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Winter
Books Readers favorite books
Rose Mary Meyer Chicago
Gardens In The Dunes by Leslie Marmon Silko (Simon &
Schuster, 1999, $25) takes us on a journey. From the safety and peace of a
home, a caring and wise mother and grandmother, and cherished gardens in the
dunes to displacement and lack of rootedness, we travel with Sister Salt and
Indigo and those they encounter. Interwoven with their adventures are great joy
and profound sadness, risk and learning, history and search for meaning. Silko,
of the Laguna Pueblo tradition, portrays the interconnectedness of humans with
all in the family of creation. She provides insights and challenges about how
to live in the new millennium.
Martha Gies Portland, Ore.
I am reading with interest and admiration Ron Hansens
Hitlers Niece (HarperCollins, 1999, $25 in hardback), a novel
about Geli Raubal, who was the daughter of Hitlers half-sister. On a book
tour to Portland, Ore., Hansen, said he became interested in personified evil
and how it exerts power over us when, in one of the Spiritual Exercises of
Ignatius Loyola, he substituted Hitler for Satan. Hitlers Niece is
written with the same elegance and precision as Hansens earlier novels,
which include Mariette in Ecstasy.
Patricia A. Goeltz Vista, Calif.
Jesus Before Christianity by Dominican Albert Nolan (Orbis
Books, the 8th printing in 1999, originally published in 1976) cuts through the
layers of insulation that have enveloped the message that Jesus proclaimed in
his lifetime and lays bear the true meaning of what Christ preached. Reading
this book changed my understanding of what I must do to be a follower of
Christ.
Rebecca Shaw Potomac, Md.
Although published several years ago, Walking In Two
Worlds, edited by Kay Vander Vort, Joan H. Timmerman, Eleanor Lincoln
(North Star Press of St. Cloud, Minn. Inc., 1994) is a book ahead of its time.
These writers touch upon and tap into the widespread hunger for deeply rooted
spirituality that our world is experiencing as we approach the millennial
shift. This material also feeds from the essence of the Feminine Divine -- a
side of human spirituality that cries out to be rediscovered and integrated
into our rational, masculine way of being in the world that has become so
predominant over the past several millennia. The contributors come from a wide
range of life experience and of religious commitment. The result is a broad
spectrum of lived faith search and experience.
James E. OLeary Corpus Christi, Texas
What Prize Awaits Us by Maryknoll Sr. Bernice Kita
(Maryknoll Sisters, 1998, $14.95): When I finished What Prize Awaits Us,
I ran out into the street yelling, Read this! Read this! Then I
went back inside and started all over again from the very beginning.
When Sr. Bernice Kita began writing letters home from Guatemala,
she never dreamed she was writing a book. She never dreamed she would be living
in the middle of genocide, with martyrs all around her -- people killed because
the teachings of Jesus are still subversive. Only gradually did the
horror become apparent and that is part of the books fascination. In
addition to her letters to her parents, she wrote parallel accounts to her
friend, Gerry, a nun who had worked with her in Guatemala. She didnt want
her parents to worry so she was more graphic in her descriptions for Gerry.
There is no preaching in this book, no self-pity, no politics. It is a
straightforward account of day-to-day life in which a hardworking Sr. Bernice
dealt with the practical needs of the people with whom she chose to live -- and
almost die.
Fr. Gregory Corrigan Wilmington, Del.
Everything Belongs by Franciscan Fr. Richard Rohr
(Crossroad Publishing, 1999, $14.95): Here is an intimate witness, one whose
ability to point the way comes from the knowledge and wisdom of real
experience. Rohrs Everything Belongs is nothing less than
mystical. Clear and to the point, yet with the depth and challenge of a
parable, Everything Belongs invites us to a gospel prayer that is
authentically radical and accessible. The reader will return to it again and
again.
Ron Crowley-Koch Mount Prospect, Ill.
Im suggesting One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus
(St. Martins Press, 1998), a great novel blending history with fiction
concerning a woman who is abandoned by her family and risks joining a program
suggested by an Indian tribe to President Grant. Its actually a diary
account of this Chicago woman telling of her adventures and of the innocence
and compassion of the American Indian.
Barbara Patla Southington, Conn.
The Long Walk: A True story of a Trek to Freedom by
Slavomir Rawicz (Lyons Press, 1997, $14.95) is a story of a Polish soldier who,
under Russian communism, was sentenced on a bogus charge to Siberia. He walked,
chained to fellow prisoners, most of the way. He managed to escape with a few
comrades and walked southeast through Siberia, over the mountains of Tibet, to
freedom. Their persistence, courage and mutual devotion are inspiring. This is
truly a tribute to the human spirit.
Capuchin Fr. Werner Wolf Appleton, Wis.
