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Carl Eifert finds joy through writing

Ashleigh Kassock | Catholic Herald

Carl Eifert’s book, Just Thinking: An Ordinary Guy Ponders His Religion is a collection of short essays on the church. ASHLEIGH KASSOCK | CATHOLIC HERALD

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Open up to any page of Carl Eifert’s book, Just Thinking: An
Ordinary Guy Ponders His Religion, and you will find more than 100 bite-size
essays combining commentary on the church with vignettes of everyday life. The
essays cover a wide range of topics from sin, heaven and hell, to liturgical
traditions and biblical figures. The collection opens in the baseball diamond
of Nationals Park in Washington as Eifert explains the gift of confession and
forgiveness in a way every sports fan can relate to.

“It is meant to have a light touch and attract people who
wouldn’t ordinarily read a book like this,” said Eifert.

The 90-year-old newspaper man and lifelong Catholic graduated
from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in 1951 with a bachelor’s degree
in journalism. He spent his entire career living by his pen as an editor and
writer for a variety of publications. He also worked as a press secretary and
speechwriter. In 1970, Eifert, his wife, Bette Jo, and five children moved to
Alexandria, became parishioners at St. Louis Church and joined the Mount Vernon
Knights of Columbus Council. He worked as a wire editor for Catholic News
Service and in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops media relations office
before retiring. 

Without the work to motivate him, his writing came to a halt. It
was several years later that he again felt the desire to take up his pen. He
rediscovered a sense of joy from writing that he had not experienced in a long
time.

“I used to hate to edit my own stuff but I found that it became
fun,” he said. 

Five years ago, he started writing essays on faith for the
council’s monthly online newsletter KC Quote. 

Carl Eifert_BookArmed with the Bible, the Catholic encyclopedia and other
historical and religious sources, Eifert set out to answer church questions in
a way that would be both educational and enjoyable. 

The essays were a big hit among the Knights. Donna Piscitelli,
the wife of one of the Knights, encouraged Eifert to write a book. Together
they compiled his work into a 422-page volume released in October. It is now
available in paperback on Amazon.

Eifert says the book is not meant for the advanced philosopher or
theologian, but for the everyday person in the pew who might not know why he or
she is going to church anymore. 

“I hope that it turns around the life of one reader,” said
Eifert. “That would be a success.”

 

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