Swimming with Scapulars

“I’m the spiritual offspring of Walker Percy and Flannery O’Connor—or, more accurately, I’d like to be. For now, I’m just a young(ish) guy who has had a gradually deepening appreciation of his Catholic faith, and of the profound difference that faith makes.”

So says Matthew Lickona, author of Swimming with Scapulars: True Confessions of a Young Catholic . Called a “breath of fresh air,” by Publishers Weekly , this book is “thoughtfully written and happily absent of platitudes and pious moralizing.” Instead, Lickona entertains readers with his candid look at what it means to live his faith fully and vibrantly in the modern world.

Intrigued? Or just wondering: Who on earth swims with scapulars?! Catholic Radio International will be broadcasting a reading of the book, chapter by chapter, beginning today at 12 pm CST. See here for details.

Dear Reader,

Can I be direct with you?

War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.

First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.

But we can’t do it without readers like you.

Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.


Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.

Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.

GIVE NOW

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.

Next
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

The Church in the Age of Therapy

Matthew Loftus

In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…

Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot

Anna Farrow

On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…

The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen

Mike Aquilina

Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…