Journey to the Center: A Lenten Passage by Thomas Keating
(Crossroad Publishing, 1999, 118 pages, $14.95) helped me walk through the 40
days of Lent. The book includes a portion of scripture from the liturgical
cycle of the day; a reflection chosen from one of the books of Thomas Keating;
and a prayer written especially for this volume. Each selection was rich for
reflection and expanded the theme of the daily readings.
William F. Powers Chapel Hill, N.C.
Voting for Peace: Post Conflict Elections in Liberia by
Terrence Lyons (Brookings Institute, 1999, $14.95). This 100-page book, one in
a series of studies in foreign policy, examines the decade-long civil war that
wreaked havoc in the tiny West African country of Liberia. Finally, in 1997,
the war-weary survivors held an election that overwhelmingly selected the most
powerful factional warlord as president. Voting for Peace analyzes that
less than completely free election. Terrence Lyons was a member of the team
that monitored the election. The points made may be applicable to Kosovo, East
Timor, Sierra Leone and other incendiary areas of the world.
Vernon R. Steffens Wayzata, Minn.
Reluctant Dissenter by James P. Shannon (The Crossroads
Publishing Company, New York, $19.95): Jim Shannon was the rising star in the
archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He went from priest to monsignor to
bishop so fast it was hard to keep track of his title. At the time he was the
youngest college president in the country. He was also the first bishop to
resign from his office over the matter of following ones own conscience,
when he felt like a hypocrite trying to defend Humanae Vitae, which he
saw as harmful to peoples lives.
Shannon articulates his great love for the Catholic church and
continues to worship the same God in the same church as I do. Ive waited
patiently for 30 years for this book to be published and find it to be most
inspirational and motivational -- a must for every believers library.
Msgr. Harry J. Byrne New York
My favorite: Caravaggio: A Life by Helen Langdon (Ferrar,
Straus, and Giroux, $30) is an absorbing biography of the personality of the
artist who moved the art world into a new spirit of naturalism at the end of
the 16th century and the early years of the 17th century. His career is
followed from Milan, Rome, Naples, Malta and Sicily in the complex world of art
and politics in which the church was heavily involved. The author offers
penetrating analyses of Caravaggios paintings with quotations from the
gospel accounts of their subject matter and how the devotional currents ran
through the artists life and the spirit of the times. This scholarly and
richly detailed work situates the artist in the colorful and turbulent world of
his times.
Bill deHaas Dallas
Isaacs Storm by Erik Larson (Crown Publishers, 1999,
$25) is a classic medieval morality play or Greek tragedy that occurred 99
years ago in Galveston, Texas. The book gets its name from the chief weather
forecaster, Isaac Cline, who lived and worked in Galveston for the fledging
U.S. Weather Bureau. As U.S. society approached 1900, scientists, like Isaac
Cline, were comfortable in the knowledge that they had figured out all the
rules of the physical universe and their technology would always be right. This
story and its parallels to 1999 and the approaching millennium are haunting.
Similar to the beginning science of weather forecasting, we have the new
science of the Internet and e-commerce. There are many Americans today who
could easily be the Isaac Cline of 1999. Erik Larson gives a
glimpse of a Cline at the peak of his career and the price he paid because his
faith was misplaced. It is a tale of tragedy and irony and speaks to us
today.
Sr. Caroleen Hensgen, SSND Dallas
Rome Has Spoken by Maureen Fiedler and Linda Rabben
(Crossroad Publishing Co., 1998, $19.20): As we all become more conscious, day
after day, that there are two distinct aspects of our church, the divine and
the human, it is the better part of faith to immerse ourselves in the divine
and endure the human. The results of Fiedler and Rabbens scholarly
research and the excellent summarizations of the various burning issues by
experts teaches us to appreciate that the institutional church is the human
element with all its warts and weaknesses, whereas the divine element certainly
transcends the totality, thank God!
Sr. Teresa Rigel, CSJ Concordia, Kan.
Great Political Wit: Laughing (Almost) All the Way to the White
House, edited by Bob Dole (Doubleday, 1998, $16.95) is a completely
bipartisan selection of jokes and stories in the political world. Refreshing
and fun to read. You dont have to be a Republican to enjoy it! This book
gets my vote.
Mari M. Castrovilla Yonkers, N.Y.
You are My Beloved: Meditations on Gods Steadfast
Love by Mitch Finley (Resurrection Press, 1999, $10.95): If you are
depressed, lonely, alone; anxious, angry, afraid; frantic, distressed or
stressed to the max; have lost your job, or your house, or the one with the
waggly tail or wet nose that used to greet your homecoming; when youre
carrying the weight and worries of the world on your shoulders; when
youre hurting, in pain -- then come to know that you are my
beloved, come to know the love that is completely reliable, predictable,
trustworthy, steadfast.
