Caryl Houselander - Letters - Letter to the Editor

National Catholic Reporter, Jan 30, 2004 by John B. Giuliani

* Thank you for Deborah Halter's homage to Caryl Houselander (NCR, Dec. 12), the all-but-forgotten laywoman mystic whose writings had considerable influence prior to the '60s. It is precisely the clarity and simplicity of her writing that make accessible for us the mystical nature of Christian existence.

For the past 50 years I have used an abbreviation of her "Stations of the Cross" in a liturgical setting for Good Friday I have yet to find more compelling text for the ritual of identifying the Mystic Christ in human suffering.

Next we need a symposium to bring Houselander's vision to the attention of younger faith-seeking generations.

(Fr.) JOHN B. GIULIANI

Redding, Conn.