New book sheds light on a media luminary’s outreach

A snippet of the cover of a new book by Father John Cush, seminary professor and contributor to The Evangelist, which celebrates the impact of our Catholic identity.

A new book by Father John Cush, seminary professor and contributor to The Evangelist, celebrates the impact of our Catholic identity — how it connects directly with Jesus Christ and, through Him, with a society we hope to evangelize.

Our faith is “not merely something one does,” says Father Cush, a teacher and administrator at St. Joseph’s Seminary and College in Yonkers. It is “a way of seeing,” through which clergy and laity can enlighten today’s secularized culture, with help from the digital media.

He attributes the “way of seeing” quote to another respected theologian, one of the most popular evangelists using technology to shed light on the wisdom and hope of Catholicism.

The man on that mission is Bishop Robert Barron, whose brainchild for ministry, “Word on Fire,” produces podcasts, books and videos for vast audiences while he shepherds the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minn.

In short, two scholars now based in Minnesota and New York, respectively, discovered over time that they share many insights at the intersection of theology and state-of-the-art spiritual support, especially for priests.

This led Father Cush, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn who holds a Doctorate in Sacred Theology, to write his just-published book, “Nothing But You, Lord: Reflections on the Priesthood and Priestly Formation through the Lens of Bishop Robert Barron.”

The contents offer up-to-date guidance for professors and others who accompany young men in their vocational discernment.

But Catholics in the pews also will benefit from this inside look at the practical craft and profound values forming the authentic, energetic identities people need to see in Church members who spread the Good News.

Catholics, and especially our priests, must reflect on “who Jesus is in His humanity, which we share with Him, and His divinity, which He shares with us.” This appreciation for everything Christ is — in us and for us — prompts Father Cush to examine seminary formation in four dimensions: human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral.

From a sturdy foundation of well-balanced character and personality, plus wide-ranging prayer and ongoing study of Church knowledge, a seminarian prepares for pastoral work — sharing Christ’s compassion with wisdom as a “soul doctor,” to use Bishop Barron’s term.

Father Cush reasserts the connectedness we patients should pursue: “Who we are flows from who we know — the Eucharistic Lord.”

This Catholic path toward gratitude and humility recalls a story about Saint Thomas Aquinas which yielded Father Cush’s book title. In prayer, God praised St. Thomas’ written work and asked what he desired in repayment for his labors. Thomas replied, “Nothing but you, Lord.”

Father Cush sees special roles connected to a priest’s personal identity, but he points out that all baptized Catholics participate in Christ’s anointing as “priest, prophet and king.” Lay persons join in the Church’s “way of seeing,” drawing upon their own preparation, in their parishes and beyond.

“No priest can hope to evangelize alone,” he says in the book released this month by Word on Fire. With his admiration for a solidly faithful social media icon like Bishop Barron, who he quips is often trending, but never trendy, Father Cush implicitly invites a wide audience to spread deep-rooted identities throughout society.