Some of these women came from very devout Catholic families and drifted from the faith, as so many do, once they were out on their own at college or in the world without anyone checking to see if they were going to Mass, participating in the Sacraments, making time for personal prayer, and thereby growing in holiness and closeness to the Lord.
Many were disillusioned by the watered-down version of the Catholic faith they received growing up after Vatican II at a time when women’s rights and sexual freedom were being heavily promoted. In most cases, God worked through a friend, spouse, child, family member, and/or a clergyman to guide these prodigal daughters back to the loving Father, the Blessed Mother, and the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
The most prevalent reasons for these women to abandon their faith for a time were that they got caught up in sensual pleasures espoused by the sexual revolution and feminist movement, became focused on winning worldly success, embraced New Age thought and practices, and/or were disillusioned by religious men and women who made the mistake of adopting ideas from popular culture and passing them off as Church doctrine, though they were and are clearly against the Magisterium.
This book gives me hope for the many Catholics who have fallen away from the faith and may even condemn the Church and its teachings. These stories prove, yet again, that God doesn’t abandon His Children, not even when we turn our backs on Him. He remains faithful to us always. He is the loving, enthusiastic, warm father who welcomes us with open arms however and whenever we finally hear His call to return home.
One of the most poignant observations made by Archbishop Fulton Sheen which sums up this book so very well is that there are millions who hate what they think the Catholic Church is, but not a handful who hate the real thing.
Lord, thank You for loving us so much that You never give up on us. You are always inviting us home and rejoice when we finally accept Your invitation.
You can purchase this book here.
I wrote this review of Prodigal Daughters for the Tiber River Blogger Review program. Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases. I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.
