Catalyst for Renewal

Seeking truth and renewal through conversation

HOME
SIP
REFLECTION DAYS
CATALYST DINNERS
CATALYST FORUMS
CONTACT US
ARCHIVES
THE DIGEST
CATALYST SPIRITUALITY
WORTH READING

 

Book Reviews

Those of you who were readers of THE MIX, will remember the excellent reviews which appeared each month on the back page.

One of the authors of these reviews was Professor Tim O’Hearn.  Tim has generously agreed to continue with these reviews, the first three of which appear below.  Again we’ll all have a ready selection of presents when Christmas and the birthdays of friends come around as well as a personal guide as to what is worth reading”!

 

Worth Reading

Paul Collins, Believers. Does Australian Catholicism have a future? Foreword by Geraldine Doogue. UNSW Press: University of New South Wales , 2008. ISBN:978 0868 40 831, 175 pages with notes, pb.

 This book is certain to ruffle feathers even if it shouldn’t. Paul has stuck his neck out again in the cause of a renewed Australian Church , something that would resonate with Catalyst members (and Catalyst does get a paragraph’s mention). As any discerning member of the Church knows, Paul has been a champion for renewal, be that from addressing the environment or Church treatment of those Rome doesn’t agree with or in this latest book, the need for the Australian Church to renew itself and grow to its God-entrusted challenges.

Paul quotes liberally from research, Australian-based and other research, but he relies most heavily on his own knowledge of history and theology to make his points. He bemoans the treatment of women, the current impossibility of their being ordained, compulsory male celibacy, the sway of a few bishops, the lack of transparency, and the decline in numbers of active clergy, to name a few of his targets.  It is easy to see that he will be in hot water with some – again – but Paul’s heart and mind are focussed on wanting a Church living up to its potential.

Yet Paul Collins is essentially an optimist, a believer that the Church has a great future if only the essential issues were addressed openly and honestly. Yes, he is critical of Rome’s (read John Paul 11’s and a hint of Benedict XV1’s) inaction over the sexual abuse scandals, but the greatest scandal is the likelihood of people being deprived of sacramental and liturgical life unless something radical is not done about the decline in number of priests. He is careful to acknowledge their increasing age, tiredness, the assistance from non-Anglo overseas priests; yet he also writes that we must acknowledge that there is a huge untapped resource unused and denied by the Church: women, former priests in good standing, to name two.

The easy response to critiques offered by Paul and others is to tell him to get out if he’s dissatisfied. Well, Paul’s not going.

 

Peter-Damien Belisle, The Language of Silence. The Changing Face of Monastic Solitude. Orbis Books: New York , 2003. ISBN: 1-57075-486-1, 172 pages with notes and further reading, pb.

Stephen Chase, Contemplation and Compassion. The Victorine Tradition. Orbis Books: New York , 2003. ISBN: 1-57075-473-X, 154 pages with notes and bibliography, pb.

John Anthony McGuckin, Standing in God’s Holy Fire. The Byzantine Tradition. Orbis Books: New York , 2001. ISBN: 1-57075-382-2, 154 pages with notes, bibliography and short glossary, pb.

John Chryssavgis, Light Through Darkness. The Orthodox Tradition. Orbis Books: New York , 2004. ISBN: 1-57075-548-5, 142 pages with notes and suggested further reading, pb.

 These four books are in the Traditions of Christian Spirituality Series and are written by authors of various Christian faiths. The series editor, Philip Sheldrake, writes that common to all books in this series are three things: Christian spiritualities are derived from Scripture, especially the Gospels; spiritual traditions derive from attempts to live out the gospel values in a positive yet critical way in specific historical and cultural circumstances; and the spiritualities are concerned with the whole of life’s experiences seen within a conscious relationship with Christ.

Not only are the traditions different, there are also differences within a tradition. For example, Belisle demonstrates the differences within the monastic tradition, between the Carthusians, Benedictines and the Cistercians; he also shows the differences between Charles de Foucauld, Dorothy Day and other modern day contemplatives.  There is no sense that there is competition; as the series editor has indicated, there are different historical and cultural circumstances that lead to the different traditions. Stephen Chase writes of the importance of what nowadays might be called outreach as a means of living out the Victorine tradition which developed from the Abbey of Saint Victor in Paris in the twelfth century.

Reading these books or even one gives credence to what is often spoken about, namely, the tradition of spirituality that exists within the Church.  Each book is essentially introductory to the tradition it describes and thus the importance of the notes, glossary and further reading suggested. 

For those starting out on the discovery of the tradition most commonly seen as Catholic, Belisle’s would be the best starting book as there are better known referents, Moses, Elijah, Jesus, Mary, John the Baptist, and the religious orders such as those mentioned earlier in this brief outline.  

 

 
            
 
Send mail with questions or comments about this web site please
Contact PAULINE O'NEILL (Secretary) directly on catalyst-for-renewal@tpg.com.au 
Last modified: October 13, 2008   
 Home                          Catalyst Contents