The Catholic Writers Guild

Review by Dennis P. McGeehan for the Catholic Writers Guild

The “P” in my name stands for Patrick. So I was enthusiastic to have a chance to review a book dealing with Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. In the past two years I have tried to become more familiar with this famous saint whom I am named after.

The book is extremely well written; the reader is pulled along from the first paragraph. The land and the people of Patrick’s life come alive and Patrick becomes a real person that I could relate to and not the holiday caricature that many know him as.

The book traces Patrick’s life starting as a teenager just before he is captured by Irish raiders. His captivity is masterfully described and the conditions he and the other prisoners experienced are vividly manifested in the pages of the book.

His time as a slave serving in the stables and then tending sheep, his escape, only to be recaptured by other raiders, his survival during the sack of Rome by the Goths, and his return to his father in Britain are compelling on a purely human level. But the inner struggle of Patrick is the choicest part of the book as he slowly and reluctantly turns from his self-centered life serving only his will to embracing God’s will for his life.

The author relies heavily on Patrick’s own words that he set down in his Confession as his source for the book. Anyone who is interested in learning the truth about one of the two most popular saints (Saint Francis being the other) is well served by reading this book. The book is enlightening and entertaining. I also found it uplifting, as Patrick learns from those God puts in his life to seek and wait on God’s plan for his life, a lesson I for one am working on.

A Man Cleansed by God would be an excellent choice for junior and senior high school grade levels as well as adults. It is highly readable; indeed, it is a page-turner. I highly recommend it be added to the reading list of anyone who is remotely interested in learning about Ireland’s first bishop.

Beahn, John E. A Man Cleansed by God: A Novel Based on the Life of Saint Patrick. Charlotte, NC: TAN Books, 2013. ISBN: 9780967597881.

Find more work from Dennis McGeehan at Warriors World Dad. Dennis writes from Pennsylvania, and is available for speaking at your next store or parish event.

Stephen Weisenbach

Stephen Weisenbach is a freelance copy editor and proofreader, and guest-posts editor for the Catholic Writers Guild blog. He has worked with a number of Catholic media organizations, including Scepter Publishers, Circle Media, Catholic News Agency, Tiber River, and FultonSheen.com, as well as ad agencies serving national accounts. You can reach Steve at sweisenbach @ ymail.com.