Barrel of Religion

In his memoir, Richard Rosenbaum chronicles his childhood memories and experiences—of family, church, school, and work—from the late 1930s in Chicago through his very productive adult years in suburban Detroit, Michigan.He touches upon the details of his youth in Catholic schools and the Church in the 1940s and early 1950s, including his call to the priesthood. He also shares behind-the-scenes views of many aspects of life in Catholic, and later Easter Orthodox, seminaries.Richard discusses Church history and ecumenism in general, and he compares and contrasts Catholic and Orthodox traditions, highlighting his own spiritual journey in both. He also includes special stories about priests he has known, his own overseas mission work, and visitations with death-row inmates. And he looks at issues that the Catholic Church has faced in recent years—including the scandals and media coverage of them—and suggests ways that vocation levels could be improved.He also describes in vivid detail his work experiences that began at a very young age and involved a vast range of jobs and situations. While enjoying family life, he earned degrees in higher education and pursued entrepreneurship and invention. Richard shares his amazing life's journey in this book, a gift given to us not long before his passing.