All Is Grace: A Ragamuffin Memoir

Dear Father Brennan,The seven letters from your Notorious Sinners group which appear as a tribute in ALL IS GRACE have deeply moved me, and I wish to add mine as a sign of my uninvited membership in this small but immortal group of ragamuffins. How blessed they are to have received a personal call to break bread at your table. More to the point, how blessed are you to have known such lasting love. As your friend John quoted, "And remember, my sentimental friend, that a heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others" ~ L. Frank Baum.Almost from the beginning of the book I became aware that you and I were formed from the same speck of cosmic dust, although I didn't know why. Thanks to Sharon and Jack Scanlon of Eden, NY, who graciously chose to be my spiritual mentors in the early 1980s and introduced me to your THE SIGNATURE OF JESUS, the pre-Vatican II strictures and guilt with which this ragamuffin was grappling began to lose their power as I read more of your books. Maybe that is how the infinite amount of grace given to you by God works. It is difficult to imagine anyone failing to become a happier and more loving person after reading or hearing any of your words.Most of us Christians, be we Catholic or Protestant, need to hear the thesis of ALL IS GRACE more than we realize: God loves us just as we are, not as we "should" be. Yes, Brennan, I know - there is a massive army of opposition that believe God's children are called to earn His love. But as you have repeatedly pointed out in your books, that's what grace is all about: the Father lavishing endless unconditional love (grace) on all his children, regardless of what they do or don't do, what they are or are not ... you tell us that He relentlessly pursues the broken, the immoral, the thieves, the murderers, the drug lords, the extortioners, the guilty, the abused, the shamed, the hungry, the poor, the rejected, the invisible, the homeless, the addicted, the orphaned, the unloved ... and we don't have to BE anything than what we are to receive that love.And thank you, Brennan, for practicing what you preach. Not one of us on this planet is perfect, even those who may vehemently profess it from the pulpit. But all of us can lay claim to being "Christians under construction," even if we're still far from accepting the gospel. I think you would agree with me that it is a good thing to at least be "under construction," yes? I hear you say over and over and over that the bottom line is love ... all is grace. When we can receive and accept love, then we can give love. And when we can give love, we are transformed ... we are healed.Of all the wounds you suffered so terribly in your life, I most readily identify with your mother-wound. "He'll never amount to much" are words I never actually heard, but I lived with the feeling that my mother did not love me. Either that or she did not know how to love me. My memories of her are not ones of tenderness, concern, touch, understanding, mothering. Instead, it was always the unspoken distance, the sense of me as an obligation. To be fair, when I left home to join the military, she seemed to change ... but by that time it was too late. Like you, I carried the mother-wound all my life.And yet the most wonderful thing that happened to me because of your book was the revelation of your mother as herself a ragamuffin. At the beginning of chapter 20 you wrote:"A trusting heart is forgiven and, in turn, forgives."I know that's true because of an experience I had on a November day in 2003. My mother had been dead and gone for close to ten years. As I was praying about other things, her face flashed across the window of my mind. It was not a worn face like that of an old mother or grandmother, but a child's face. I saw my mother as a little six-year-old girl kneeling on the windowsill of the orphanage in Montreal. Her nose was pressed against the glass; she was begging God to send her a mommy and daddy who would whisk her away and love her without condition. As I looked, I believe I finally saw my mother; she was a ragamuffin, too. And all my resentment and anger fell away."The little girl turned and walked toward me. As she drew closer, the years flew by and she stood before me an aged woman. She said, `You know, I messed up a lot when you were a kid. But you turned out okay.' Then my old mother did something she'd never done before in her life, never once. She kissed me on the lips and on both cheeks. At that moment I knew that the hurt between my mother and me was real and did matter, but that it was okay. The trusting heart gives a second chance; it is forgiven and, in turn, forgives. I looked at my mother and said, `I forgive you.' She smiled and said, `I guess sometimes you do get what you ask for.'"Brennan, I read that you are very ill, and when I see the last of many photos of you in ALL IS GRACE, the one with you and your friend John Blase, I weep to see the cruelty and ravages of your sickness. You and I are the same age on this 4th day of September, 2012. More connection with that speck of cosmic dust thing, I suspect. But I rejoice to see the glory and peace of grace on your face. And just as powerful is the indescribable love on your friend John's face.May your Father, when He is ready, take you in your sleep, my brother. The world will mourn and never forget you. But it will surely be better because you and your beautiful ragamuffins have known His grace-love ... and have passed it on.In His unmerited grace and love,Tony ~ a fellow ragamuffin.