Bob Maxwell Washington
My favorite read of the summer was a new novel, Millennium
Pope by Frederick Luhmann (Whispering Wind Publishing Co., $16). To keep
the Vatican from becoming totally irrelevant, the next pope must make some
major changes. Luhmanns successor to John Paul II sets about this so
courageously (and credibly) that my wife read the book in one day. I, with
nerves of steel, was able to put it down halfway through, but finished it the
next morning. The book is well researched, highly believable. It will make you
think. It will make you pray that the next pope is on his knees today preparing
for this struggle. Dont start this book if you have to go somewhere
soon.
Linae Frei Sedona, Ariz.
Search for the Meaning of Life: Essays and Reflections on the
Mystical Experience by Willigis Jäger, a Benedictine monk and lecturer
at the Benedikt Haus in Wurzburg, Germany, (Triumph Books, 1995, $14.95) is
thought provoking, stimulating and meditative. One senses the universal
experience of the mystical life though his discussions of both the eastern
esoteric paths and our historical Christian tradition. The author speaks to all
who consciously search for the ultimate reality in life. To find God in oneself
and in all things is not reserved to a special few; the path is open to
everyone.
John B. Lounibos Blauvelt, N.Y.
Garry Wills, in his recent biography, Saint Augustine
(Penguin, 1999), brings fresh life to Augustine in these 148 pages, and divides
his 70 years into three very readable parts: Africa, Italy, and Africa. The
artistic portrayal of Augustine from his literary output of 90-plus books,
almost 300 letters and over 400 sermons allows the reader to hear his voice
from the past. Wills allows us to hear the English echo of Augustines
classical humanistic Latin in a North African accent, sounded with diplomatic
sensitivity, rhetorical eloquence, theological acumen and a marvelous mastery
of scriptural symbols. This short book may become a theological classic on one
of the most important African personalities to rise with the Christian movement
in a time of declining paganism.
Joseph M. Carter Houston
The Long Road of War: A Marines Story of Pacific
Combat by James W. Johnston (University of Nebraska Press, 1998, $24.50):
This books author makes no claim to any artistry as a writer, but he
doesnt need to: He has written a classic using the language of the heart
and a healthy smattering of that of the Marine Corps. The most remarkable is
that Johnston is able to relate his experiences with such nitty-gritty detail.
Most Marines of that time cant or simply dont.
Br. Patrick Hart Trappist, Ky.
If I were given only one book to read this year, I would opt for
And Now I See: A Theology of Transformation by Fr. Robert Barron
(Crossroad, 1998, $19.95, 231 pages). Barron, who teaches theology at Mundelein
Seminary in Chicago, reminds us that Christianity is above all a way of seeing.
He speaks to the heart about the transformative power of the scriptures through
the Word of God made flesh, and illuminates his vision of the Christian
tradition with examples from contemporary writers as diverse as William
Faulkner, Flannery OConnor, Thomas Merton, Teilhard de Chardin and Paul
Tillich.
Lalor Cadley Ferrari Decatur, Ga.
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott
(Pantheon Books, 1999) is a raw, wise, radiant book, the story of one
womans struggle to stand and sing in the face of heavy burdens and
staggering losses. Lamott is a wonderful writer -- blunt, moving, profane,
hilarious -- who opens her life wide and invites us inside. She talks candidly
about her alcoholism, her abortion, her lovers and friends, her beloved son
Sam, her flabby thighs and frizzy hair, her abiding love for St. Andrews
Presbyterian Church in California where she was quite literally saved.
Throughout there is a growing awareness of Gods presence in the midst of
it all -- not a mighty king enthroned on high, but a God who sits on his
haunches in the corner of her life, watching and waiting, calling her to come
home to love.
Peggy Kuhn Chicago
In A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines (Vintage
Contemporaries of Random House, 1993, $12), Grant Wiggins, the teacher in a
one-room Cajun school, at the insistence of Jeffersons godmother,
reluctantly undertakes helping this young black man to die with dignity for a
crime he did not commit. In the process Jefferson becomes a hero, and both
black and white members of the community are touched in a way they will never
forget. Simply told without a word of preaching, this book is a quiet
indictment not only of capital punishment, but of mans inhumanity to man.
A work of fiction, it never seems contrived or out of the ordinary, but has the
unmistakable ring of truth.
Frances Schena Warren, Mich.
Fr. Lawrence Ventline continues to organize the notes, wisdom and
insights of the late Fr. Edward Popielarz into this peppy, compact book, A
Pearl A Day: Wise Sayings for Living Well (Jeremiah Press, Inc.,
1998, suggested donation $6). It is the latest effort by Ventline
to create a culmination of guidelines to live well based on the teachings from
the wise master, Fr. Pops. The layout of the book provides 365
short snippets, a years worth of thought provoking, soulful rules for
spiritual living. All are easy reading. This book allows the reader to feel
good about him or herself, to be at peace by accepting God into the ordinary
daily confusion of life. The reader may find it hard to resist rereading daily
passages often, as a means for focusing on God and allowing love into his or
her life. This book can be a wonderful gift to those grieving, finding life
lonely or suffering spiritually.
