Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Beyond the Vows by Ed Griffin

Beyond the Vows

JP Lacey throws himself into the priesthood after twelve years in the seminary. The year is 1964.

He's going to free the captives and give sight to the blind as the prophet Isaiah has directed. He hears confessions, chaplains parish groups and struggles to bring God into the lives of the people. But nothing works as he anticipated. The world is in tumult with the death of JFK, civil rights demonstrations, the war in Vietnam and the sexual revolution. Even the rock-strong Catholic Church has been shaken by the second Vatican Council.

JP searches for answers. The fierce God of his childhood gives way to a God of love. Helping others replaces a life of rules. But a deep void eats at his heart. He is alone.

When a young woman in the parish, Caitlin O'Neil, contacts him for help, JP must decide what kind of priest he will be. Caitlin has been ordered to fire the only black man in the company she works for. Will JP offer pious advice or will he stand with her, even when he discovers that the owner of the company is a good friend of the bishop's?

JP finds himself falling in love with Caitlin despite his vows. Caitlin struggles with her feelings. She's been raised Catholic and falling in love with a priest is taboo. In addition, a dynamic union organizer has proposed to her. A wild ex-nun shows JP one way to leave the priesthood, while a self-educated church janitor counsels a different way.

What is love? Where is God? Why celibacy? When do you follow your conscience and not the church?

www.edgriffin.net

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