Droel, a husband, father, pastoral minister, and community organizer, has lived most of his adult life in Chicago, a city shaped by the 1910 diocesan plan calling for one parish per square mile. This Catholic presence and the events of the 1960s, including U.S. political upheaval and Vatican II, played a large role in the vocation Droel describes in his story. "I am not called to evangelize a godless society. I am called to immerse myself in society," he writes.

One of the most uplifting sections is the author's take on the "sacrament of neighborhood," in which he sees the Catholic neighborhood, with its parishes and schools, making a largely unheralded contribution to the political and social health of the country. Despite some exceptions, Droel believes that the Catholic "ghetto" has encouraged open-mindedness and racial tolerance and helped immigrants to assimilate successfully, primarily because of the secure base individuals experience in their parishes.

Droel also addresses such topics as fundamentalism, both inside and outside the Catholic Church, spirituality of work, and the relationship between church and state.