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How God Hauled Me Kicking and Screaming Into the Catholic Church
A preacher's kid at a Catholic university, Kevin Lowry settled into a double major in beer and billiards soon followed by uncomfortable run-ins with pious students, failing grades, increasing anxiety, a missing night and the startling realization that some fellow students actually attended Mass the morning after a party instead of sleeping it off.
After getting kicked out, Kevin got his act together, got the MBA, and also got the girl. Meanwhile God was working, drawing him to the inevitable conclusion that Catholicism was all true despite his objections.
Kevin Lowry's journey to Catholicism is fascinating, often funny, and demonstrates God's unfailing, patient love for all of us.
After getting kicked out, Kevin got his act together, got the MBA, and also got the girl. Meanwhile God was working, drawing him to the inevitable conclusion that Catholicism was all true despite his objections.
Kevin Lowry's journey to Catholicism is fascinating, often funny, and demonstrates God's unfailing, patient love for all of us.
158 pages, Paperback
Published May 24, 2016
9 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Lowry
8 books14 followersKevin Lowry is an enthusiastic convert to the Catholic faith and has spent over thirty years in financial and executive management roles. His latest book is Honor Thy Wife: A 31-Day Spiritual Journey of Marital Fulfillment. It’s a challenge and encouragement for men to be better spouses.
His conversion story is entitled How God Hauled Me Kicking and Screaming Into the Catholic Church. Kevin’s journey to Catholicism is fascinating, often funny, and demonstrates God’s unfailing, patient love for all of us. His first book, Faith at Work: Finding Purpose Beyond the Paycheck is about integrating faith, family and work. Through personal anecdotes and practical tips, Kevin encourages readers to discover greater purpose in their work, and draw closer to God in the process. Kevin is also a contributor to several other books dealing with topics including fatherhood, family life, and conversion.
After serving as Chief Operating Officer for The Coming Home Network International for several years, Kevin was Executive Vice President and CFO of RevLocal, a digital marketing company. He and his wife live in Columbus, Ohio and have eight children and nine grandchildren - so far!
His conversion story is entitled How God Hauled Me Kicking and Screaming Into the Catholic Church. Kevin’s journey to Catholicism is fascinating, often funny, and demonstrates God’s unfailing, patient love for all of us. His first book, Faith at Work: Finding Purpose Beyond the Paycheck is about integrating faith, family and work. Through personal anecdotes and practical tips, Kevin encourages readers to discover greater purpose in their work, and draw closer to God in the process. Kevin is also a contributor to several other books dealing with topics including fatherhood, family life, and conversion.
After serving as Chief Operating Officer for The Coming Home Network International for several years, Kevin was Executive Vice President and CFO of RevLocal, a digital marketing company. He and his wife live in Columbus, Ohio and have eight children and nine grandchildren - so far!
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 15, 2016
This is the second book I have read by Kevin Lowry and I have read his contributions in other volumes also. And I must say the greatest strengths of his writings are threefold. First is his honesty and his transparency. Second is his engaging and entertaining writing style. And Third is his vulnerability is sharing his stories as they are faults and all. Over the last few years I have read a number of stories of how people have found the Catholic church or found their way back home. From the three volumes in the Surprised By Truth series edited by Patrick Madrid to Lorene Hanley Dunquin's Recovering Faith. But there is something very powerful in the whole story like Kevin Presents in this volume as opposed to shorter snapshots, even though I enjoy those also.
In this volume we have a story that spans many years, almost a decade. From a young 16 year old heading off to college to a man married with 2 children entering the Catholic Church. Kevin states in the introduction: "To undergo conversion is to become different, or perhaps it is more accurate to say that it is to be made different. It is the start of the process of becoming a saint, for that is the ultimate point of conversion and God's goal for each one of us." He goes on later to declare "I've grasped that I was not a failure but a human being. I have also grasped that the process of conversion - even for cradle Catholics - necessarily involves turning our hearts again and again toward Christ. It involves growing in our understanding and practice of the faith." And his book will inspire, challenge and at times even cause us to laugh. This book will help with our own turning, turning back, refocusing back on Christ. And if we are open to learning from Kevin's example it can help us grow.
The sections in this book are:
Foreword - Dr. Scott Hahn
Introduction - Transformed: Lessons of a Grateful Convert
Part I: Sprinting to the Starting Gate - or How God Hauled Me Kicking and Screaming into the Catholic Church Despite My Best Efforts to Avoid It
Chapter 1: Happy Easter! Now What?