Very interesting story

Amazing book! What a gift.Brennan Manning shares his humanity as he describe the painful events of growing ip as a child. His battle and transparency with alcoholism was remarkable. Brennan was a man who knew he was given GRACE.

If you're already a fan of the late great Brennan Manning, you hardly need me to recommend this book to you. "The Ragamuffin Gospel," "Abba's Child," "The Furious Longing of God," etc. These and others have rightly become spiritual classics. And "All Is Grace" is my favorite. It is a bracingly honest book, written in simple, beautiful prose, without a hint of flowery pretense, and it is all the more powerful and authentic for it. There are things in "Abba's Child" that he is never spoken of before, and there are things that even here, in his final book, he couldn't bring himself to write about. But the wells of grace run deep through every word, and the good news of the gospel comes into sharp relief by the end. As wonderful as "The Ragamuffin Gospel" is, I think it is possible to read it and think two thoughts simultaneously: "Wow, God is good," and "Wow, Brennan Manning is a great writer." Not so here. In this lucid journey through his memory, Manning disappears, and the loving arms of Abba Father become even more apparent.And if I may speak to the uninitiated for a moment: No matter what kind of theology you hold to — or don't hold to — I'd recommend adding a dose of Brennan Manning to your reading. I know people who despise him, who write him off as a peddler of cheap grace. Never mind them. I'm not saying that their critiques are completely unfounded, but I do think they miss the point. For all the preachers and writers who (correctly!) tell you that becoming a Christian will and should change your life, it's good to have someone like Brennan Manning to remind you that, well, sometimes this transformation doesn't happen all at once, and sometimes it doesn't happen in the areas of your life that you want it to happen in, and sometimes, frankly, you're left struggling with the same stupid sins your entire life. Manning doesn't celebrate or glorify his shortcomings, far from it, but he is honest about them, and in this way, he is an antidote to the quick-fix wishful-thinking best-life-now quasi-Christian gurus. And if you're going to read some Manning, I can't think of a better place to begin than "All Is Grace". It's not as elegant or literary as some of his work, but it may be his most beautiful, his most plainspoken, his most transparently humble.To summarize, this is a great book, one of most life-giving I have read. I recommend it to everyone who has had enough life experiences to recognize the truth of Brennan Manning's message. It's not always pretty, but it is the gospel of grace. Let it overwhelm you.

I came to this author after reading this book was one of the favourites of the American TV presenter Fred Rodgers. I can understand why . They both shared challenging childhoods , were called to God as preachers and both were passionate about children needing positive self regard for healthy emotional development. Manning details a childhood with an alcohol dependent father and grandfather and an emotional detached mother who left him feeling unwanted . Thankfully his skill in both writing and public speaking was to serve him well , and inspire many and equally trigger outrage and sanctions from the Catholic church. Its an absorbing tale which charts his life journey detailed by a degree of raw honesty we rarely find in biographies. He also provides us with some fascinating quotes and anecdotes . Im still undecided on his insistence of God's unconditional love , regardless of how bad our behaviours are , as it seems a bit of a " Get out of Jail Card" and open to abuse. Yet I;ll be seeking out more of his books. Keep the Faith.

I'm a fan of the author and this book is an important read to understanding his back story. I thought that it could have been longer and offer more reflection & detail. #RECOMMENDED

I read this book in under 3 hours, I couldn't put it down. Brennan Manning is such an inspiring man, not for his glorious achievements, but for the dark times he endured and managed to conquer. This is incredibly moving personal account of his life. Beautiful.

Excellent book. Would definitely recommend.

Short and easy to read. The author shares his life story concisely and with uncommon honesty. Inspiring, challenging and humbling.