On Being Human: Reflections on Life and Living

by Fulton J. Sheen

For almost thirty years Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen adressed the problems and preoccupations of life in a weekly column called "Bishop Sheen Writes," offering advice, solace, and the wisdom of experience. On Being Human is a collection of 117 of the best of these, culled from among more than a thousand which appeared in dozens of newspapers from 1949 to 1977.

Here are Bishop Sheen's thoughts on such subjects as the relationship between God and man, the quest for holiness, the pain of the human condition.

Here are the fruits of lifelong meditation jon love, reason, the family, charity, freedom, education -- in short, upon the world as we live in it.

Here is practical advice on how to deal with sex, with egotism, even with the atomic bomb.

Here, above all, is the luminescence of belief in and commitment to humanity in all its many manifestations.

Genres: Catholic, Spirituality, Faith, Religion

330 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1982

About the author

Fulton John Sheen was an American bishop of the Catholic Church known for his preaching and especially his work on television and radio. Ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria in Illinois, in 1919, Sheen quickly became a renowned theologian, earning the Cardinal Mercier Prize for International Philosophy in 1923. He went on to teach theology and philosophy at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and served as a parish priest before he was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York in 1951. He held this position until 1966 when he was made bishop of the Diocese of Rochester in New York. He resigned as bishop of Rochester in 1969 as his 75th birthday approached and was made archbishop of the titular see of Newport, Wales.
For 20 years as "Father Sheen", later monsignor, he hosted the night-time radio program The Catholic Hour on NBC (1930–1950) before he moved to television and presented Life Is Worth Living (1952–1957). Sheen's final presenting role was on the syndicated The Fulton Sheen Program (1961–1968) with a format that was very similar to that of the earlier Life Is Worth Living show. For that work, Sheen twice won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality, and was featured on the cover of Time magazine. Starting in 2009, his shows were being re-broadcast on the EWTN and the Trinity Broadcasting Network's Church Channel cable networks. His contribution to televised preaching resulted in Sheen often being called one of the first televangelists.
The cause for his canonization was officially opened in 2002. In June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI officially recognized a decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints stating that he lived a life of "heroic virtues," a major step towards beatification, and he is now referred to as venerable. On July 5, 2019, Pope Francis approved a reputed miracle that occurred through the intercession of Sheen, clearing the way for his beatification. Sheen was scheduled to be beatified in Peoria on December 21, 2019, but his beatification was postponed after Bishop Salvatore Matano of Rochester expressed concern that Sheen's handling of a 1963 sexual misconduct case against a priest might be cited unfavorably in a forthcoming report from the New York Attorney General. The Diocese of Peoria countered that Sheen's handling of the case had already been "thoroughly examined" and "exonerated" and that Sheen had "never put children in harm's way".

Reviews

[Virginia Bonnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was unfamiliar with Fulton Sheen's works before reading this book. A collection of his newspaper articles that spanned from the 1940s-1970s, this book took me almost a month to read. It is so full of insight and ideas that need to be slowly chewed on, that there was no way to really speed through it. I will be seeking out more of his works.

[Fallon Chiasson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to have empathy with Fr. Sheen—some of this was written nearly 80 years ago—but I have trouble understanding how someone who seems to have such wisdom on some things—discernment of spirits—can be so misguided on others—sex, marriage, and, of course, womanhood.

[Mark Hanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Fulton Sheen read