Sharing God’s gifts
CHARLOTTE — A doctorate in Sacred Theology does make you a bit of an expert when it comes to the Catholic faith. But it takes a gift for teaching to make the faith come alive in the pages of a book.
In his new book, “The Sacraments: Discovering the Treasures of Divine Life,” Father Matthew Kauth takes the seven sacraments of the Church and illuminates the scriptural foundation and the spiritual realities of each and how they are necessary to living a happy and holy life.
Father Kauth was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Charlotte in 2000. Over the years he felt the Lord calling him to develop his love for preaching and teaching, and in 2012 he became a definitively promised Dominican.
He is now the rector of St. Joseph College Seminary in Charlotte and also serves as a professor at Belmont Abbey College, where his seminarians work towards their undergraduate degrees in philosophy.
“I have always enjoyed teaching,” Father Kauth says. “Certainly the charism of the Dominican order is to pass on that which you have contemplated; to hand on that which you have contemplated. I love that, because that is what you do when you teach. You are speaking to people about your own life with the Lord, both in study and in prayer.”
Father Kauth notes that writing books is another way to share what God has allowed him to glean from his studies and experiences, and to share all that he has learned with others.
“I am charged to do that as a Dominican – to be able to reach the faithful, even though I am not as much of a public person anymore (as the rector of the college seminary),” he explains.
Conor Gallagher, president of TAN Books, approached Father Kauth and asked him to write a book on the sacraments in the same style in which he preaches. Gallagher wanted it to be for the people in the pews, not intellectuals necessarily. He wanted a book that can enkindle one’s love of the sacraments.
Father Kauth originally declined the offer due to his hectic schedule. But divine providence would intervene for both men.
Father Kauth was looking for ways to fund the college seminarians’ Capstone course, which is a 10-day trip to Italy to see some of the treasures of the Church and to bring their philosophical and classical language studies to a pinnacle, so he agreed to write the book to help bridge the gap to fund that program for the students.
“I took the spring break (from his teaching duties at Belmont Abbey) and wrote for about seven days,” Father Kauth says. “I read some books before I wrote it, but for the most part I just sat there and wrote it.”
After completion of the book, Gallagher asked Father Kauth to film a video series on “The Sacraments” as well.
“I flew to Milwaukee and filmed a series of videos on ‘The Sacraments.’ We shot every one of those videos over the course of two days,” he recalls.
Father Kauth says he is open to creating more materials to help instruct the faithful in the future.
“I think the faithful of the diocese are very fortunate that we have so many wonderful priests,” he says. “I think that the faithful do get a lot of solid teaching (here).”
Father Kauth adds that he believes “a lot of us (priests) would be open to doing more things like this if the faithful were to say they want more of this on specific topics.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior Reporter
Order a copy
At www.tanbooks.com: Order a copy of “The Sacraments: Discovering the Treasures of Divine Life”
CHARLOTTE — In his latest book, “101 Surprising Facts About the Bible,” Rick Rotondi takes on the most famous, most translated book in history.
“The 101 Series is a series published by Saint Benedict Press. It’s a very engaging way to approach a subject in bite-sized pieces. You can get a great introduction to different subjects,” Rotondi explains.
“A lot of it is coming out of my work on a documentary series on Jesus called ‘Messiah’,” Rotondi adds. He has been working on the documentary for the past 18 months, which was filmed in the Holy Land and Rome and will be released this fall.
“It inspired me to research into the Bible and to share what I learned in this book,” he says.
To help readers explore the history and content of the Bible, Rotondi has divided the book into three parts: how the Bible was compiled, written and made; the prophecies of the Bible; and how the Bible speaks to us.
“The Bible is one book. What makes it one book? It is Christ. Christ provides that unity of Scripture. He is in the Old Testament and the New Testament,” Rotondi notes.
We see Him present in Genesis, in Exodus and in the prophets. That is the Road to Emmaus experience that the disciples had, he says. “That is really what I wanted to Give people; a Road to Emmaus experience.”
Rotondi provides a historical overview of the Bible, how the Bible has shaped civilization and culture. “It is the Bible that gives us respect for human dignity. It insists every human being is made in the image and likeness of God.”
He hopes anyone who is seeking sound, basic information to understand what the Bible is, where it comes from and how it has shaped history and the Christian faith, will take the time to explore the story of the Bible shared in this book.
Rotondi also hopes that readers take away a sense that Christ is the whole purpose of creation, that God is revealing Christ to us from the very beginning and that this is the way so we can know and love Him.
“God also wants to speak to us, but we need to dwell on His words, which is Scripture. He can draw our attention to passages that have meaning in particular times of our lives. It’s all about Christ, and it is all about God speaking to us. We need the Bible for that,” he says.
No one should be afraid of reading the Bible more often and more deeply, he emphasizes. “Biblical literacy is so crucial. We have forgotten about that in our age. We have lost the Bible as part of our culture. We need it.”
Even for people who are not believers, he says, “They need it because you can’t understand our history without it.”
“We should know the Bible as literature, and then as Catholics and Christians, we should know it more deeply as the Word of God,” he says. “It is a unifying text for us all.”
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
Order a copy
At www.tanbooks.com: Get a copy of “101 Surprising Facts About the Bible”