Shirley Bianchi Cambria, Calif.
Still Following Christ In A Consumer Society by John F.
Kavanaugh (Orbis Books): For several years I had seen this book in catalogs,
but the name sort of turned me off, unfortunately. This rather small paperback
packs more of an analysis of our culture of greed-is-good and
worship of things than I have read anywhere. It is well written,
holds ones attention very well, proves its points superbly and I have
read it several times -- just in case I missed something the first few times. A
beautifully written and concise tome on how to follow Christ in America -- a
very difficult task for some of us.
Sr. Rosemary Flanigan, CSJ Sr. Patricia Lorenz,
CSJ Kansas City, Mo.
Two Kansas Citians have co-authored the best book we have read
this year. Spirited Lives by Sr. Carol Coburn, CSJ, and Sr. Martha
Smith, CSJ, (University of North Carolina Press, 1999) traces the impact made
by American nuns on this countrys life and culture from 1836 to 1920.
Using the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet as their paradigm, the authors
trace how religious women educated, nursed and cared for generations of
working-class Americans, both Catholic and non-Catholic, thereby impacting the
larger society through shaping Catholic culture and American life. Social
history buffs and feminists will find a treasure here.
Ted and Marge Lelwica Staples, Minn.
Starving for Salvation is written by Michelle Lelwica, who
holds a doctorate in theology. It discusses the serious subject regarding the
image that girls and women have with their bodies. The author certainly
understands and clearly conveys her material concerning this tragic plight of
our present time. After reliable research, she discusses the terrifying
problems associated with eating disorders as it relates to a deeper dimension
-- a spiritual dimension. Following an in-depth study of the dynamics of this
disease and an accounting of factual data, she asks the larger question:
What is it that we are really hungry for? In addition to all this,
she is our daughter and we are very proud of her.
Ria Sutton Pacific City, Ore.
The Alphabet Versus the Goddess by Leonard Shlain (Viking,
1998, $25 hardback; Penguin, 1999, $14.95 paperback) is one mans
hypothesis that when a critical mass of people within a society acquire
literacy, especially alphabet literacy, left hemispheric modes of thought are
reinforced at the expense of right hemispheric ones, which manifests as a
decline in the status of images, womens rights and goddess worship.
Because patriarchy exists even in nonalphabetic Eastern cultures, the author
also makes a brief detour into their history to see if it fits within the
framework of his thesis.
This book has to be one of the most fascinating reads ever. One
does not have to agree with the premise put forth, but it certainly will
generate lots of discussion. For any of you who have wondered why the goddesses
disappeared from the ancient Western world, here you have a lively book that
will give you plenty of new ideas.
Fr. John S. Trimbur Campbell, Ohio
When in Rome: A Journal of Life in the Vatican City by
Robert J. Hutchinson (Doubleday 1998) is a humorous book about what goes on
behind-the-scenes in the Vatican. The author spends a few months in Rome with
his wife and three young children to find out the real truth. Just the way he
arranges interviews is funny, not to mention the interviews themselves. The
names of some chapters alone are fun: An Evening Out with the Pope,
How the Vatican Lost the Bones of St. Peter, Flunking Out of
the College of Cardinals. It is a very pleasant diversion from writings
concerning the Vatican.
Edwin Weihe Atlantic Beach, Fla.
George Kunzs The Paradox of Power and Weakness (SUNY
Press, 1998, $20) challenges the so called truths of modern psychology:
self-care, self-esteem, self-confidence, self-reliance, self-assertiveness,
self-justification, self-gratification, self-love, self-whatever.
Psychology, in fact, has deified the self and set it adrift in its own
universe.
Kunz, a psychology professor at Seattle University, reminds us
that psyche did not originally mean the center of the private personality. The
Greek psukhe meant breath and Homer used this term to refer
to life, soul. The psukhe was the spirit gradually breathed into each of
us by the life and love of others, by parents, family, tribe and ultimately by
the Spirit of the universe. Others inspire this spirit into the
self. It is their gift to us.
Kunz encourages members of his discipline, and so many of us --
writers, therapists, seekers -- who rely upon it, to turn to the philosophy of
Emmanuel Levinas. Levinas central theme is that the self transcends its
own egocentrism and desires what is radically other than itself: the awesome,
breath-giving otherness of the Other. In recognizing my vulnerability to the
Other person, I am helped to understand not only the suffering we inflict on
each other, but also the gifts we give each other. What we need, Dr. Kunz tells
us in this marvelous, accessible book, is a psukhology of gratitude, the
study of the soul experiencing the Other breathed into the self.
