Rome Sweet Home

Book cover: 'Rome Sweet Home'
Author(s): 
Scott Hahn
Kimberly Hahn
Number of pages: 
198 pages
Copyright: 
1993
Publisher: 
Ignatius Press
Binding: 
Paperback
Subject(s): 
Grade / Age level: 
Review: 
From a young age, Kimberly wanted to be a minister. When her study of the Bible convinced her that the ordination of women as pastors was unbiblical, she deicded that she would do the next best thing and be a pastor's wife. Enter Scott, a fellow student at Grove City College whose plans for the future focussed on preaching and teaching. This book tells the story of their journey from anti-Catholic to Rome Sweet Home. Along the way, we see God working in their lives in events large and small. Interestingly, the Hahns abandoned contraception long before either began to seriously consider the claims of the Catholic Church. Kimberly's personal study of the historical Christian teaching on this topic is what convinced them to give it up, and their reaction at the time was more along the lines of "even a broken clock is right twice a day." Yet, it is obvious in retrospect that this discovery played a role in opening their hearts to the Truth that subsists in the Catholic Church. The story is told by Scott and Kimberly in alternation, a device that is very effective in conveying the discoveries, trials, conflicts, and joys of their journeys as they follow their different paths. As Scott observes in the introduction, his conversion moves from a detective story in which he unearths evidence pointing to the truth, to a horror story when he realizes that the Truth points to the Catholic Church, to a romance as he falls in love with the Church that Jesus Himself founded. Along the way, he has to learn to restrain himself and not push his wife before she is ready. Meanwhile, Kimberly's story is largely one of great pain and suffering as she sees the death of all her hopes and plans of ministering together. She truly experiences a "dark night of the soul" -- feeling abandoned and alone. A beautiful moment is when her father, a Presbyterian minister, urges her to pray to yield her will to God. As she observes, he took a great risk in thus advising her, for he knew it might lead her into the Catholic Church -- as in fact it did. This is a great story of a wonderful Christian couple who had it all planned out how they were going to serve Jesus, and then thought they would lose it all for His sake, only to get back something even more precious. Their passion for the Truth is inspiring. See sample pages at the Book preview though Google books, by permission of Ignatius Press. The Spanish version of this book is entitled El Regreso a Casa El Regreso a Roma; preview here.
Perspective: 
Catholic
Reviewed by: 
First reviewed: 
7-28-2008