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Charles Rich: Give Me Your Heart–Preparing for Eternal Life by Charles Rich
Charles Rich: Give Me Your Heart–Preparing for Eternal Life
Ed. by Ronda Chervin
How about a book for the elderly by a sage who was still making disciples in his nineties?
Who was this Charles Rich, anyhow? One of the most fascinating Hebrew-Catholics of all times was Charles Rich (1899-1998). Born in Hungary in a Jewish village similar to the one in Fiddler on the Roof, Charles was noticed by the rabbis as an extraordinarily religious boy. He loved to stay in the forests to pray alone. His father joined one of the many waves of Jews who went to America to seek better opportunities. After establishing himself in New York City, he sent for the family.
This was the beginning of a very dark time for Charles. He found it impossible to be close to God in the teeming city and among the strict legalistic rabbis he had to study with. Eventually, he lost his faith. He worked as a waiter by night and spent 8 hours a day at the 42nd St. public library searching world literature, philosophy, and religious writings searching for the God he had lost.
Eventually, Charles fell into despair and tried to commit suicide. Three times he tried; three times he failed, being rescued the last minute. Feeling even more of a failure, one day he went into a Catholic Church. Jesus spoke to him directly from a painting telling him that He was God and to trust in him.
Instructed by the Jesuits, Charles became a Catholic and then a lay contemplative, spending hours and hours of the day rapt in prayer. Catholics seeking a deeper prayer life were attracted to him, especially Jewish converts such as myself. Quite a number of books of his thoughts and meditations have been published.
Paperback: $12.95 | Kindle: $9.99
TESTIMONIALS
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ronda Chervin, Ph.D. is a professor of Philosophy, widow, grandmother, and great grandmother. She has taught at Loyola Marymount University, St. John’s Seminary of Los Angeles, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Our Lady of Corpus Christi, and Holy Apostles Seminary and College. She is the author of numerous books about Catholic living and presents on EWTN and Catholic Radio. Most well-known of her books are The Way of Love, Treasury of Women Saints, Avoiding Bitterness in Suffering: How our Heroes in Faith Found Peace amid Sorrow, and, most recently, with co-author Albert Hughes: Escaping Anxiety on the Road to Spiritual Joy.
Roger Skrenes studied science as an undergraduate and history as a graduate. He holds a master’s degree in religion and has taught high school in Los Angeles, California, for over thirty years, including six summers in the California Youth Authority (a prison for teenage boys in Whittier, CA). He is the father of three adult children, Mary, Mark and Therese.
Fr. Vincent A. Salamoni, M.S.A., is a member of the Society of the Missionaries of the Holy Apostles (M.S.A.). Their charism is to promote, form and accompany vocations to the priesthood and other ministries.
Rick Clements has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Purdue University and has taught psychology at several universities. He is the author of The Meaning of the World Is Love. He lives in Valparaiso, Indiana with his wife Jessica and their five children.
