The Ingrafting: The Conversion Stories of ten Hebrew-Catholics is a fantastic and inspirational 1987 Book. The Ingrafting: The Conversion Stories of ten Hebrew-Catholics was edited by Rhonda Chervin and is only 117 pages long. Its eight chapters have ten conversion stories in them. As the author of The Ingrafting: The Conversion Stories of ten Hebrew-Catholics points out, Jesus was a Jew. This book should appeal to everybody as the story of changed lives and conversions is very appealing. Would you find stories of conversion useful?
Summary of The Ingrafting: The Conversion Stories of Ten Hebrew-Catholics
It is inspirational and fascinating to read the stories of those who have converted to the Catholic faith. What makes this book even better is that the chapters, ably edited together by Rhonda Chervin, are in the first person. What is even more special is that, as Chervin says, several of the chapter authors have become accomplished in the Catholic Church.
There are eight chapters and ten conversion stories in The Ingrafting: The Conversion Stories of ten Hebrew-Catholics called “Utterly in Love'” by an unnamed Maryknoll Sister who writes about how she fell in love with the idea of Jesus. And she became a Nun.
From the Editor of The Ingrafting: The Conversion Stories of ten Hebrew-Catholics
She states, “I have never met a Catholic who was not fascinated by the story of how the grace of Jesus Christ led a Jewish Person to become Catholic. Every time I give a lecture and mention in the introduction that I am a convert from a Jewish background, everyone hopes that I will get around to telling how it all happened. And, of course, I am just as interested in hearing the conversion stories of others.
Such a small number are ingrafted each year, and yet we are a bridge to other Jews seeking to fathom the mystery of a Jew, Jesus, who sprung from the line of David and changed the nature of history. The accounts contained in The Ingrafting have been chosen from among such many tales. They span a century and include the story of a Chassid from the mountains of Hungary, born in 1899, as well as that of a man from Los Angeles, baptized in 1984. Our converts come out of the richness of Jewish orthodoxy, the modernity of reformed Judaism, and the emptiness of contemporary atheism.
Once Catholic, some of our narrators became monks, some priests, one a sister, one a lay contemplative, others single in the world, and some married with families. Ingrafted onto the tree, which is the church of Christ, we have some thinking in common: the passionate love for the One who that all may be the one.”
Jesus was a Jew
Jesus was a Jew who founded Catholicism. It is highly likely Jesus was an Essen, one the three major sects of Judaism two thousand years ago. Other than being an Essen, Jesus was a typical Jew. Jesus’s neighbors. it is odd to think of, in Nazareth referred to him as “the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon”, “the carpenter’s son”, or “Joseph’s son”; in the Gospel of John, the disciple Philip refers to him as “Jesus’ son of Joseph from Nazareth”.
The English name Jesus derives from Joshua, and that was common in Judea at the time of the birth of Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew tells of an angel that appeared to his earthly father Joseph, instructing him “to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Jesus was circumcised at eight days old, was baptized by John the Baptist as a young adult,
Conclusion
The Ingrafting: The Conversion Stories of ten Hebrew-Catholics is a fascinating and inspiring book that should appeal to a wide audience. The people who wrote the chapters write in the first person about their conversion stories. Several of them, like the Maryknoll Sister, became religious in the Catholic church.
