chapter two starts with the issue that God does everything for a purpose and nothing happens without his knowledge. There can be no accidents for God. God purposely choose Bethlehem, the city of God and house of bread to signify the birth of the Savior of the world. He would be the life-giving, living bread and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. To become a member of the new Creation, one has to believe in Jesus. One has to be born again in the image of the new Adam. Faith is the way God reveals the mysteries. We believe to understand.
In Chapter three Claret points out that God can be known through various means, namely nature, Scriptures and most of all Jesus, the God made man. To comprehend the complexity of the Journey, God took on, one has to understand the chasm between the realities of God and man. To comprehend the depth of one’s love, we have to know the sacrifices one has made for one’s love, God became human, sacrificing His very life. The author implores us to keep the heart wide-open as the journey continues.
Fr. C. George Mary Claret is a young vibrant missionary Catholic priest, currently pastoring the community of a mission in the Archdiocese of Raipur, India. He spends his time helping people experience God’s love and personalize the mysteries. Hi is also active in the online ministry via podcast, youtube and facebook. He can be reached at www.greatergloryofgod.in