There Are No Accidents: In All Things Trust in God [Paperback]

Benedict J. Groeschel (Author), John Bishop (Author), Glenn Sodanno (Author), Michael Dubruiel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2004

After the impact of the car shattered his body on the evening of January 11, 2004... Now Fr. Groeschel reflects on the good that has come - and continues to come - from that horrific accident. And, responding to questions posed by noted British journalist John Bishop in an interview before the accident, he reflects on: Founding the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal Spending time in jail for civil disobedience outside an abortion clinic Recognizing where God is when suffering intensifies and evil prospers Understanding Christ's feeling of abandonment on the cross Discovering and living one's vocation Loving the poor wholeheartedly Being "gently scolded" by Mother Teresa of Calcutta And more

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Internationally known lecturer and retreat master Father Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R., is the director for the Office of Spiritual Development of the Archdiocese of New York. He is also a founding member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, a prolific author, and a regular guest on EWTN.

About the Interviewer John Bishop is a British-born writer and broadcaster who has been successively an actor, a British soldier, a colonial police officer, and a university lecturer and administrator. His two previous books, Conversations and More Conversations, are anthologies of some of his broadcast interviews. He is married and has four children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 124 pages
• Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor (IN) (May 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592761208
• ISBN-13: 978-1592761203
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #89,917 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

113 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Man Who Put's His Life Where His Faith Is, July 8, 2004

By 

Michael Dubruiel "annunciations.wordpress.com" (Birmingham, AL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: There Are No Accidents: In All Things Trust in God (Paperback)

On January 11, 2004, a car in Orlando, Florida struck Father Benedict Groeschel and nearly took his life. I heard about the accident on the morning of January 12th when I arrived for work. News about Father's condition was slow in coming that morning and like countless others who were shocked by the news that day, I did what I knew Father Benedict would want me to do- I prayed.
Later that same morning as I was opening my mail, I found among the parcels received a large envelope from overseas. Contained within the packet was a letter that began--"Father Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R. suggested that you might be interested in publishing this..."
The "this" in question was a lengthy interview, book length, which the author John Bishop had conducted with Father Benedict. Reading it I was reminded of the greatness of this humble friar and the difference that he and his religious community the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal have made in the Church in the United States and throughout the world.
As I read through the interview, I was struck with the irony of receiving it on the very day that Father had suddenly been silenced, and how John Bishop had asked all the right questions-the range of which covers every conceivable question that a Catholic living in the United States in the twenty-first century would like answered.
I have known Father Benedict for over twenty years, first as a Capuchin friar and then as a co-founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. I have benefited from his wisdom while making both individual retreats with him and as a member of group retreats he has preached. I have been blessed to work with him on two previous books that Our Sunday Visitor has published: The Cross at Ground Zero-a response to the attacks of 9/11 and From Scandal to Hope-a response to the current crisis in the Catholic Church. I have seen Father in action and what he is able to accomplish on an average day is nothing short of miraculous. Even now recuperating from his injuries he continues to reach out through the Friars Internet site with daily meditations drawn from his recovery in the hospital and now in this book that you hold in your hands.
This book contains the interview that I first read on the morning following Father Benedict's accident in Part One. In Part Two you will read Father Benedict's reflections upon his accident, recovery and how all that he has experienced has only validated what he has preached to others throughout his years of ministry.
There is one part of the interview where the John Bishop, quizzes Father about how he came to start all the charitable enterprises that he has during his life. Father Groeschel repeats his answer a number of times..."No plans, be led." Whatever God wants, Father Benedict will be led in that direction, hopefully you and I can learn that lesson too, as Father says after the accident, "there are no accidents"-may this great man's faith help you and I to trust in God ever more, no matter what may happen!

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Holy Man Reflects, October 25, 2005

By 

Jay H. Colborn (Tallahassee, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: There Are No Accidents: In All Things Trust in God (Paperback)

Father Groeschel, a Franciscan priest living in the Bronx, reflects on part of his philosophy of life, formed from a lifetime of contemplation on religious and other issues. If you have seen him talk, you already know his straight-forward, frank approach, combined with his deeply religious approach to life. This books helps the reader know him better, and provides some worthwhile incites. He is the holiest man I've ever met (I met him in 1992 and 1993, spoke with him for only a few sentences).

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Grace - a much larger book than it appears!, January 24, 2006

By 

Martha Littlejohn (WY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: There Are No Accidents: In All Things Trust in God (Paperback)

Done in an easy conversational style, this books reads quickly and easily. Every couple pages, though, a profound concept is delivered so clearly that it just might change your life.