A new book from author Jim Fair takes a humorous approach to the problems facing the Catholic Church and modern culture. A Catholic Must Learn to Laugh: A Serious Religion has its Humorous Moments pokes fun at many of the serious issues facing Church and society today.
The author spent more than two decades in communications for a major oil company. He took early retirement and went to work for a Catholic lay movement. He thought it would be a refreshing opportunity to evangelize and share the faith.
There was some of that but the abuse within the Church and the deterioration of culture provided a different experience. He quickly learned that humor was the only way to survive in his new world. Find in this new book some of the humor that kept him going, drawn from her personal blog, Laughing Catholic.
“I was raised in a mainstream Protestant Church and showed up with my family every Sunday until I left for college,” Jim recalls. “Then, I became pretty much nothing (at least from a standpoint of formal religion). The rest of the faith journey isn’t unique. I fell in love with a Catholic girl and converted. Over the next decade I drifted into the faith and awoke one morning to realize that I had become a practicing Catholic – who needs all the practice he can get.
“I got really serious about the faith, even taking early retirement from corporate life and working for a Catholic organization for 20 years. That experience allowed me to see the best and worst of the Catholic Church.
“On the positive side, I met people who devoted their entire lives to spreading and faith, serving the poor, and promoting the family. On the negative side, I had to deal with the sexual abuse crisis, the conflict between conservative and liberal Catholics, and the internal Church politics that put corporate politics to shame.
“What a Catholic should never lack is hope. This little book is intended for Catholics and non-Catholics. I pray it brings you a smile.”
A Catholic Must Learn to Laugh: A Serious Religion has its Humorous Moments is available as a Kindle Edition.
About the Author
Jim Fair has spent the past two decades as a communicator for Catholic organizations. He is a convert to the Catholic faith and is grateful to his wife, Charmaine, for her continuing efforts to save his soul. They have a son and daughter, both happily married, and five grandchildren. Jim Fair has been a writer for Exaudi since its launch, frequently contributing news and feature articles.
Before devoting his life fulltime to things Catholic, Jim enjoyed a 23-year career in various communications roles for Amoco Corporation and BP, including developing and implementing much of the communications around the merger of those two major oil companies. Before that, he worked as a newspaper reporter, photographer, and editor.
He has served as president of the Chicago Public Relations Forum, chairman of the American Petroleum Institute General Committee on Communications, and a fellow of Greater Leadership Chicago. He was a member of the founding committee of the chemical industry’s Responsible Care Program.
Jim is an active member of St. John Vianney Parish in Northlake, Illinois, where he chairs the finance council.
He holds bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Illinois and enjoys reading, sports, and music. He would rather be fishing than doing just about anything else and can do a reasonable imitation of a jazz/blues pianist.