Chapter 2: An Event and a Process
Chapter 3: A Fish Out of Water
Chapter 4: Soused in Steubenville
Chapter 5: Fast Forward
Chapter 6: The Beautiful American
Chapter 7: Spiritual Nomads
Part II: Turning Stumbling Blocks Into Stepping-Stones - or How All Those Weird Things About Catholicism Turn Out to Make Sense and Actually Bring You Closer to God
Chapter 8: First Stumbling Block: The Eucharist
Chapter 9: Second Stumbling Block: Confession
Chapter 10: Third Stumbling Block: The Mystical Body of Christ
Chapter 11: Fourth Stumbling Block: Mary
Chapter 12: Fifth Stumbling Block: Faith vs. Works
Chapter 13: Sixth Stumbling Block: Authority
Chapter 14: Seventh Stumbling Block: The Church's Imperfections
Chapter 15: The Worst Stumbling Block of All: Me
Kevin writes in such an engaging way that I could hardly put the book down.
"I need the Sacrament of Reconciliation as much as anyone and more than most. So instead, I force myself to look inward and marvel at my own intransigence - how my conversion seems to be put on hold far more often than it should be." And each of us must face those same questions, week by week, year by year. We need to learn to turn again and again back to God, to fix our focus on Christ and to follow the Holy Spirit's leading.
This book is an excellent read. For those firmly established in their Catholic faith it will serve as a reminder or a book to share with those on the path. For those who are on the path, Kevin is an excellent example and someone whom you can walk beside. I honestly believe that anyone who reads this book will be challenged to live a deeper and more authentic faith! It is a wonderful inspiring read so give it a try.
Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Kevin Lowry. As well as an author profile and interview with Kevin.
(Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: A Year of Reading Intention - Catholic Reading!)
In this volume we have a story that spans many years, almost a decade. From a young 16 year old heading off to college to a man married with 2 children entering the Catholic Church. Kevin states in the introduction: "To undergo conversion is to become different, or perhaps it is more accurate to say that it is to be made different. It is the start of the process of becoming a saint, for that is the ultimate point of conversion and God's goal for each one of us." He goes on later to declare "I've grasped that I was not a failure but a human being. I have also grasped that the process of conversion - even for cradle Catholics - necessarily involves turning our hearts again and again toward Christ. It involves growing in our understanding and practice of the faith." And his book will inspire, challenge and at times even cause us to laugh. This book will help with our own turning, turning back, refocusing back on Christ. And if we are open to learning from Kevin's example it can help us grow.
The sections in this book are:
Foreword - Dr. Scott Hahn
Introduction - Transformed: Lessons of a Grateful Convert
Part I: Sprinting to the Starting Gate - or How God Hauled Me Kicking and Screaming into the Catholic Church Despite My Best Efforts to Avoid It
Chapter 1: Happy Easter! Now What?
Chapter 2: An Event and a Process
Chapter 3: A Fish Out of Water
Chapter 4: Soused in Steubenville
Chapter 5: Fast Forward
Chapter 6: The Beautiful American
Chapter 7: Spiritual Nomads
Part II: Turning Stumbling Blocks Into Stepping-Stones - or How All Those Weird Things About Catholicism Turn Out to Make Sense and Actually Bring You Closer to God
Chapter 8: First Stumbling Block: The Eucharist
Chapter 9: Second Stumbling Block: Confession
Chapter 10: Third Stumbling Block: The Mystical Body of Christ
Chapter 11: Fourth Stumbling Block: Mary
Chapter 12: Fifth Stumbling Block: Faith vs. Works
Chapter 13: Sixth Stumbling Block: Authority
Chapter 14: Seventh Stumbling Block: The Church's Imperfections
Chapter 15: The Worst Stumbling Block of All: Me
Kevin writes in such an engaging way that I could hardly put the book down.
"I need the Sacrament of Reconciliation as much as anyone and more than most. So instead, I force myself to look inward and marvel at my own intransigence - how my conversion seems to be put on hold far more often than it should be." And each of us must face those same questions, week by week, year by year. We need to learn to turn again and again back to God, to fix our focus on Christ and to follow the Holy Spirit's leading.
This book is an excellent read. For those firmly established in their Catholic faith it will serve as a reminder or a book to share with those on the path. For those who are on the path, Kevin is an excellent example and someone whom you can walk beside. I honestly believe that anyone who reads this book will be challenged to live a deeper and more authentic faith! It is a wonderful inspiring read so give it a try.
Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Kevin Lowry. As well as an author profile and interview with Kevin.
(Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: A Year of Reading Intention - Catholic Reading!)
June 27, 2017
As a convert, I have a certain expectation with conversion stories. They’re not my first choice in reading material, either, because my expectation is usually met.
