Tending the Temple

Bezalel Books (with co-authors Shane Kapler, Peggy Bowes, and other special guests including Son Rise Morning Show Producer and author Matt Swaim)

IT'S HERE!! LATEST ACTIVITY!!



I'm thrilled to be the new Springfield, Illinois Chapter LIFE Runners Leader, working with Dr. Pat Castle, co-founder of LIFE Group, and Most Reverend Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of Springfield.   Please click on the LIFE Runners logo for information on their daily devotional messages and their many activities for life throughout the nation. 
More details to follow.

Below is some new artwork from Theodore Schluenderfritz, artist/illustrator extraordinaire. www.5sparrows.com

 Can you identify the characters? Both are featured in chapters of my From Atheism to Catholicism: How Scientists and Philosophers Led Me to Truth (Our Sunday Visitor, 2010).  For those who might like an audio CD of a live talk on my reversion story, complete with Q & A, I refer you to Saint Joseph Radio.

Latest TV Spot (available on ETWN's Youtube site) -- First airing Sunday March 27, 2011 @9:30 AM Eastern  EWTN's Bookmark with Doug Keck. 

I was amazed myself at this recent honor, being placed in such esteemed company by journalist Mary O'Regan in her article for the Catholic Herald UK.
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/features/2011/06/01/ten-catholics-doing-amazing-work/

A Tale of Three Supermen
NEW Web Article on Great New Site for Converts and Reverts:
http://whyimcatholic.com

What an honor and pleasure it was to chat with Marcus Grodi on The Journey Home about my return to Christ and the Church on 2/14/11.
Here's a link if you'd care to view it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87rnTioOhjk

St. Albertus Magnus has arrived!!!!

TAN BOOKS/St. Benedict Press

Just click on St. Albertus Magnus' image for a look inside.

It is a humbling privilege to be featured among the wonderful people profiled in this brand new book by Lorene Hanley Duquin.

Please just click the cover for more details, if so inclined.

LIVE TALKS: 2011 & 2012

April 28, 2011

 Theology on Tap

Madison, Wisconsin

Topic: Tending the Temple -- On Faith and Fitness

May 12, 2011

Theology on Tap

Springfield, IL (Casey's Pub)

Topic: From Atheism to Catholicism

May 19, 2011

 Theology on Tap

Dayton, Ohio

Topic: Unearthing Your Ten Talents

June 10-11, 2011

Immaculate Heart of Mary National Home School Conference

Chantilly, VA

Topics:  Memorize the Faith! & From Atheism to Catholicism

June 24-25, 2011

Immaculate Heart of Mary Regional Home School Conference

Cleveland, OH

Topics:  Memorize the Faith! & From Atheism to Catholicism

July 22-23, 2011

Immaculate Heart of Mary Regional Home School Conference

Tampa, FL

Topics:  Memorize the Faith! & From Atheism to Catholicism

August 4-5, 2011

Immaculate Heart of Mary Regional Home School Conference

Tarrytown, NY

Topics:  Memorize the Faith! & From Atheism to Catholicism

September 2, 2011

St. Joe's Java Coffee House

St. Charles, MO (6:30 - 9:00 PM)

Topic:  From Atheism to Catholicism

Quad City Legatus Chapter Meeting

Moline, IL

Topic:  Memorize the Faith!

October 20, 2011

Theology on Tap

Edwardsville, IL

Topic:  From Atheism to Catholicism

March 11 - 15, 2012

Sacred Heart Parish Lenten Mission and Teen Mission

Farmington, NM

"Entering Into The Joy of Jesus"

Topics:  

Memorize the Faith!

Fit for Eternal Life/Tending the Temple

Unearthing Your Ten Talents

From Atheism to Catholicism

St. Albert the Great/Three Irish Saints & Finding Your Spiritual Style

May 10, 2012

Catholic Breakfast Club

Sliver Legacy Hotel/Casino, Reno, NV

Topic:  Fit for Eternal Life/Tending the Temple

About Me, What This Site is For, and Why It Might Interest You

I am by training, vocation and avocation a psychologist, disability adjudication administrator, former college professor, American Mensa Research Review Committee member, weightlifting instructor, competitive powerlifter, Highland Games Heavy Events competitor, church lector, fast food fries and drinks man (a few decades back), who was raised Catholic, turned atheist for a brief spell of almost two-and-a-half decades, who returned to Christ and His Church and now writes for four Catholic publishers, and who does a lot of radio and live speaking engagements to spread the good news of the gospels and the Catholic Church, in particular, how it embodies the fullness of truth, synthesizing and perfecting along the way the graces of reason and faith, the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian heritages, and who, when unrestrained by a professional editor, loves to write exceedingly long sentences. Not always though. (Todd, Bert, George, and Cheryl forgive me.)

