Welcome to episode 25 of the Behind the Catholic Counter Podcast. I'm Ian Rutherford, President of Aquinasnandmore.com. I interview Catholic authors, publishers and manufacturers to give you the latest news about great new Catholic books and gifts. You can listen to this and past episodes at aquinasandmore.com/podcast.
This week, I interviewed Brother John McKenzie, a Benedictine monk in Italy about his beautiful new children's book, The Life of St. Benedict. We'll have a special on the book that I'll mention at the end of the show.
There are three book reviews I'll mention now and put links to in the show notes.
First, the Curt Jester has a review of The Reality of God from St. Benedict Press about how science actually points to a creator.
Second, the Catholic Book Blogger has a very timely review of The Way of the Passion: Forty Stations with Jesus from the Daughters of Saint Paul.
Finally, CatholicMom.com has a review of a gripping conversion story called Loved as I Am.
Also, if you want a little controversy, check out Steven Greydanus's article about the proper way to read the Chronicles of Narnia. What do you think is the proper way?
Okay, on to the interview.
Ian: Today I am joined by Brother John McKenzie, a monk with the order of Saint Benedict who is living in Norcia the home of Saint Benedict and he's written a wonderful children's book called the life of Saint Benedict. Welcome to the show.
John: Thank you Ian again for having me on, I know you're come from Colorado, Im here in Rome, Thank you for having me.
Ian: This is a wonderful book you've written for children, but before we start talking about the book. Can you tell me your vocation story, how did you end up as a monk in Rome after growing up in the U.S.?
John: Yeah, well that's a good question Ian, as I've said before you know I wake up every day and I've realize where I'm at and it is a surprise. It's one of the divine surprises that our Lord creates sometimes for people and I'm just a living witness of that so I'm really glad of that. I grew up in Detroit, Michigan for the most of my life. I went to catholic school there. I ended up moving to Saint Louis, Missouri where I spent about another 8-9 years going to middle school then high school and then I did about 2 years of college and that was, that time in college that I discovered that I had a religious vocation – you know I was planning to get married and all that, but something deeper inside was calling me to something else, you know and it took a while for me to realize that. I had a really good spiritual director who is a Jesuit and he had given me some information about this discernment house in Rome and how it helped him and helped others, and to find their vocation and I took him up on that offer to spend 2 years in Rome discerning. And it was during that time in Rome where living in the center if you want to say of Holy Mother Church, of the Catholic Church, it was there that I discovered even more profoundly my vocation to the monastic way of life versus other types.
Ian: Now, how did you come to that conclusion, because this is a very different life to be leading?
John: You're right, it's a very different life but at the same time it's a lifestyle so, in a way I've always been kind of driven towards a certain way of living ...