And then I picked up How God Hauled Me Kicking and Screaming into the Catholic Church (2016, Our Sunday Visitor). Kevin Lowry’s conversion story is, first and foremost, a story.
“Here’s something I believe,” Lowry begins in the Introduction, “If Catholicism is true, then it should change us. In fact, it should change everything about us.”
In the next 150-odd pages, Lowry details just how he has been changed. You also get the distinct impression that Lowry’s not exactly perfect just yet…and he knows it. He’s converted, yes, but he’s also still converting.
And that gives me hope.
One of the biggest hurdles I’ve faced in over 15 years as a Catholic is the feeling that I’m not done. I’m here, home, in Mother Church…but oh! How far yet to go!
Lowry is, perhaps, the first fellow convert I’ve read who captures this so well. (That said, I tend to not pick up conversion stories as my first choice of reading…)
In Kicking and Screaming, Lowry takes you on his journey to the Catholic Church and then outlines each of the hurdles he faced with Catholicism. He ends on a note that I once again found so relatable: the biggest stumbling block is the self.
I am my own worst enemy.
And what is it that keeps us here, in the Catholic Church?
Lowry explores this in a way that I found very interesting, especially given my business and marketing backgrounds:
"If the Church were a corporation, we would not hesitate to say that she had a “branding” problem. Her products — the sacraments — are unique, but they’ve been around for a long time, and her market has become a “mature” one (just think of all that gray hair you see at Sunday Mass). The Church doesn’t have the pizzazz or freshness to attract the young in a culture that thrives on novelty and values the newness over depth. She seems to speak of a world of faded glory, one that is slowly but inexorably vanishing, rather than a world that is coming into being.
"In a way, the Church is like well-known companies such as Sears or McDonald’s that have been around seemingly forever. Everyone knows — or thinks they know — what those companies and ours (the Catholic Church) are all about. But at least in the case of the Church, they are wrong; they really don’t have a clue, and part of the reason they don’t have a clue is my fault. It may be yours, too, by the way.
"I’ve heard countless stories over the years of Catholics just going through the motions — of not even trying to sing hymns, of not grasping the most basic tenets of their faith, and of not even caring about their own lack of knowledge. Many of these tales are true, or at least true enough. But who is at fault for this? Who is responsible? Aren’t I at fault when I don’t even glance at the hymnal as the organ is playing and the cantor is desperately trying to get the congregation to produce a noise that could at least pass for vocal music? Aren’t I at fault when I approach the altar to receive the body of Christ in exactly the way I approach a fast-food counter to order a hamburger and a Coke? What message do these things send to the non-Catholic, the potential but undecided convert? For that matter, what message does it send to our children?"
Though it’s short, Lowry’s latest book is a treatise of sorts, one that, while detailing his own conversion, also challenges each of us to action.
Conversion is not a still point on the map: it’s an odyssey that will span our lives. Kicking and Screaming is a timely reminder, whenever you read it.
And then I picked up How God Hauled Me Kicking and Screaming into the Catholic Church (2016, Our Sunday Visitor). Kevin Lowry’s conversion story is, first and foremost, a story.
“Here’s something I believe,” Lowry begins in the Introduction, “If Catholicism is true, then it should change us. In fact, it should change everything about us.”
In the next 150-odd pages, Lowry details just how he has been changed. You also get the distinct impression that Lowry’s not exactly perfect just yet…and he knows it. He’s converted, yes, but he’s also still converting.
And that gives me hope.
One of the biggest hurdles I’ve faced in over 15 years as a Catholic is the feeling that I’m not done. I’m here, home, in Mother Church…but oh! How far yet to go!
Lowry is, perhaps, the first fellow convert I’ve read who captures this so well. (That said, I tend to not pick up conversion stories as my first choice of reading…)
In Kicking and Screaming, Lowry takes you on his journey to the Catholic Church and then outlines each of the hurdles he faced with Catholicism. He ends on a note that I once again found so relatable: the biggest stumbling block is the self.
I am my own worst enemy.
And what is it that keeps us here, in the Catholic Church?
Lowry explores this in a way that I found very interesting, especially given my business and marketing backgrounds:
"If the Church were a corporation, we would not hesitate to say that she had a “branding” problem. Her products — the sacraments — are unique, but they’ve been around for a long time, and her market has become a “mature” one (just think of all that gray hair you see at Sunday Mass). The Church doesn’t have the pizzazz or freshness to attract the young in a culture that thrives on novelty and values the newness over depth. She seems to speak of a world of faded glory, one that is slowly but inexorably vanishing, rather than a world that is coming into being.
