|
Book Review
Book catalogues 100 great Catholic reads
Reviewed by Andrew Junker, The Catholic Sun
November 1, 2007
Ever since Christ’s time on earth, His followers have heaped words upon words about what it means to be a believer.
In Scripture, letters, commentary, poetry, plays and even novels, the written word can lift the mind and soul a little closer to God.
Perhaps the hardest question when faced with such a gargantuan library is where does one start?
Don Brophy has offered his answer to that question in his book “One Hundred Great Catholic Books: From the Early Centuries to the Present.”
Of course, as Brophy readily admits, any such catalogue is bound to be incomplete and subject to the whims of the compiler. Still, his book is an invaluable resource to anyone interested in delving into the rich literary tradition of Catholicism, and by extension, the Western world.
Each entry occupies only a few pages and offers a brief biographical sketch of the author, the historical situation in which he or she wrote, a description of the work with some brief excerpts and an argument for its inclusion in the book.
For “The Imitation of Christ,” we learn that Thomas a Kempis was a 15th century Dutch monk who originally wrote the book for young monks in formation. It was situated in a larger movement to instill “a new sense of holiness in a Catholic population whose religious practice had become lax and tepid.”
“Ignatius Loyola read it every day,” Brophy writes. “Pope John Paul I was reading it when he died. Thérèse of Lisieux at the age of 14 had the book nearly memorized; name a chapter and she would recite it.”
He also describes the organization of the book and suggests that readers take “The Imitation of Christ” in “little bites, like Scripture, by reading, pausing, reflecting, praying. In this way one will find out what people have known for centuries — the ‘Imitation’ is a spiritual classic.”
Brophy does a good job at including the “classics” in his book. He has entries on Augustine’s “Confessions,” “The Rule of St. Benedict,” “The Divine Comedy” and “The Canterbury Tales.” But Brophy also highlights great books that perhaps aren’t as well known in modern-day America.
One is a superb 20th century novel called “The Diary of a Country Priest,” by Frenchman Georges Bernanos. The novel is a journal of a nameless, rural parish priest who often despairs at his loneliness and limitations and the disinterest of his parishioners.
Brophy describes it as “a window on a man’s soul as he carries out his daily ministry, providing for the living and the dead, confronting the sinful, healing the distraught, and all the time trying to deal with his own pain,” both existential and physical.
It’s a portrait of a man trying desperately to do God’s work with encouraging results few and far between. Though, as Brophy points out, the often-bleak novel is far from depressing.
“By the end of the book [the parish priest’s] vision has sufficiently penetrated the dark crust of the human condition to confirm that underneath ‘all is grace.’”
While readers of “One Hundred Great Catholic Books” will not agree with all of Brophy’s summaries and justifications for inclusion in the catalogue — he seemed a bit unduly harsh on St. Francis de Sale’s “Introduction to the Devout Life” — his writing is throughout thoughtful and intelligent.
And disagreement is fine and even welcomed. If there’s one thing Catholics love more than words, it’s a good argument over those words — Brophy’s inclusion of the Vatican II documents provides an ample arena for that latter pastime.
“One Hundred Great Catholic Books” provides a great reading list for the next couple of years that will inform, challenge and encourage any Catholic.
Andrew Junker is a staff writer for The Catholic Sun. Comments are welcome. Send e-mail to letters@catholicsun.org.
|
