Last Tuesday evening, author and filmmaker Paul Wilkes spoke in the Murray Function Room of Yawkey Center about his recently released memoir, In Due Season: A Catholic Life. Sponsored by the Boston College Theology Department and the Church in the 21st Century Center, this talk was a part of the C21 Center’s ongoing goal, as stated on its website, to be “a catalyst and resource for the renewal of the Catholic Church in the United States.”

Wilkes was introduced as a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and graduate of both Marquette and Columbia, in addition to his service with the United States Navy. He is the author of about twenty books, including The Good Enough Catholic: A Guide for the Perplexed and Excellent Catholic: The Guide to the Best Places and Practices.

Wilkes took the podium and first praised Boston College’s C21 Center as “a jewel in the crown” of theological study, where the spirit of Vatican II is “stirred up and promulgated.”

He then began his talk by speaking about his high school crush. Wilkes conveyed his short stature of 5’1” and how this ruled out athletics. He really wanted a letter jacket to win over his crush, so he chose the alternative to sports—writing for the school newspaper.

Under the guidance of his high school counselor, Wilkes attended Marquette, a Catholic university, for journalism. Not exactly an exemplary student with a 2.34 GPA, he entered the Navy as a post-graduate, because, as he put it, “the selective service board” did not forget him. While abroad during his service, he noticed the discrepancy between the news he read as it was reported back home and the situations he would see outside the porthole. This realization is where his “writing life began.”

After the Navy, Wilkes went to Columbia for journalism and continued on to write for the NY Times and the New Yorker. He detailed how he heard the Gospel of the rich young man whom Jesus told to sell everything and follow Him. Following this, Wilkes tried to be “homeless, penniless and happy” but he was not. He subsequently experienced fortunate times, in which he had frequently appeared on television. Still, this did not make him happy.

A life changing experience for him was his interview with an Irish Catholic priest, Father Joe. Wilkes admired him for his imperfections—that even though he was racist and violated the vow of celibacy—Father Joe still had a love for the priesthood and the Church. Wilkes said, “The Catholic life does not have to be a perfect thing. We are not Hallmark cards.”

Wilkes went on to say that he has been picketed for “not being Catholic enough” and accused of “sounding like a Lutheran.” He claimed that to be Catholic you don’t have to fit “into a nice, neat, little category.” He further maintained, “Everybody is a cafeteria Catholic. People don’t just have dessert, but some mashed potatoes too.” He similarly said we “pick and choose,” for example, a little “social justice and liturgy” because we all have “to eat a balanced meal.”

Before the question and answer portion of the night, he referenced Sister Helen Prejean, whose story was told in Dead Man Walking. She said that God had given her a “little flashlight” and “not a high beam.” Wilkes said he tries not to worry about the big picture, but just the daily situations God puts before him.