Business

___ ___ A Canaan CPA Seeks Higher Ground

By: Melanie McMillan

04/13/2006

Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way." Jesus replied, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him." John 14:5-7.

I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. John 10:9.
Paul Ramunni, a Canaan certified public accountant (CPA) who established an organization called Grace Path Ministries, believes that these are two of the Bible verses that 21st century citizens would find most offensive. Why? Because they dispute the many-paths-to-heaven theory, and "tell us that there's only one way in, through Jesus Christ," he writes in his book, "The Poor Catholic."
"This idea is totally against our contemporary consumerist culture, our modern sense of inclusiveness as being politically correct," he explained in an interview a week before federal income tax returns must be filed, with Easter just around the corner.
Tax season, for a CPA, is a lot like taking a trip down the rabbit hole. The whole, hectic adventure is fraught with twists and turns, and you never know what might greet you as you round the next corner.
So, for the busy CPA with the firm of Ramunni, Bushka and Sinnamon CPAs, to carve an hour out of his schedule Monday to talk about something as esoteric as the spiritual realm, might seem strange. But not so for Mr. Ramunni.
"This is important," he said, as he sat at a table in one of his firm's conference rooms, where he discussed God and money, and how wealth and possessions are meaningless unless a person has a right relationship with God.
And just as an accountant sees numbers in black-and-white, in Mr. Ramunni's estimation, spiritual things are just as clear and concrete.
Mr. Ramunni, whose book was released in 2004 and was written for all Christians, contends that instead of realizing that it's the will of God that one must strive to effect in the worldly realm, Catholics and other Christians has been convinced that it's OK to have things their way virtually all the time.
The result, Mr. Ramunni said, are people who are poor because they have exchanged God's ways and love for the ways and lure of our culture.
In his book, Mr. Ramunni writes that one "might be considered poor if he or she lacked an adequate knowledge of God or did not have a personal walking faith with God. The poor Catholic could also be someone whose faith and prayer life is more casual or passive in nature rather than active and vibrant."
Ultimately, the author said, a poor Catholic or a poor Christian is someone who has lost his or her way home to God.
"What I'm seeing from the CPA side of my life," said Mr. Ramunni, "is this year, 30-some years that I've been doing this, [for the first time] I've had nine different families tell me they're broke." These people, the CPA reported, are "family people, solid community people" earning anywhere from $50,000 to $120,000 annually.
"How can they be broke?" he asked, rhetorically. "They're fully loaned up," he said, with credit cards at their limit and bills that equal to, or in excess of, their income.
"We've raised our standard of living, so that in order to maintain it, we have to keep running faster and faster," said the financial expert. "The addictions, the online gambling, the alcohol-they're spending their money on that," he has observed, noting that in his line of work as a CPA he also witnesses "all of the relationship stuff," which includes multiple marriages, child support and, in one instance, a young man who is supporting his 58-year-old parents. "All of that's pressure, stress" he said.
Mr. Ramunni, who is Catholic, said, "On the other side [of all of this] I see the spiritual side. So I started putting the two together-the way we live, and spirituality."
Although his intentions may be good, Mr. Ramunni is engaged in an uphill battle with what is currently in vogue in today's society. His premise is completely counter to that of the popular, purpose-driven lifestyle concept that encourages people to mold God's word to their lives-as opposed to leading their lives according to how God has instructed in scripture.
"We've tried everything," said Mr. Ramunni of society's search for intangibles such as peace and happiness. "The baby boomer generation has banged on every door. If somebody had found a better way of getting through these things, we'd know it by now. Our schools, our kids ... look at the situation we're in with our churches. Something's wrong. We've lost our way."
And Mr. Ramunni knows first-hand what it's like to be lost.
A self-professed "mechanical Catholic" earlier in his life, who said that he had the religious convictions of a teenager at age 41, Mr. Ramunni stumbled upon a book called "In His Steps," written by Charles Sheldon. The book, which had sold more than 30 million copies, literally changed Mr. Ramunni's life with its premise that followers of Jesus Christ should base their decision-making on the answer to the question, "What would Jesus do?"
According to Mr. Ramunni, we already have easy access to the answers, and they're found in biblical scriptures.
"If Christ Himself was walking around today," said the CPA, "I think he'd be saying to us the same things he said 2,000 years ago. I tell people, 'Get yourself an easy-reading Bible in English, and just start reading one of the Gospels,'" which are 30 or 40 pages each, he said, recommending that people start with Matthew, while noting it's commonly advised to begin with the Gospel of John. "You'll get a sense of peace and calm" from reading the Bible, he said. "We get a special tutor: the Holy Spirit."
The CPA and author explained that he is trying to get Catholics to delve more deeply into the core of their faith.
Too often, he said, Catholics will turn to repetitious prayer and the saints, and keep Jesus separate in another room. "Leave those for a second," he advised, and go meet Jesus, connect with Him on a personal level. In fact, in his book Mr. Ramunni encourages readers not to let the complexity of their religion get in the way of true faith.
As for response to "The Poor Catholic," Mr. Ramunni said, "Privately, a number of priests, deacons, individuals with very strong Catholic roots have come to me and [said they] love the book," he said. "They see it as a breath of fresh air."
According to Mr. Ramunni, one professional survey recently indicated that 92 percent of the people polled believe in a heaven or an afterlife, and 85 percent "fully expect they're going to go there. So there's very high expectations for the next life," he said, adding, "So how come we're not talking about it?"
But one thing this CPA will not do is give his clients a pep talk on what Jesus can do for them, or how He would react in their situation. "Not unless you ask for it," said Mr. Ramunni, who explained, "What I've learned is that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." And he added that he tries to practice the tenet of one of the saints: "Always preach the gospel. And when necessary, use words. I try to live by that."
As Mr. Ramunni writes in "The Poor Catholic," "After everything is said and done in this life, all the money made and spent, all the diseases treated, all the divorces, hatred and happy times are experienced, there is only one thing that matters in the end. We need to be on the inside of the gates to heaven at the end of that last day. What else could be more important?"
For information about Grace Path Ministries or to purchase Mr. Ramunni's book, visit the Web site, www.thepoorcatholic.com. The Web site also offers information about Mr. Ramunni's seminars for business leaders and others, as well as additional resources.

©Litchfield County Times 2006

Liberating and motivational - a must read!, February 14, 2006
Light language, very fast reading, immensely enjoyable and you'll walk away with an "aha!" of fresh perspective from an average man-in-the-pew who has been called to evangelize his own generation. We recommended this book to our parishioners, and for those who have already begun reading it, it's begun an awakening that we've been praying would occur for a very long time! The Poor Catholic has the potential to do for Catholics what Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life and Purpose Driven Church have already done for Protestants - i.e., wake `em up in a context they can understand. Christians have long been muffled, ignored and insulted, and they have been deceived into acquiescing to their own silencing by media and the politics of both democratic and dictatorial nations. The time has come for this sleeping giant to rise up, shake the dust off and walk with confidence in God's promise of heirship through His Son, Jesus Christ! If your congregation seems to have lapsed into a spiritual coma and you don't know how you can help stir them into the powerful army of Christ they are called to be, you need to read this book. Paul Ramunni is never preachy and his sharing never comes across as a "Dummy's guide" to Christianity; rather, his excitement, personal story and exuberance reminds, stirs and motivates the reader into examining his or her own personal walk with Christ. A contagious personal faith will be the thing that wakes the complacent hearts of our families and those around us. We suggest ordering more than one copy at a time because as you begin reading The Poor Catholic, you will undoubtedly want to get this book into your loved ones' hands, too - and you won't want to give your copy away!

Suzanne Ryan