Already There: Letting God Find You [Paperback]

Mark Mossa S.J. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 2010

If you are young (or young only in heart!) and attempting to discover who you are meant to be, Fr. Mark Mossa can help you find the ways God is already in your life. Mossa provides an honest and entertaining account of how he, as a younger adult, now a Jesuit priest, attempts to find God's will for his life. Mossa's friends tell him that he has a talent for making weird (they politely say different) connections. He responds that images, lyrics, and repeatedly quoted lines from popular culture stick with us because they connect with something deep down inside of us and say something meaningful about our human experience. We need only take some time to reflect on our experience--and that is what Mark Mossa helps us to do--and we'll see that God has already been trying to communicate with us in unexpected and surprising ways.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mossa leads, but does not push too far ahead, constantly assuring us of the heartache and the heart's ache for a Lord whose love is ours already and who, despite our confusion, will never fail us."
--America Magazine

"Mark Mossa…seems to have spent most of his life growing up; he wants to help others through the same self-doubt, darkness and blundering. With chapters like 'Living in Palookaville,' 'Taking the Scary Bits Out of the Freezer,' and 'Who Told You That You Were Naked?' Mossa buttonholes the reader. After stumbling through most everything in life (that's his version of the story), he puts his practical insight to work for us.

"'Already there' is the seemingly casual phrase he uses—insists on—to tell us how he eventually learned (and has to keep relearning) that the Lord was with him through every dilemma, every pratfall. How does he convey this highly personal experience? Partly through one of his genuine passions, the movies. Do not scoff. Movies for him and a few generations before him capture the sharp pain of existence, of being on the planet without knowing why, Hamlet's cry about a world out of joint and feeling totally inadequate to the task—also, about the Lord being already there and then, when he has lavished his love, expecting us to move out to others. I took the author's advice and read each chapter slowly, as a meditation. I laughed at the recognition factors, the punch lines: 'I coulda been a contenda.' Mossa leads, but does not push too far ahead, constantly assuring us of the heartache and the heart's ache for a Lord whose love is ours already and who, despite our confusion, will never fail us."—Emilie Griffin, America Magazine

From the Inside Flap

"With the humor and grace of an old friend, and the wisdom and winsomeness of someone who knows you better than you know yourself, Mossa weaves popular culture, spiritual disciplines, and everyday life together so naturally that you forget you're reading.  I opened this book, and God found me." --Kenda Creasy Dean, Professor of Youth, Church and Culture, Princeton Theological Seminary

"In our desires God speaks to us profoundly.  Mossa wants us to pay a little closer attention to those desires, and in so doing to discover the ways that God has been diligently working to draw us closer to him and find our happiness." --Tim Muldoon, author of The Ignatian Workout and Longing to Love

"Reading Mossa's book is like having a good man--a good priest--come to your home to hang out with you for a bit . . . Readers are left with much hope and the desire to find God in the peaks and valleys of their own lives." --Mark E. Thibodeaux, S.J., author of God's Voice Within 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 151 pages
• Publisher: St. Anthony Messenger Press (July 7, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0867167653
• ISBN-13: 978-0867167658
• Product Dimensions: 0.6 x 5.3 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #535,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark Mossa, SJ is a Jesuit priest originally from Worcester, MA. He currently resides in the Bronx at Fordham University where he is pursuing a doctorate in Historical Theology, and confounding undergraduates, some of whom he teaches. He is also author of the book for young adult Christians and Spiritual Seekers, Already There: Letting God Find You. He is co-author and co-editor of Just War, Lasting Peace: What Christian Traditions Can Teach Us

Mark began his writing career in the Fifth grade with a play about a UFO landing. His writing has steadily improved since then. His earliest work was freelance journalism, but lately his writing has mostly taken the form of essays and articles on academic, religious and spiritual topics. These have appeared in various publications such as America and Company magazine, as well as on BustedHalo.com.

