The arguments to reveal this can be easily obtained within Ulises and once discovered, the proposition can easily be accepted.
In Bloom’s first appearance in Ulises (Episode 4) he does something very un-Jewish, he buys a pork kidney. He is dressed in black because later in the morning he will attend Paddy Dignam’s Catholic funeral.
In episode 5 he enters the Catholic Church of San Andrés. While there, Bloom realizes that there is no music. He begins to think of ‘Old Glynn’ who played the organ in another Catholic church: the Jesuit Church on Gardiner Street. Later he will pick up a letter from a secret admirer. He considers that he could meet her “on a Sunday after the Rosary.” This indicates that Bloom goes to mass and then prays the Rosary.
In episode 6, Bloom travels in a hearse to Glasnevin Cemetery. On the way, he thinks about his father and how his father asked him to take care of the dog Athos. Bloom instinctively internalizes the Christian prayer: “Thy will be done.”
In Episode 8 we see that Bloom supports the benefit dinner for St. Kevin’s Reformatory in Glencree run by the Christian Brothers.
In episode 11, Bloom thinks of an imaginary date, ‘Meeting Respectable Girl After Mass’, which again indicates that Bloom regularly attends Catholic Mass.
And in episode 12, Bloom unhesitatingly conveys the very Christian message that love is the answer to humanity’s problems and this he does, of all places, in a pub.
In episode 14 we read that Bloom attended high school when he was a young student. The High School was, and continues to be, a leading educational institution under the patronage of the Protestant Church of Ireland.
In episode 15, Bloom buys what is again a very un-Jewish meal, “a pork crubeen and a sheep’s trotter.” His mother, Ellen, particularly in her language, is revealed to us as an Irish Catholic mother.
In episode 16, when Bloom and Stephen head over to Bloom’s house, they talk about music and we are told that Bloom “infinitely preferred the sacred music of the Catholic Church.”
In episode 17 we find out that Bloom was baptized three times into the Christian faith. And very tellingly we also discover that Bloom’s father converted to Christianity, of Protestant persuasion, before he married. That is, Bloom’s father was a practicing Christian even before Bloom was born.
And to a large extent we also discover that Bloom himself converted to Catholicism before marrying his wife Molly.
We also read in episode 17 that he bought a plot of land for the grave at Glasnevin Catholic Cemetery. And also, in his bookshelf he has the book, The hidden life of Christ.
Bottom line: James Joyce Ulises It tells us loud and clear that Leopold Bloom is a sincere practicing Catholic Christian. The implication is simple: each guide to Ulises, every comment on Ulysses and every analysis of Ulises should emphasize this.