I Live Now, Not I

“What kind of God are you? Where were you when I needed you? Why did this happen to me? Where are you now?”

These are some of the questions from within his own life which Fr. Patrick McNulty shares and then resolves in his book, I Live Now, Not I.

In a very profound but personal fashion he guides us through the veil of our own wounds, sins, and history and calls us to look beyond what could have been, should have been and perhaps must yet be. Then with the way cleared he ushers us into the heart of the mystery of the Incarnation where we discover Christ himself was actually present in every aspect of our personal history and most especially is present now in our everyday life, be we saints or sinners.

Fr. McNulty shares the spiritual fruit of a lifetime’s journey toward deeper union with Christ in pain, suffering, and joy. Drawing on the writings of Catholic tradition as well as his own experience, he writes movingly about the Crucified Lover who embraces every human situation and circumstance:

“We approach the fullness of our union in Christ on earth when we begin to realize that in Christ we too are those who are like us in our pain right now. And in Christ we can cry out as them before the Father, right now, as we are! Not for them—that’s caring. Not with them—that’s compassion. But as them. That’s Love.”

I Live Now, Not I is a simple book of great hope and joy, two rare virtues we could all stand a good healthy dose of in this disturbed world of ours.