Chosen

The twenty-three men and women who tell their conversion stories in these pages were not drawn to the Church by sound evangelization programs, beautiful buildings and liturgies, or saintly witnesses among the clergy. On the contrary, many of them were attracted to Catholicism in spite of a now decades-long stretch of deficient catechesis, mediocre Masses, and uninspiring leadership. Christ himself led these souls to his Church, concludes editor Donna Steichen, who compiled this consoling collection, and it is the Lord who set them to work replanting his devastated vineyard.

"Despite their marked differences in origin, education, and field of service," writes Steichen, "each one makes it clear that it is Christ who did the choosing. They testify that Christ touched their hearts and intervened in their lives in unexpected, sometimes even miraculous, ways."