No Ordinary Fool: A Testimony to Grace

by John Jay Hughes

Book Overview

Why does a gifted boy from a privileged Establishment background decide, at the age of twelve, to spend his life as a priest? And what moves him, after six happy years in the Anglican priesthood, to enter the alien world of Roman Catholicism?

In a gripping narrative full of humor and self-directed irony, John Jay Hughes tells of the loss of his mother at age six, entry into the Catholic Church at the cost of estrangement from his beloved...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1949231771
• ISBN13: 9781949231779
• Release Date: October 2018
• Publisher: Yorkshire Publishing
• Length: 348 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A personal history that moves and enlightens

In this autobiography former Anglican priest Jay Hughes details his extraordinary life journey which took him into the Catholic priesthood, despite many obstacles and hardships before and after the transition. His unique path could be likened to that of John Henry Cardinal Newman, who moved over to the Church of Rome in the 19th century. Hughes' journey was far more conditioned by a varied life experiences on both sides of the Atlantic than that of devoted scholar and chuchman Newman. Although he would hardly claim to approach Newman's level of scholarship, Hughes was and is intimately acquainted with the best of Anglo Catholic studies and scholars. He studied under and became familiar with some of the giants of mid and late 20th century Catholic thought, including Karl Rahner and Josef Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. Hughes' research on the validity of Anglican orders was persuasive in having his reception of Catholic orders be only conditional. He has subsequently authored many books in the areas of history and homiletics. Jay Hughes' depiction of his experience of American Catholicism before and after Vatican II was fascinating and revealing, partly because I too lived through that period--including study in Innsbruck, and partly because of his candor and passion. His style and concreteness makes his book hard to put down. There is no doubt of his strongly held faith and his resolve to achieve the goal of priesthood he set at age 12. Although his personal suffering along the way was considerable, Hughes does not tell a story intended to gain sympathy, but to reveal clearly what it is like to cling to faith while experiencing fully the human condition.

A Book You Will Not Forget!

"No Ordinary Fool" is one of the most fascinating books which I have read and this review is one of the most challenging to write. Fr. Hughes' life story is one that no fiction writer could create and his faith story is one which only God could have enabled. Despite repeated roadblocks obstructing his journey of faith, Fr. Hughes has steadfastly followed the beacon emitted from Jesus, the guide of his life. Fr. Hughes was born into comfortable circumstances in New York, the son and grandson of Anglican priests and, through his mother, a descendant of John Jay, a Founding Father and the first Chief Justice of the United States. He says that he is one of the very few to be listed in the "Official Catholic Directory" and the "Social Register." His childhood, with a brother and sister, was "magical" until, at age six, his mother died. This inflicted a blow from which it seems, understandably, he never fully recovered. Focusing all of his parental love on his father, he continued to follow in his footsteps. Frequenting parish houses and churches and getting to know a noted Anglican Devine, Bishop William Manning, Fr. Hughes, by age twelve, determined to be a priest. He pursued his education at boarding schools and his vocation by service at the altar and in the choir. Eventually he entered Harvard. Upon his graduation he went to Kelham Seminary in England. The description of post war austerity provides an entertaining insight into the social history of his day. Fr. Hughes describes himself, and his father, as Anglo-Catholics, which he defines as Catholic without the Pope. During his seminary training Fr. Hughes studied many Catholic writers. It was at this time that he began to consider the claims of the Roman Church as against those of his Anglican home. His entertainment of the notion that the Roman Church, and not the Anglican, may be the true church alarmed his father and created doubts as to whether ordination was possible. He did return to the United States and, despite his doubts, was ordained an Anglican priest and served at parishes in Utica, New York and in Arizona. During these years he continued to reflect on the claims of the churches, finally coming to the conclusion that he must, in conscience, enter the Catholic Church. This brought about a final break with his father. Despite author's continuing affection, his father excluded him from his house and they never met again. Fr. Hughes' next goal was to continue his priesthood in the Catholic Church. This would turn out to be a long and circuitous journey. Upon recommendation, he pursued seminary studies in Germany where he acquired fluency in that language and studied under Fr. Josef Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. Acceptance for ordination for the service of the Archdiocese of Munster, Germany brought a new crisis. The ordinary procedure would be to have been reordained, as Pope Leo XIII had declared Anglican ordination to be utterly null and void. This c

A piercing, wise memoir

Catholic literature abounds in conversion stories, and many of these "Home to Rome" tales have a sort of apologetic edge. NO ORDINARY FOOL transcends that genre. While no one could miss Fr. John Jay Hughes' deep love for Catholicism, this is far more than an argument for Roman verities. It is a piercing, wise memoir, written by a priest who has prayed and thought deeply about matters of both head and heart. Hughes is admired across ideological fault lines because he cuts to the core of things, to the restless need of the human heart for a love that lasts. Anyone who wishes to take that journey would do well to have Hughes as a guide.