Alright, on to what this site is for --. 

This site is designed to:

• make people aware of the messages in my books (which are rife with practical applications of the ideas of brilliant and profound thinkers, people like great saints, theologians, doctors of the Church, and the divinely inspired writers of the Scriptures.) I write books on some perhaps unlikely subjects at the intersection of philosophy, psychology, theology, virtue ethics, memory improvement, and even spiritual, and physical fitness (yes, complete with muscle-building strength training and cardiovascular fitness training combined with prayer.)
• show folks where they can buy them if they deem said purchase a prudent act (I don't sell them directly myself.)
• provide a forum of questions, answers, and friendly exchange of ideas for readers, radio listeners, web surfers, and the wonderful people I meet at various talks and conferences. As the rigors of book writing have increased, I've not been able to keep this forum section up to date, but I am still able to respond to everyone who emails me directly at askdrvost@drvost.com. I look forward to hearing from you.
• keep interested parties updated on the various activities of myself and some close friends in the Catholic media world, things like new books, website articles, radio, television, and live speaking engagements, etc. This is done through the What's New, Catholic Book Reviews, and Links sections primarily. I will also occasionally update other sections of this site if I can figure them out or feel inclined to bother my generous web site designer and computer guru, Rick.
• give the brave souls who would like me to give a talk to their group the means of contacting me, and finally,
• well, that's it for these bullet points.

Why it might interest you:

This site might interest you if you find books like these of interest.

• Memorize the Faith! (And Most Anything Else) Using the Methods of the Great Catholic Medieval Masters (Sophia Institute Press, 2006). A guided tutorial through the ancient system of memorization founded and developed by the ancient Greeks and Romans and transformed and perfected by Sts. Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas.
• Fit for Eternal Life: A Christian Approach to Working Out, Eating Right, and Building the Virtues of Fitness Within Your Soul.  (Sophia Institute Press, 2008). A practical approach to safe, productive high-intensity strength training (in as little as 20 minutes per week), cardiovascular fitness, and sensible diet, building upon the cardinal and theological virtues, the wisdom of Scripture and Catholic theologians, with the goals of glorifying the body as a temple of God and crafting oneself as a dynamo of charity -- a "theology of bodybuilding" if you will.
• Unearthing Your Ten Talents: A Thomistic Approach to Spiritual Growth Through the Virtues and the Gifts. (Sophia Institute Press, 2010). Building on the parable of the master and the servants in Matthew 25, this book elaborates on ten virtues (3 intellectual, 4 moral, and 3 theological) highlighting how St. Thomas Aquinas showed their interconnections with the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, the beatitudes, and the sacraments. It also includes a chapter on St. Thomas's "golden chain" of commentary complied from the great Church Fathers on that parable of the talents.
• From Atheism to Catholicism: How Scientists and Philosophers Led Me to Truth (Our Sunday Visitor, 2010). This book includes my own reversion story in the context of a series of chapters on atheistic thinkers who led me away from the church and the philosophers, scientists, and theologians who brought me back. A key theme, borrowed from Pope John Paul II, is to try to learn from the partial truths of those who try to drive faith and reason apart. I highlight the alluring aspects of some of the theories of the great atheists, but go on to show how they miss the mark in the end. (This book also features my great hero Superman. You're just going to have to read it or hear me on the radio to see how.)
• St. Albert the Great: Champion of Faith and Reason  (TAN, March, 2011). Soon to come is the first biography in English in over 60 years about this great-souled, though unsung scientist, saint, philosopher, provincial, bishop, crusader, Doctor of the Church, and teacher of the most angelic mind to ever grace the Church. 
• Tending the Temple: 365 Daily Devotions on Faith and Fitness (Bezalel, Fall, 2011). I have the honor of co-authoring this book with Peggy Bowes, author of The Rosary Workout.  This book will feature a scriptural passage, saint of the day, and practical suggestions for growing in spiritual and physical fitness for every day of the year.
• Three Irish Saints: A Study in Spiritual Styles (TAN, 2012). Sts. Kevin, Patrick, Brigid and more, with a self-assessment tool to find and grow in your own "spiritual style".
• Memorize the Reasons! The Catholic Art of Memory for Apologetics (Catholic Answers, 2012).  A guided tutorial applying the memory systems of Sts. Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas to the reasons and sources for Catholic beliefs on the Church and the Papacy, Marian Doctrines, and issues of Scripture and Tradition.

PS -- If it be books you're after, my author's page at Amazon.com is but a left click away.

3/15/10 -- It's here! (Newest book to date.)

And it started generating discussion on Amazon.com even before it was published. (See its page and my author's page on Amazon for details.)

2/11/10 -- Unearthing Your Ten Talents: A Thomistic Guide to Spiritual Growth Through the Virtues and the Gifts has been released!!

My Mission