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Mark Mossa...seems to have spent most of his life growing up; he wants to help others through the same self-doubt, darkness and blundering. With chapters like 'Living in Palookaville, ' 'Taking the Scary Bits Out of the Freezer, ' and 'Who Told You That You Were Naked?' Mossa buttonholes the reader. After stumbling through most everything in life (that's his version of the story), he puts his practical insight to work for us. 'Already there' is the seemingly casual phrase he uses--insists on--to tell us how he eventually learned (and has to keep relearning) that the Lord was with him through every dilemma, every pratfall. How does he convey this highly personal experience? Partly through one of his genuine passions, the movies. Do not scoff. Movies for him and a few generations before him capture the sharp pain of existence, of being on the planet without knowing why, Hamlet's cry about a world out of joint and feeling totally inadequate to the task--also, about the Lord being already there and then, when he has lavished his love, expecting us to move out to others. I took the author's advice and read each chapter slowly, as a meditation. I laughed at the recognition factors, the punch lines: 'I coulda been a contenda.' Mossa leads, but does not push too far ahead, constantly assuring us of the heartache and the heart's ache for a Lord whose love is ours already and who, despite our confusion, will never fail us. --Emilie Griffin, America Magazine

"""Mark Mossa...seems to have spent most of his life growing up; he wants to help others through the same self-doubt, darkness and blundering. With chapters like 'Living in Palookaville, ' 'Taking the Scary Bits Out of the Freezer, ' and 'Who Told You That You Were Naked?' Mossa buttonholes the reader. After stumbling through most everything in life (that's his version of the story), he puts his practical insight to work for us. ""'Already there' is the seemingly casual phrase he uses--insists on--to tell us how he eventually learned (and has to keep relearning) that the Lord was with him through every dilemma, every pratfall. How does he convey this highly personal experience? Partly through one of his genuine passions, the movies. Do not scoff. Movies for him and a few generations before him capture the sharp pain of existence, of being on the planet without knowing why, Hamlet's cry about a world out of joint and feeling totally inadequate to the task--also, about the Lord being already there and then, when he has lavished his love, expecting us to move out to others. I took the author's advice and read each chapter slowly, as a meditation. I laughed at the recognition factors, the punch lines: 'I coulda been a contenda.' Mossa leads, but does not push too far ahead, constantly assuring us of the heartache and the heart's ache for a Lord whose love is ours already and who, despite our confusion, will never fail us.""--Emilie Griffin, America Magazine"

Mark Mossa...seems to have spent most of his life growing up; he wants to help others through the same self-doubt, darkness and blundering. With chapters like 'Living in Palookaville, ' 'Taking the Scary Bits Out of the Freezer, ' and 'Who Told You That You Were Naked?' Mossa buttonholes the reader. After stumbling through most everything in life (that's his version of the story), he puts his practical insight to work for us. <br> 'Already there' is the seemingly casual phrase he uses--insists on--to tell us how he eventually learned (and has to keep relearning) that the Lord was with him through every dilemma, every pratfall. How does he convey this highly personal experience? Partly through one of his genuine passions, the movies. Do not scoff. Movies for him and a few generations before him capture the sharp pain of existence, of being on the planet without knowing why, Hamlet's cry about a world out of joint and feeling totally inadequate to the task--also, about the Lord being already there and then, when he has lavished his love, expecting us to move out to others. I took the author's advice and read each chapter slowly, as a meditation. I laughed at the recognition factors, the punch lines: 'I coulda been a contenda.' Mossa leads, but does not push too far ahead, constantly assuring us of the heartache and the heart's ache for a Lord whose love is ours already and who, despite our confusion, will never fail us. --Emilie Griffin, America Magazine

Author Information

MARK MOSSA, S.J., spent his early adult years trying to figure out where God wanted him. At 27 he finally realized he was already there. Two years later he became a Jesuit and now he finds himself a priest. In the process, he learned a few things, much of it from his ministry with youth and young adults in the northeast and southern United States. The rest he learned through movies, music, poetry, prayer, and from the many amazing people he has had the privilege to serve and live with, before and after his ""leap"" to Jesuit life. He currently studies and teaches theology at Fordham University in the Bronx, and occasionally updates his blog, ""GODsTALKed: Pursuits of a Hyphenated Priest.""

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