Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #782556 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 145 pages

Customer Reviews

Anything is possible
Robert P. Lockwood, director of communications for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, is also a columnist and general manager of the Pittsburgh Catholic. His writing is fast paced and informal, filled with personal stories and a wide swath of cultural, literary, and religious references. Early on, he quotes Paul's explanation of virtue in Romans 13:8-10. Addressing the theological and cardinal virtues, Paul defines how we should live, Lockwood writes, "answering the eternal question of men: `What the hell am I doing with my life?'" For those who believe a virtuous life is too difficult, Lockwood points to grace and the sacraments, which make living the virtues both attainable and easier than the alternative.

Each chapter of Guy's Guide is devoted to a single virtue and opens with a formal definition. Lockwood presents an array of stories, many related to sports, famous and unacknowledged heroes, and his own life, particularly the earlier times. A section called "A Little Scripture" is implanted in roughly the middle of each chapter to forge a connection between the stories of virtue and teachings of the New Testament. Within, between, and through all this are memorable nuggets expressed eloquently, as the following quotations show.

"The bravery of a guy trudging off to work every day to a job that's tearing his guts out because his family has to eat.... It's at the shank of the evening, when belief is hard, that fortitude becomes a virtue to live by.... Temperance is knowing how to live passionately without living by our passions.... We don't have to settle for the ordinary, for the good enough. With God, through grace and the sacraments, anything is possible."