The Bad Catholic's Guide

As I mentioned before, Ma Beck and I are reading the same book (albeit different copies... transatlantic book sharing clubs never did get off the ground): The Bad Catholic's Guide to Wine, Whiskey & Song by John Zmirak & Denise Matychowiak.

I haven't read the first book in the series (The Bad Catholic's Guide to Good Living) but, based on my reading of the first few entries of the second book, I had to pop over to Amazon and order it.

This book is a treasure trove of fascinating trivia about different alcoholic beverages and the history behind them. And, as that history is generally Catholic and often monastic, the book is also a mine of information on Catholic religious orders, customs and beliefs.

And the authors are sound on Church teaching. The following quote, found under Benedictine, should give you the general feel. It follows a quote from Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, where he says that man tries to make his sexuality a mere object which is both enjoyable and harmless...

In the spiritual realm, whatever is harmless is also generally useless. [Footnote: Here we must choose between two authorities: St John (Apocalypse 3:16: "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth") and Golidilocks ("'Ahhh, this porridge is just right,' she said happily and she ate it all up")] If you don't believe us, close this book immediately; call someone to whom you're fairly indifferent to join you at Appleby's for a pitcher of non-alcoholic beer. Now compare that to holding hands with a beloved spouse at Mass watching real wine turn into real blood...

Excuse me, I need to go and read my book...