Richard Sneed Laguna Beach, Calif.
Providential Accidents by Geza Vermes (Rowman and
Littlefield, 1999): At 75, Geza Vermes, retired Oxford professor, is a
world-renowned Dead Sea Scrolls scholar, whose English translation of Qumran
literature is the best available, now in its 5th edition. This work is his
autobiography, an astonishing story of his life. Born a Hungarian Jew in 1924,
his parents converted him and themselves to Catholicism when he was 6. He
attended Catholic schools and was in the seminary when the Nazis deported and
murdered his parents. After ordination, he wrote one of the first books on the
scrolls, escaped to England stateless and penniless, fell in love and married,
and reconverted to the faith of his fathers. His tale is one of extraordinary
devotion to scholarship, to his wife, to Judaism and to productivity. The
changing crises and the responses to them in the life of this mature and
courageous scholar make fascinating reading.
David E. Ortman Seattle
I hate golf. I really do. This summer I took my 13-year old son
out to the Ballard driving range. Out of a bucket of 50 balls, I couldnt
hit one far, straight or both. Meanwhile my son is whacking the heck out of the
ball, looking like John Daly. While you await summers arrival or return,
please pick up David Owens great book, My Usual Game: Adventures in
Golf (Main Street Books, 1995). Even if you hate golf, it is one of the all
time great insight books on golf and life in general.
Sr. Kathryn Leahy, OSF Denver
One Day on Earth: A Third Eye View by Catherine Lazers
Bauer (Cosmic Concept Press, 1999, $15.95) is a collection of 64 essays. These
essays have varied themes, each one revealing perceptive, sensitive
understanding on the part of the septuagenarian writer. Catherines
writing may touch readers in different ways but touch it will. The reader will
find, as I have, joy, humor, poignancy, spiritual refreshment. Bauers
years of teaching and reading experience are manifest in her thought provoking,
illuminating essays. I have experienced joyful, inner renewal through reading
the inspirational book.
Mary F. Hazlett Akron, Ohio
A weekend retreat this summer introduced me to new people and a
book title: The Tao of Womanhood by Diane Dreher, which I
enthusiastically recommend not only to women, but also to men (Quill Pub.,
1998, $11). The author draws upon the poetic wisdom of the Tao Te Ching and
shows how imperative balance is in our lives. To recover an inner balance that
many of us have lost, we must begin establishing boundaries. Setting boundaries
upsets others who are used to getting what they want from us. It takes
courage and discipline to break old habits of being nice all the
time in order to live your own life. We must learn to say no mindfully,
which means getting in touch with our deepest selves. We ignore the setting of
boundaries because we are afraid of losing love. We give and do more than is
healthy.
Beth Ramos Holliston, Mass.
Cordelia Underwood: Or the Marvelous Beginnings of the
Moosepath League by Van Reid (Penguin, 1999): I picked up Cordelia
Underwood because someone said its humor was reminiscent of John
Irvings. But I found the characters more like Tolkiens hobbits, and
we dont have to travel to Middle Earth to be a part of the adventure.
(From Massachusetts, Maine is just a 2-hour drive!) The characters are
turn of the century gentlemen, full of innocence and charm, who
bumble into solving problems. This is a book you will want your grandmother and
grandchildren to read! (Molly Peers, the second book in the series is
delightful, too -- and it has a couple of independent women in it for feminists
to like!)
Robert J. Hanyok Laurel, Md.
Without by Donald Hall (New York: Mariner Books, 1999):
Grief -- that middle passage between loss and consolation -- is a journey
everyone must make, and for some, it will happen more than once. In a way,
grief has become a business, as the list of books on how to deal with it
attests.
So comes along this absorbing and striking collection of poems by
Donald Hall, the prize-winning poet from New England. Without recounts
the final illness and the loss surrounding the death of his wife of 23 years,
the poet Jane Kenyon, after a two-year struggle with leukemia. There are many
engaging parts to this collection -- straight narrative of Janes hospital
days, the title poems quotidian awful accounting of a life ended, and the
tenderness shared at the end. The most impressive poems are those written after
Janes death, as her husband tries to come to some sort of resolution of
his grief, but achieves maybe only a sort of dogged truce.
Readers will be pleased with the lack of sentimentality. The
language at times can be bold (and a few words perhaps objectionable to some),
but this was a couple passionately and physically in love, as well as two poets
respectful of one anothers work. (Jane Kenyons posthumous
collection, Otherwise, was completed during her final illness.)
In the end, there is no easy balm to Donald Halls grief.
Life must be lived, even as he strives to find consolation in remembrance in
the small things.
