Steve Grzeszczak

Books and Stories

Secrets – Critical Mass

Secret insight and content for:

 

Critical Mass Book Cover

   

SECRET INFO

Divine Intervention?

It was early September of 2019 when I was in the middle of writing this story. I was looking for scripture to base the story upon, but I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for. During Mass that week, it turned out that the three readings were a perfect match for what the story needed. Those are the reading that I included in the story.

Was it a coincidence that I heard exactly what I needed to hear that day? I don’t think so…

Set

The story begins with Timmy telling his dad that the word ‘set’ has the most definitions. That is actually true. Throughout the CRITICAL MASS story and the three follow up stories in CRITICAL CROSSROADS, I included just every definition of the word. ‘Set’ appears appears over 50 times in the four stories.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY

As explained in the FAQ about how I got the idea for this story, it all began with the guilt I felt whenever my mind wandered during Mass. What started as an idea to explore common distractions during Mass turned into a short story about a father’s addiction to gambling. It explores his thoughts and emotions as he grapples with his decision of whether or not to admit his problem – to himself, his family, but most importantly, to his Lord.

After writing the story, I felt compelled to explore the thoughts and emotions of the rest of his family. I wrote three other short stories in chronological sequence; one for each of them. This turned into the book, CRITICAL CROSSROADS.

FAQ

Click here if you have a question that you would like to ask.

The idea first came to me when I was sitting in our church book club meeting. We were talking about my first book, RETURNING TO MASS. I started thinking about how I get distracted during Mass. I asked everyone else at the meeting and everyone admitted to being distracted and having their mind wander. I thought to myself, This is a great concept for a book. I knew it needed a stronger story than just the distractions, so I came up with Brad and his gambling addiction.

Probably the most common one is when Brad finally makes the promise to the Lord about dealing with his gambling problem, he can’t fully do it. The text in the book is, “I promise I will cut back on gambling. No, sorry…I will try to lay off it completely…for a while.” He, if I may use the phrase, is still ‘hedging his bet’.

Another popular comment is how the solutions to all his problems are being thrown at him through song lyrics, scripture and the sermon, yet none of it sinks in right away. It isn’t until he really needs the messages and he finally opens his heart, that they finally sink in.

Finally, the distractions are commonly mentioned. People admit that they too get distracted by the same things. Even as with Brad, sometimes when trying to pray, something as simple as the singing of the choir can be distracting.

He confesses his gambling to Julie.
To find out if he goes to jail, read CRITICAL CROSSROADS.