Bookshelf

National Catholic Reporter, Nov 6, 1998 by William C. Graham

In the "Isn't that something?" category, let me share an E-mail message I recently received from a priest friend who lives in Rome. He comments on the availability of the recently indexed writings of Jesuit Fr. Anthony DeMello: "When I was in the vicinity of the Vatican a few days ago, I saw copies of DeMello's writings in the windows of two bookstores spitting distance from the Holy Office (I still like that name). Brings to mind that old adage that they make the rules here at the Vatican, expect the world to follow them and then conveniently ignore them here at home."

Forever Your Sister: Reflections on Leaving Convent Life, edited by Benedictine Sr. Janice Wedl and Eileen Maas Nalevanko, (North Star Press, P.O. Box 451, St. Cloud, MN 56302, 141 pages, $12.95, paperback), is, I think, a very touching book. I picked it up and read straight through, very much appreciating the insights of the 22 women who share their journeys into, out of and beyond St. Benedict's Monastery in St. Joseph, Minn., shaped always by Benedictine values.

There is an absence of bitterness and an abundance of tenderness and treasure in these tales, which can be read not just as personal reflections but as an important piece of the social history of life in the United States and the Catholic church in the tumultuous 1960s and '70s.

Benedictine Fr. Albert Holtz took a sabbatical year after 30 years in Newark (N.J.) Abbey and traveled alone from the Swiss Alps to Brazil to Hungary, coming to enjoy a close friendship with the God of pilgrims and exiles. He met many unheralded saints, including folk dancers in Catalonia, kite-flyers in Normandy and a catechist in rural Bolivia. His collected reflections, A Saint on Every Corner: Glimpses of Holiness Beyond the Monastery (Ave Maria, 167 pages, $8.95, paperback), is an interesting read and a fine snapshot of the holiness both of the author and of the creature world.

There are few, I think, who listen to the morning traffic in downtown Newark and hear "murmurs in the distance like the swish of surf on a sandy shore." Holtz knows order, rhythm and purpose, and is attentive to harmony as a path to God's reign.

I sent The River: Reflections on the Times of Our Lives, by Donald X. Burt (Liturgical Press, 103 pages, $8.95, paperback), to a colleague who is taking some weeks off to endure surgery and mend.

Burt attempts to come to an understanding of some of the moments of human life with reflections that are sometimes personal and sometimes suggested by St. Augustine whose image of human life as a river contributes to the title.

Then I sent off Guiding Children Through Life's Losses: Prayers, Rituals, and Activities, by Phyllis Vos Wezeman, Jude Dennis Fournier and Kenneth R. Wezeman (Twenty-Third Publications, 67 pages, $9.95 paperback), to another colleague whose 9-year-old is recuperating in the hospital after a serious bike and car accident. The activities in this guide are designed for teachers and classes, but a boy who is healing while others are playing and studying may well appreciate the prayerful considerations and activities that these authors suggest.

The Pursuit of Happiness -- God's Way: Living the Beatitudes, by Dominican Fr. Servais Pinckaers, translated by Dominican Sr. Mary Thomas Noble (Alba House, 204 pages, $5.95 paperback), is a fine introduction to the beatitudes as a path leading to the happiness of God. Pinckaers sees morality, as does Augustine, as a search for happiness. The blunt realism of the gospel is not about glowing dreams or imaginary Edens but insists that the believer face the inevitabilities of life: poverty, tears, hunger, thirst. Out of this is shaped the beatitudes, and therein is the essence of the response of Jesus to the human desire for happiness. A very interesting consideration by this moral theology professor from Switzerland's University of Fribourg.

Those seeking an introductory text for catechumenate or discussion groups, perhaps even high school students, might consider Sacraments Revisited: What Do They Mean Today?, by Fr. Liam Kelly of Derby, England (Paulist, 173 pages, $10.95 paperback). His reflection questions at the end of each chapter will help personalize the material and the experience of study and celebration.

The Ministry of Reconciliation: Spirituality & Strategies, by Precious Blood Fr. Robert J. Schreiter (Orbis, 136 pages, $16 paperback), is certainly a text that will encourage thoughtful and scholarly consideration of what he sees as necessary both today and tomorrow: "With both spirituality and strategy, the church must work with all people of good will to bring about the healing and transformation that shattered society's need."

Schreiter understands reconciliation in the light of the resurrection, which does not forget the past but transfigures it. Seeking reconciliation in families and communities is evidence that God is with us, and the message of the resurrection is that hope, rooted in the peace of Christ, is possible.

For Men Only: Strategies for Living Catholic, by Mitch Finley (Liguori, 128 pages, $11.95, paperback), would be a good present for a young dad on the occasion of his daughter's baptism. Finley has a sensible and inviting approach to living the mysteries.