Fr. Paul F. McDonald San Antonio
For a delightful visual experience, I recommend An Irish
Blessing: A Photographic Interpretation by Cyril A. Reilly and Renee Travis
Reilly (Sorin Books, 1999, $13.95). The Reillys gift of words and
photography capture the beauty of the Emerald Isle landscape and the earthy
radiance of a people who sense Gods presence around them in everything.
The 22 lines of kind and gentle words that form phrases of a lengthy blessing
for a loved one are brought to life in brilliant scenes illustrating the
everyday good fortune we so often take for granted: rain, light, earth, people.
This is the kind of gift book youll want to share with others while
having a personal copy close by to nourish your soul and feast your eyes.
Patricia Hermes Zinsmeister Ellicott City,
Md.
Anam Cara by John ODonohue (Cliff Street Books, 1997)
is a treat for your soul and your senses! Its about the presence and
power of inner and outer friendship. In this book, John ODonohue reminds
you of what you already know, but it is how he does it that is the beauty of
this wonderful book. It is written in the most enchanting, poetic and spiritual
language. Treat yourself to this lovely gift!
Jean Hampton Middlebury, Vt.
The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris is a book that drew me
back for a second read. I read it over a year ago and kept thinking about it.
Kathleen Norris, who wrote a previous best seller called Dakota, is by
her own admission primarily a poet. This book is delightful; her prose is
extremely flowing and descriptive. The author has a unique ability to mix humor
and down to earth observations with deep spiritual insights. She is not afraid
to write in a very personal way, revealing much about her life, past and
present, including the ups and down of her marriage. The Cloister Walk
is a spiritual book, but an unusual one. It is refreshingly honest and down to
earth, never sickly sweet or cloying. It inspires me to bravely take my own
unique spiritual walk!
Pat Chaffee Newburgh, N.Y.
Oyster by Janette Turner Hospital (W.W. Norton &
Company, 1996). Mystery folded in mystery makes this book a page-turner. Who is
this man Oyster, who dominates every page, yet never appears in the novel? What
happened at Oysters Reef? What occurs among the opal traders in the back
room of Bernies Last Chance? Why are foreigners so hated in this remote,
isolated, literally unmapped area of Queensland, Australia?
Oyster, however, is no easy read, no escape mystery for a
lazy afternoon. It is a serious exploration of the inner mysteries of love,
hate, greed, religion, fear, courage, among others. It demands collaboration
from a reader. Oh, yes, the book is also about Armageddon at the turn of the
century.
William D. Glenn San Rafael, Calif.
Long-time literary editor of the New Republic and
celebrated novelist, Doris Grumbach has written the book that impacted me more
than any other this past year. The Presence of Absence: On Prayers and an
Epiphany is a spare and moving account of the journey into the interior on
which she has been engaged during her adult life. Written in elegant prose, her
nomenclature for the diving is inspired, and her short volume holds powerful
insights into the increasingly mysterious workings of the Spirit as it prompts
one to fidelity to the task of prayer.
Fr. Depaul A. Genska, OFM Chicago
The Theology of the Body: Human Love in the Divine Plan by
John Paul II (Daughters of St. Paul, 1997, $19.95): Sex and sexuality need
positive P.R. Along comes Pope John Paul II who does just that --
giving reinforcement to the gifts of sex and sexuality as Gods creations.
From September 1979 to November 1984, John Paul in Wednesday audiences extols
the beauty, the unity of human persons in their sex and sexuality. In our age
drowning in bizarre sex, John Paul offers lifelines pulling us up to reflect on
and respond to the beauties of our sexual creation.
Pat Bonneau-White Las Cruces, N.M.
The Artists Way at Work by Mark Bryan, Julia Cameron
and Catherine Allen (William Morrow and Co., New York) will forever change your
idea about what creativity is and how God envisioned each of us to be creative.
The book brings spirituality into the workplace with a mingling of integrity,
unlearning old patterns of social interaction and a guided encounter with
your own ingenuity. Equally valuable are the new thought patterns and
actions that can be applied to other areas of your spiritual life. You must
commit yourself to the minimum of 12 weeks of reflection and writing to bring
about the desired results. However, if you believe that living in the now and
practicing the presence of God is worth the effort, this book is for you.
Doris Bucher Atlanta
One Continuous Mistake: Four Noble Truths for Writers by
Gail Sher (Penguin Arkana, 1999) has kept me writing every day without fail
since I read it four months ago. The author draws from 20 years of experience
as a Zen Buddhist, psychotherapist, writer and teacher. The title of her book,
One Continuous Mistake, was Dogen Zenjis description of Zen
practice. Sher explains that working for growth through a craft or art is like
prayer, because doing anything with wholehearted effort, which will
likely involve mistake after mistake, is the soul talking to God in a different
tongue. The writers desire for perfection may stem from a desire to
be one with God, but it is just as spiritual to be aware of how one
actually is. The effect of these words on me is that I now take pride in
the struggle, understanding that if writing is your practice, the only
way to fail is not to write.