Fr. Mossa is a self-professed pop culture geek and as he asserts in Already There, believes that there is a reason why popular culture is popular, and that is because it tells us something about ourselves and, often to our great surprise, something about our relationship with God. God is often in the details, sometimes even the more salacious ones. Mark has always dreamed of writing a great American novel, but he might have to settle for a short story or two, as between ministry, teaching and studying, he finds it much easier to read fiction than to submit to the torture of trying to write it (saving others from torture too, perhaps). But that doesn't means he doesn't still have at least a few more books in him! So, stay tuned . . .

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Go on a journey and find God August 18, 2010

By Karen in Mommyland VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I just had the pleasure of reading Fr. Mark Mossa's Already There Letting God Find You. Does the title have you thinking to yourself "What? God doesn't already know where I am?" Well, yeah, He does unless maybe you have some stupendous ability to hide yourself from God or maybe you've got an invisibility cloak [which I'm pretty sure only exists in Harry Potter]. We can try to hide ourselves from God, but God does not hide himself from us and really, that's sort of the root of this book. Fr. Mark essentially takes us on a journey and shows us that God is already there and waiting for us to engage. In this book he helps us to see how God is present even when we might think he's not there or worse, is just standing by watching us struggle.

Fr. Mark's approach to spirituality is rather unique. He uses bits of pop culture to show us how we can deepen our faith lives. He makes some connections that I'm not sure I'd have made on my own and others that I've noticed in the past. Some of his pop culture references will have me looking at a few books and movies a little differently. Of all the pop culture references he makes in this book, I think there was only one that I was not familiar with. I suspect this book will resonate best with people in the 20-40 year old age range (I know, it seems like a big gap, but when you're smack in the middle of it, it doesn't seem that way.).

I liked how incredibly readable the book was. While reading Already There I just got the feeling that I was hanging out with a good friend. It's engaging, it's interesting, it's humorous and it has the ability to be life changing.

This book is not one that you just read for a couple of days and pop on the shelf. Ideally, one would want to take their time with this book in order to reflect on a certain aspect of letting God find you, or rather letting yourself become open to a deeper relationship with God. For the purpose of writing this review, I read this book over the course of a week which is a shorter time span than I anticipate needing to read this book a second time around. It's truly a book that you'll want to mull over. Ordinarily I would zip through an easily read book such as this in the span of a day or two, but I took it easy because of the warning in the introduction not to rush through the book. Having made myself the victim of spiritual indigestion in the past, I now take caution when there are warnings about rapid consumption. And really, how can I push through to the next chapter when I come face to face with a chapter that tells me at the conclusion that "this would be a good moment to close the book and just pray in silence. The book's not going anywhere and neither is God."? Since it was evening when I read that particular chapter I couldn't argue. As long as the kids were in bed the statement held some truth. The book wasn't going to walk away (They have in the past, it's a problem that goes with the territory of having kids--things disappear and mysteriously no one is to blame.). Having read through the book at a moderate pace, I have to say that I truly believe that this book will reward those who read it slowly.

I was provided with a complimentary review copy of Already There by the publisher, Saint Anthony Messenger Press in exchange for my honest review.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars First choice: one-on-one chat; Second choice: Mark's book! July 27, 2010

By Marvin Kitten, SJ

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I had the joy of living in community with Mark at Loyola University New Orleans. We took in many a movie, some of which Mark comments about in his book. Mark was also responsible for Holy Grounds, an occasional late evening gathering on topics pertinent to college students. He captures these and many more with-it events in his book. Students loved his courses and we enjoyed hearing about their enthusiasm! Now a much larger audience can check out this excitement!
"So get to it! Stop moving around so much, and let him (Jesus) find you. He's already there. Just start talking."

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars There ain't no preachin heah. July 20, 2010

By Cynthia Rielley

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Father Mossa writes like a funny bright person you'd want to have a cup of coffee with. His book is unlike any other religious book I have ever read.There ain't no preachin heah, instead a meaningful book that encourages thought and exploration. It even provides space for reflection and personal experiences. Mossa advises the reader to read slowly but it is hard with his interesting writing style. I can only advise that one pick it up and enjoy it for themselves, perhaps more than once. I plan to buy a second copy to share as I don't need people to read with my thoughts in the journalling but to purely experience it for themselves!