In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Al Smith on his book The Soul of a Disciple: Fulton Sheen's Meditations on the Cross, the Eucharist, and the Christian Life (September 29, 2026) There is a hunger in you that the world cannot satisfy. You may have tried to fill it with diversion, with noise, with the endless scroll of daily life activities. Yet it remains — that quiet ache for something real, something lasting, something holy.Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen knew that hunger well. He spent more than sixty years assuaging it in the best way: on his knees, in silence, before the Blessed Sacrament, in what he called his daily Holy Hour. From that secluded hour flowed everything — his preaching, his books, his television ministry that reached millions, and his spiritual fire that made him one of the most compelling voices of the twentieth century. Sheen was convinced that the renewal of Holy Mother Church would come not through programs or initiatives but through souls willing simply to remain with Christ.This book is your invitation to do exactly that.Inside, you will find six powerful retreats drawn from the heart of the great evangelizer’s preaching — on the Holy Face of Jesus, Our Lady, the Beatitudes, the Holy Eucharist, the Cross, and Holy Week. Each day offers a reflection, a prayer, a simple practice, and a phrase to carry with you out into the world. These are not tasks to check off; they are doorways that lead to encounters with the living God.Whether you pray alone, with your spouse and family, in a parish group, or during the sacred days of Holy Week, this devotional will meet you where you are and lead you into a deeper embrace with Christ. Also included is a practical guide on how to make a Holy Hour, and a step-by-step Leader’s Reference Guide for group use.Through Archbishop Sheen’s timeless wisdom, you will discover: How to rest beneath the loving gaze of Christ’s Holy Face — and why that gaze changes everythingWhy devotion to Mary is not piety for the faint of heart but a healing encounter with a mother who loves you with fierce tendernessHow the Beatitudes are not impossible ideals but a blueprint for the freedom your soul is cravingHow to draw near to our Lord in the Holy Eucharist and experience, perhaps for the first time, the full weight of His mercyHow the Cross — the instrument we instinctively flee — alone holds the secret to forgiveness, surrender, and a love stronger than your worst failureWhy the Resurrection is God’s refusal to give up on you and how it opens a door to beginning again, no matter what lies behind youSheen liked to say that the saints became saints not through extraordinary deeds but through ordinary deeds done with extraordinary love. That path is open to you. Your suffering has meaning, your heart can be healed, and your daily life, however ordinary it may seem, can become the raw material of holiness.For Archbishop Fulton Sheen, the Holy Hour was never an obligation. It was a love affair — a daily meeting at the Fountain of all grace, where the heart of God speaks quietly to the heart of man. These pages will bring you to that Fountain. Come and drink. The Soul of a Disciple: Fulton Sheen's Meditations on the Cross, the Eucharist, and the Christian Life: Smith, Allan: 9798889117377: Amazon.com: Books