Jeanne Lutgen Waterloo, Iowa
Extraordinary Lives by Msgr. Francis Friedl and Rex
Reynolds (Ave Maria Press, 1998) is an enlightening book. Each priest that
tells his story is so different from the rest. It is interesting to see how
they all ended up following God in becoming a priest. Each is unique in his own
life but so much alike in doing Gods work. I think it would be a
wonderful book for young men considering a vocation to read. Sometimes I think
they think they are not worthy, and this book tells them no one else is perfect
either. It relates the struggles each had as he followed Gods call.
Ken Holehouse Fond du Lac, Wis.
Br. Benet Tvedtens The View From a Monastery
(Riverhead Books, 1999) is a 42 chapter collection of short essays and
character sketches revealing the inner workings of Blue Cloud Abbey, a
Benedictine monastery in South Dakota -- a cloister of characters.
Populated with eccentrics like Brother Paddy, who chain-smoked
through his last days, telling those in his smoke-filled room, I
hope you bastards have to bury me on the coldest day of winter,
and Father Dan who claimed that his incarceration at Blue Cloud
came as the result of a speeding ticket, Br. Benets non-fiction 193-page
book is written with wit, candor, and a bit of whimsy. His insights, honed by
years of observing his fellow monks and the day-to-day workings of the abbey,
make fascinating reading.
This book rocks.
Frank Woolever Syracuse, N.Y.
Virginias Questions: Why I Am Still Catholic by
Noreen OCarroll (The Columbia Press, 1998) started when the author wrote
a letter to the editor of the Irish Times. Published under the heading:
Incensed by the Churchs Attitude Toward Women, it was
prompted by her outrage at a young priest who criticized the colorful, yet
tasteful attire of the president of Ireland, Mary Robinson, during her audience
with the pope. The authors letter in turn brought forth a response from
the Rev. Virginia Kennerley, a priest of the Church of Ireland. The three
questions raised by the canon caused deep soul-searching by OCarroll,
bringing forth a testimony that will touch the souls of those wrestling with
some of the same issues.
The subtitle of this slight volume gives a hint to the reader of
the profound faith journey of a modern Irish woman. Raised in a strong Catholic
family, the authors initial crisis of faith came as a teenager, when her
beloved grandmother committed suicide on Christmas Eve. A year later her great
aunt did the same thing. Voluntarily separating herself from her family of
origin, she wandered through the labyrinth of various hospices, homeless
shelters, and mental hospitals. During all her arguments with God, she found
little solace in the institutional church.
While she moved away from home and family, her parents and
siblings never moved away from her. University studies brought her in touch
with Søren Kierkegaard and Eric Voegelin, both of whom became
significant figures in her graduate work in philosophy. Other saving graces
included contacts with various small Christian communities involved with works
of mercy and justice. The authors two brushes with Opus Dei give us a
rare look inside this organization.
This is beautifully written apologia. Once begun, it will not
easily be put down.
Fr. Ed Kaminski, CSC Monterey, Calif.
The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality
by Ronald Rolheiser (Doubleday, 1999, $21.95): Rolheisers writing style
is reader-friendly. He speaks time-honored truths in ordinary language
accessible to all. He engages serious rumination without heady concepts. The
Holy Longing is equally applicable to the professional pew-sitter and the
infrequent flyer in our houses of worship.
While he writes from his Roman Catholic perspective, his insights
and observations will resonate with people of any faith or people of no faith.
Indeed, Rolheiser asserts spirituality is not an option, everyone has one.
Long before we do anything explicitly religious at all, the author
writes, we have to do something about the fire that burns within us. What
we do with that fire, how we channel it, is our spirituality
Spirituality is more about whether or not we can sleep at night than about
whether or not we go to church. Thats insight! He artfully applies
that basic premise to developing a spiritual perspective of ecclesiology, the
Paschal Mystery, justice and peacemaking, sexuality and sustaining our
spiritual lives.
This book is a keeper and wont wander too far from my
nightstand.
Sr. Mary Rehmann, CHM Morgantown, W.V.
A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar (Simon & Schuster,
1998, $25): This biography of John Forbes Nash, Nobel laureate and mathematical
genius, reveals the dynamic history of a man, his family and professional
colleagues. Born in southern West Virginia, Nash wrote a breakthrough
dissertation in his early 20s that would revolutionize the field of economics.
However, less than 10 years later he descended into near professional and
personal oblivion due to schizophrenia. He roamed Europe, the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and the halls of several psychiatric institutions for
more than 30 years before suddenly re-emerging to receive the Nobel Prize for
economics in 1994. This specific achievement was due, in no small measure, to
several professional friends who insisted on the justice of his recognition no
matter what his current mental state. The book also reveals the impact of a
loved ones serious mental illness on family members and the fact that it
was they who probably kept Nash alive until his apparent spontaneous remission.
Mary P. Burke Quincy, Mass.
Peter Tremaynes Sister Fidelmas Mystery series
(Signet) combines three of my interests: a good mystery, Irish history and the
probing of tensions within the church -- the early Irish and English churches
in this case. Suffer Little Children, the most recent in the series,
takes place in late seventh-century Ireland. The succession dispute of a minor
dynasty serves as the occasion for a mystery solved by a strong, well-educated,
young religieuse, Sister Fidelma. The setting for the series (which
includes Absolution By Murder and Shroud for the Archbishop) is
as intriguing as the mystery involved, and Sr. Fidelma can easily hold her own
with todays investigators.
Barbara Huber Kalamazoo, Mich.
I recommend Andre Dubus Meditations From a Moveable
Chair (Vintage Books, 1998, $12). Actually one could read anything by Dubus
and be inspired, even sanctified. Start with the essay Sacraments
in this book and you will change the way you think of your everyday
actions.
Linda Pinto Milford, Pa.
Peters Redemption by Jim David (Caritas
Communications, 1999, $15): Distilled to its essence, it is like any other
scripture story. God chooses an unsuspecting person and while living out the
mundane details of life, they are catapulted into circumstances that could lead
to catastrophic change.
Jake Morrissey and his family attend Sunday liturgy in a rural
parish. Sr. Beth McAlister, the pastoral administrator, realizes that the
circuit priest assigned to four parishes that particular morning is not coming.
Frustrated by communionless services, she challenges Jake, a married priest, to
celebrate Eucharist. After much discernment and the encouragement of the parish
council, he acquiesces. What they all were not aware of was that the vacationer
in the back pew was also reporter from The New York Times!
From the innocence and integrity of the parish people to the
salty, eccentric seminary professor to the ambitious, conniving monsignor to
the discerning cardinal struggling to balance tradition with the will of the
Spirit, each page leads the reader to a greater understanding of the God of
surprise, intrigue and mystery.
If you believe change in the church is not possible, then give
yourself this gift. This story is a soothing tonic for the weary of heart and
soul.
Fr. Richard P. Lewandowski Fitchburg, Mass.
Vicars of Christ by Michael P. Riccards (Crossroads
Publishers, 1998) is a fine study of papal leadership from the reign of Pius IX
to that of John Paul II, which emphasizes the importance of various styles of
leadership in the contemporary Catholic church. The study focuses on the
relationships among church organizations, dogma, personality and historical
environments.
Riccards is a fine stylist whose meticulously researched volume is
scrupulously fair -- often leading him to surprising and interesting
conclusions. He presents Pius IX as originally a liberal, Benedict XV as the
major shaper of the modern papacy, and Pius X as both a pious man and a
promoter of Modernist repression.
While his book acknowledges Pius XIIs purported silences
during World War II, Riccards study is far more balanced and
comprehensive than John Cornwalls indictment Hitlers Pope.
He suggests that Vatican II was an ill-prepared attempt to deal with church
tensions among the clergy and not the laity, and he is gentle in dealing with
Paul VIs collegial style. A good portion of the volume is an analysis of
John Paul IIs years in office. Riccards is impressed by the current
popes personal heroism but sees his policies as often leading to dead
ends cast in the popes authoritarian tones.
Riccards volume is one of the few comprehensive studies of
the current papacy written in English and its style allows it to appeal to both
a scholarly and popular audience.
Laura J. Grohovsky Youngstown, Ohio
My favorite books are Conversations With God: An Uncommon
Dialogue, books 1, 2 and 3, by Neale Donald Walsch (Hampton Roads
Publishing Co. Inc.). These books are total enlightenment, revealing some
well-kept secrets.
Renee Taylor Lafayette, La.
Freedom From Fear: A Way Through the Ways of Jesus the
Christ by Francis W. Vanderwall (Acadian House Publishing Co., 1999) has
given me a heightened sense of hope and has inspired me to look beyond the
trappings of guilt, shame and loneliness, and the fears of God, people and
things into the very nature of a loving and compassionate God. Using parables,
including the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, Vanderwall reveals the
liberating and enthusiastic love of God as Father, Son and Spirit. He reminds
us of the tremendous generosity that God extends to all his children,
especially the strangers in need and the social outcasts.
Vanderwall emphasizes the power of prayer and the necessity of
solitude, as well as spiritual direction/counseling, for transforming our fears
into love. Meditations and spiritual exercises are provided at the end of each
chapter -- an excellent resource for personal and/or group study. Books like
this remind me that God is truly alive and well in our world today!
National Catholic Reporter, November 5,
1999
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