Sinner: The Catholic Guy's Funny, Feeble Attempts to Be a Faithful Catholic [Paperback]

Lino Rulli is "The Catholic Guy" of the Sirius XM Satellite Radio show of the same name. As a communications major with a graduate degree in theology, Rulli, who was born in 1971, is well known for his appeal to young adults. In fact, he won an Emmy Award for his work as executive producer and host of Generation Cross, a TV show that ran from 1998 to 2004. His natural gift for comedy is a big part of the stories he tells.

In "Sinner," his first book, Rulli writes from the perspective of one who believes everything the Church teaches but struggles to put those beliefs into practice. In addition to his ability to see humor in almost any situation, especially in his own foibles, Rulli, who is single, writes as if he has a great deal of freedom and flexibility not available to his peers who have family responsibilities.

In Chapter 7 for example, after a chance meeting with an old friend, Rulli ended up moving to Nassau, Bahamas, to teach high school religion, which sounded like a fantastic gig. He explains that he always tries to see where God might be leading him and to trust in God's plan.

The Bahamas position didn't measure up to Rulli's fantasy involving mai tais and enthralled students, but he did spend several months in a Benedictine monastery considering a vocation as a monk, which might have been closer to what God had in mind. In the end, the prior decided that Lino should not be a monk--too immature. Rejection was painful, but Rulli bounced back, finding his way to the beach where he shared a beer with a stranger who theorized that aliens led the three wise men to the nativity scene. That episode is pretty typical of The Catholic Guy's adventures and gift for storytelling. He is funny, but not in the stand-up comedian sense, which may be why his efforts to get on the writing team for Late Night with David Letterman didn't pan out.

John Paul II, Letterman, and Howard Stern are role models to The Catholic Guy. Stern and Letterman seem to be outsiders, a category Lino says fits him. His radio show, on the same network that carries Stern, is similar to that of the shock jock, involving free flowing banter among regulars and occasional guests. Unlike Stern, however, Rulli often talks about Catholic matters and avoids language and content not appropriate for a show sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

What if St. Augustine and Jerry Seinfeld joined forces to write a spiritual memoir? The result would probably come close to "Sinner: The Catholic Guy's Funny, Feeble Attempts to Be a Faithful Catholic", a new book by Catholic radio host Lino Rulli.

With endorsements from such divergent characters as Archbishop Timothy Dolan and Howard Stern, Sinner is not your typical religious book--"The Confessions of St. Augustine it is not," Dolan concurs. It is, however, an authentic look at the real joys and struggles of a modern young Catholic.

Lino describes growing up as an organ grinder assistant, spending one-on-one time with Pope John Paul II, falling head-over-heals for a mysterious girl in Petra, and time and again having awkward experiences during Confession.

"Sinner" is the perfect weekend read as it's both light and breezy--and it had me laughing out loud many times. There's not a lot of spiritual substance, but the small nuggets scattered throughout are raw and honest and they come from the heart. This would be a great book to pass on to high-schoolers, college-students, young adults, and anyone searching for authentic faith.

We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong." 1 Corinthians 4:10

Disclaimers first. Yours truly has for the last 2 1/2 years listened to "The Catholic Guy," the popular Catholic comedy/talk show Lino Rulli hosts on Sirius/XM satellite radio. I've also tried volleying snark for snark on his Facebook page. (He campaigned there today for more reviews on this book. OK Lino, you asked for it...)

Rulli delivers reverent faith with irreverent humor. This was a godsend to Catholics under 50 tired of their faith talked down by mainstream media, and of being talked down to by strident Catholic media. His approach was rewarded with journalism honors, high profile speeches worldwide, and arguably today's highest-rated, highest-profile Catholic show.

"Sinner" is Rulli's light, episodic memoir: 180 pages, 26 chapters of 6-8 pages each. It's not chronological, its timeline covering early youth ("Monkey Boy," "Brace Yourself") to his starting on "Catholic Guy" in 2006. Despite its title, it's not quite about sin though Lino shares how he gave into ("Robert Johnson," "The Wrestler") and resisted it ("Thai Temptation," the touching "Mrs. Lino Rulli"). The book is more about reconciliation: not only the sacrament (to which Lino devotes three chapters including a humorous how-to guide) but reconciling his personality and modern sensibility to his belief and purpose in the Catholic Church. It's a book about breaking the conventions, yet keeping the Commandments.

Chapters of "Sinner" describe Rulli's influences. You read of David Letterman and Howard Stern's acerbic humor ("They didn't seem to fit in either, and the less they fit the more they rebelled.") and even alt-rock popular with skateboarders ("Big & Tall" links Lino to his favorite band Foo Fighters.) Other chapters describe his devotion to his parents ("Mom") and affection for close friends ("Goob"). But he above all and throughout shows his love for his Catholic faith. ("I sincerely accept and believe everything the Catholic Church teaches." "The fight I'll keep fighting, even though I keep sinning, is the fight for heaven.")

Other than Christ himself, Pope John Paul II stands as Lino's strongest influence. He devotes "The Pope and I" and part of "Theology of the Italian Body" to who he affectionately/ arrogantly calls "my pope." Lino's rise in Catholic media parallels John Paul II's call for new evangelization "with unswerving fidelity to the proclamation of the Gospel and the tradition of the Church, (yet which) will also reflect the different faces of the cultures and peoples in which it is received and takes root."

But here "Sinner" weakens by not articulating a key struggle in that evangelization. "Golden Idols" ends "Sinner" powerfully as Lino's TV show "Generation Cross' wins an coveted Emmy ("I wanted to prove to myself, and to others, that I could compete with-and beat-mainstream broadcasters." But a previous chapter set later in his life describes his radio show "Lino At Large" cancelled because his target young adult audience clashed with older Catholics who contributed more money. Rulli could have devoted a chapter or whole book to the short-sighted hypocrisy behind this decision, and expressed why his style would win more young people to Christ. But he only writes "I guess I hadn't realized how much it meant for me to work in Catholic radio and how badly I wanted it to succeed." You won't realize either, because he skirts what he wanted his type of Catholic radio to say (let alone say anything about the ongoing "Catholic Guy" show.)

You leave feeling Lino fought the wrong battle. It wasn't about showing mainstream TV "religious television that didn't s--k." but showing Catholic media it could leverage modern production and edgy humor to achieve its mission. Lino could have said more (sinned more?) given license a publishing house called "Servant Press" would not likely give him.

"Sinner" at times echoes Thomas Merton's "Seven Storey Mountain" written with the humorous tone of David Sedaris ("Me Talk Pretty One Day"). Like the mystic Merton, Lino traveled the world dabbling in education, arts, and media. Like Merton, he considered monasticism before choosing the even more isolated broadcast booth. Like Sedaris, Lino writes with humor and panache to make his Catholic ministry style seem natural, even mundane, as Sedaris's stories of his dysfunctional family and significant other, Hugh. "Sinner" is a fascinating, frustrating look at one reluctant Catholic hero's journey living and proclaiming Jesus in ways not everyone accepts.

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