"In a way, the Church is like well-known companies such as Sears or McDonald’s that have been around seemingly forever. Everyone knows — or thinks they know — what those companies and ours (the Catholic Church) are all about. But at least in the case of the Church, they are wrong; they really don’t have a clue, and part of the reason they don’t have a clue is my fault. It may be yours, too, by the way.
"I’ve heard countless stories over the years of Catholics just going through the motions — of not even trying to sing hymns, of not grasping the most basic tenets of their faith, and of not even caring about their own lack of knowledge. Many of these tales are true, or at least true enough. But who is at fault for this? Who is responsible? Aren’t I at fault when I don’t even glance at the hymnal as the organ is playing and the cantor is desperately trying to get the congregation to produce a noise that could at least pass for vocal music? Aren’t I at fault when I approach the altar to receive the body of Christ in exactly the way I approach a fast-food counter to order a hamburger and a Coke? What message do these things send to the non-Catholic, the potential but undecided convert? For that matter, what message does it send to our children?"
Though it’s short, Lowry’s latest book is a treatise of sorts, one that, while detailing his own conversion, also challenges each of us to action.
Conversion is not a still point on the map: it’s an odyssey that will span our lives. Kicking and Screaming is a timely reminder, whenever you read it.
September 18, 2017
This is a short book about a Protestant preacher's son who started out living a typical rebellious youth. His maturing led him to start exploring his faith and eventually to the Catholic Church. He explores how he struggled with and later came to understand and love the church's doctrines of the Eucharist, reconciliation, the mystical body of Christ, Mary, faith vs works, church authority, the church's imperfections and finally himself.
It's a nice quick read
It's a nice quick read
December 2, 2022
Mildly interesting. I learned some things I didn’t know about how some Protestants view Catholics.
October 11, 2024
It's hard to critique a memoir much. It is a personal story and I think its well told. But, I also don't think this book is quite as advertised. The author says that he is the son of a Presbyterian minister who converted to Catholicism. That is true, but its also true that he did not have a typical church upbringing from the sound of it. He was never baptized, his church had communion once a quarter, his dad later converted to Catholicism too. All that to say I was hoping for a more robust conversion story, but it read less like someone weighing the pros of the Catholic church to his upbringing and more like someone who found faith through the Catholic church.
The second part of the book gives a very brief overview of various doctrines, but I found it lacking in the same way. For instance, the chapter on Mary was good and I agreed with the author on many points, but he also didn't discuss some of the more debated aspects of this doctrine at all.
If you are looking for a true Protestant to Catholic account that wrestles with the issues, this one is probably not the book for you.
The second part of the book gives a very brief overview of various doctrines, but I found it lacking in the same way. For instance, the chapter on Mary was good and I agreed with the author on many points, but he also didn't discuss some of the more debated aspects of this doctrine at all.
If you are looking for a true Protestant to Catholic account that wrestles with the issues, this one is probably not the book for you.
July 9, 2020
No offense to Kevin or his story but I don’t really understand the rave reviews for this book. It is readable while not being well written, personal without being especially unique, informative without covering more than some very basic beliefs. It is fine. I wouldn’t be inclined to recommend it to anyone, though. There was some binding issue with my copy and a bunch of pages were duplicated or out of order.
September 10, 2018
If you ever have wavered in your catholic faith, or are a theologian seeking a better understanding of Catholicism this book is for you. The author does a wonderful job explaining his conversion and the common challenges with the catholic faith in laymen’s terms that allow the reader time to reflect on their views of faith.
May 5, 2024
I value Kevin Lowry's story and how he experienced his faith in a deep and radical way; however, I think there were places where his humor or arguments were a bit uncharitable and biased.
This is far from an apologetics book. I would consider this more like a narrative story of his faith journey, with vague (and ineffective) overviews of Church teachings at the end.
This is far from an apologetics book. I would consider this more like a narrative story of his faith journey, with vague (and ineffective) overviews of Church teachings at the end.
July 1, 2017
This was actually 4.5 stars, an excellent book. I really liked Kevin Lowry's writing style. Very funny and an interesting and well written conversion story. The second section in the book is a great mini apologetics course. Very enjoyable!
January 19, 2023
A powerful witness for conversion and vibrant church membership, and one that should be required reading for all Catechumens. I do feel though that the exploration of some of the Stumbling Blocks in the second part are kind of glossed over.
April 3, 2025
Loved this candid telling of Kevin Lowry’s conversion to Catholicism. It was honest, funny and full of Catholic doctrine.
September 6, 2025
Soooo he definitely didn’t come into the church kicking and screaming. And I’m not quite surprised that he became Catholic after his parents enrolled him in a Franciscan University…
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews