Faith & Reason

I was pleasantly surprised this morning with a newly found book! I was looking for items to compile a list in response to my brother's post in the Braga email list concerning the harmony between Faith & Reason, and I found a book by Kevin Vost on the life of Saint Albert the Great! We chose this great saint of the "greatest of all centuries" for Number Four's middle name because he is the patron saint of scientists! Our dear friend Dom Marcos Barbosa OSB, who baptized me and most of my siblings, also baptized Number Four. At the baptism in Rio more than 17 years ago, he gave a wonderful homily on the two saints in our son's name, Thomas and Albert, the master and the pupil, both doctors of the Church. I love this Amazon review on the book:

"When my 8th grade son asked for a patron saint for his Science Fair project, I immediately thought of St. Albert since I had just finished reading this fascinating book. Dr. Vost makes good use of his signature conversational style to weave a captivating portrayal that is certain to rescue St. Albert the Great from the depths of obscurity. Not only was St. Albert an inquisitive and thoughtful scientist, he was also a philosopher, master of memorization and a superb teacher. In fact, St. Albert taught St. Thomas Aquinas! Dr. Vost adds inspiring quotes, engaging anecdotes and a helpful series of "Great Ideas," making this more than just another saint biography. (BTW, my son won the regional science fair and is advancing to the state competition, so you can add "powerful intercessor" to the list of St. Albert's accomplishments.)

And also Kevin Vost's conversion story, with Faith & Reason in the title...