Way back in 1995, when The Onion was still cutting its comedic teeth, the satirical paper ran a story entitled, "Area Oddball Prefers God Over Girls." The story portrayed "local resident Jerome O'Shea" as a curious nutjob who had taken a "vow of celibacy." It revealed that "Father" O'Shea "sits in a darkened booth and listens to others talk about their sex lives - an aspect of life he can never experience!"

“Even more bizarre is the weekly ritualized cannibalism simulation in which the body and blood of Christ are devoured by the worshippers,” continued the story, “but let’s just leave that one alone.”

After the usual salvo at Catholic sexual mores, the piece concluded with this: “Well, one thing’s for sure: We can profile strange members of our community for another thousand years, and we’ll never top this one!”

I’m not a priest, but I’m the other guy in that darkened booth with him, talking about my sex life in confession. I take part in that “ritualized cannibalism simulation” every Sunday at Mass when I receive communion. I submit to those Catholic sexual mores. I’m a strange member of the community.

I sympathize with The Onion. But I don’t feel strange. I think I’m on to something. I live in the world, and I like it a lot – maybe more than I should. The curious thing – to some people, anyway – is that living in the world hasn’t led me to discard the more outlandish aspects of my faith. If anything, experience has led me to embrace those aspects and try to make them my own, however awkward or difficult or confusing they may seem.

When my mother heard about peers of mine who had gone off to college and become enchanted with other cultures, she commented, “They don’t know their own. They never gave it a chance.” I am giving Catholicism a chance; I am getting to know the faith I have been given. That's the story of Swimming with Scapulars.

From the publisher’s promo copy: “Lickona’s ‘true confessions’ are his painfully honest chronicles of his fitful starts and ongoing efforts to live the faith he is so proud of. Yet his life as a Catholic is one of great joy, particularly his joy in being intimately connected with God through the sacrament of the Eucharist.” That sounds about right.

Now available in paperback!

(Hardcover still available.)