Catholic Thought discussion

Joseph wrote: "I took my Shakespeare course 10 years ago and I think I'd seen it on at least a couple television programs before that."

But we’re you at a Catholic college or a secular one? It makes a difference. Pearce teaches at a deeply orthodox Catholic college.

I’m currently reading Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather. Beautiful writing, full of history and a true respect for the Catholic faith.

Lisa wrote: "I’m currently reading Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather. Beautiful writing, full of history and a true respect for the Catholic faith."

Oh goodness. That’s been on my to read shortly list for the longest time. I never seem to get to it. I’d consider nominating it here for our book club. Cather’s My Ántonia is a truly great novel with Catholic dimensions too.

I am thoroughly enjoying Frances Maureen Richardson's Not All Of Me Is Dust. The novel is what would be categorized as a "family saga," and in this case the lives of three, Catholic siblings, whose mother died prematurely in a car accident when they were in their teens or younger, as in the case of the youngest child. Kathleen the oldest marries, Stephan the middle becomes a Jesuit priest, and Clare the youngest a nun. So it is thoroughly a Catholic novel as well.

Who is Frances Maureen Richardson? She is no other than our dear Frances right here in our book club. What an honor to have her with us, and it was only by accident I stumbled on her novel.

The prose is lush and warm, and she has a remarkable ability to place you in a scene. Her eye for detail is quite sharp, and I think very original to herself. After a hundred pages, I think I could pick out her prose elsewhere if I should come across because it’s so individually her. I told her off-line that she “writes like a girl,” and I mean that in a complimentary way. Her observations of eye color and clothing are very feminine. Here’s a little excerpt that I found so charming. Clare has just entered the convent for the first time.

The motherhouse, with its broad wings and three stories, was a gray world of cool stone walls, great silvery columns, and cavernous corridors that bent away into shadow: a gray world fixed in surroundings of exquisite natural beauty. Behind the main building a lawn serene as if never stepped on stretched for a mile to where wildflowers blew beside a country road. To the left of the motherhouse grew an apple orchard; its fieldstone wall had half collapsed and all along it ivy and wild roses spilled in from the meadow beyond.

Clare’s room was on the second floor, a sunlit cubicle with a small dresser and a narrow bed. It didn’t have a mirror, but it had something which to Clare mattered more—a window with one of the best views the motherhouse had to offer.

From that window she could look down on the fountain in the cloister garden below, or out across the grounds to where a single aged tree stood, bent and stark, like a Chinese ideograph sketched among the orchard’s grasses.

From that window she could hear the horn of a train sounding in the distance. And she could hear birds singing all about her in the autumn dusk—the loud “weep” note of a robin, the harsh voice incongruous with the flitting chickadee, and from time to time, a string of liquid, musical phrases softer than a robin’s coming from one of the beautiful old trees along the cloister walk.

Isn’t that lovely? Doesn’t that place you in the scene, and isn’t the contrast of the train horn with the bird song just pregnant with potential meaning?

If you decide to get her book, she says you would be better served with the paperback edition over the Kindle. There were some corrections that were made after publishing that have not been corrected as yet in the Kindle format.

I read O Pioneers! last year, but haven't gotten around to reading the other two in the trilogy. I loved it!

One tidbit I learned from the novel, is that before barbed wire they deliberately planted Hedge Apple, also known as Osage Orange (we have a bunch on our property), to form hedgerows around pastures. They are so strong and can be planted so close that lifestock can't break out.

Manny wrote: "I am thoroughly enjoying Frances Maureen Richardson's Not All Of Me Is Dust. The novel is what would be categorized as a "family saga," and in this case the lives of three, Catholic..."

This is lovely writing! You want to jump into the scene and start exploring, taking in the beauty,

Lisa wrote: "I’m currently reading Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather. Beautiful writing, full of history and a true respect for the Catholic faith."

Lisa, I hope you see this. I may have to send you a private message if you don't.

Great essay on Death Comes to the Archbishop over at Crises Magazine, titled, "Finding True Meaning in the Modern World: Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop" by Jane Clark Scharl. Here are a few excerpts:

To live as an American and as a Catholic is no small challenge, for America is fundamentally a modern project and Catholicism is decidedly not. The driving force of modernity (which began with the Protestant Reformation) can be summarized as “self-discovery”; to be a modern is, essentially, to exist in a constant state of self-awareness—specifically, awareness of one’s individuality. From this awareness comes a relentless quest to understand and express that individuality, and a corresponding desire for structures that permit such expression.

And

But of course, in the great variety show of history, the two notions—Catholicism and Americanism—have been flung into close contact, and have formed an unlikely, if uneasy, détente. This détente is the theme of Willa Cather’s little-known and less-read novel, Death Comes for the Archbishop. The novel is the story of the formation of the Santa Fe archdiocese in the southwestern United States and of the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church within the central Southwest.

And

Cather tells the story in Latour’s voice, seeing through his eyes and sensing with his heart the difficulty of sustaining belief in the midst of apparent meaninglessness. He often thinks back to his childhood in France, a land where Catholicism is in the very soil. In Latour’s France, modernity is the topsoil above deep strata of Catholic metaphysics and practice. The situation in America is very different; America is truly a modern, Protestant nation. In the American Southwest, Latour’s Catholicism sits squarely—and uncomfortably—between the two worlds of the American Southwest: the ancient, often cruel practices of tribal paganism and the modern, self-conscious, expansionist spirit of America. His many missionary journeys back and forth between these worlds seem disconnected, sometimes even pointless. One day, a trader tells him that “he might make good Catholics among the Indians, but he would never separate them from their own beliefs” in pagan spirits that roamed the land and demanded sacrifice. Another day, Protestant Americans in Santa Fe forbid their Catholic servants (more like slaves) from attending Mass, deriding Catholicism as backwards superstition. The soil of the land Latour inhabits is modernity, the individual, democracy; the bedrock is paganism.

If you are interested read the entire essay here:
https://www.crisismagazine.com/2018/f...

That's a great article!

Thank you, Manny. This is truly one of the best books I've read in a long time!

https://catholicexchange.com/willa-ca...

The above link is another interesting article about Willa Cather

Lisa wrote: "The above link is another interesting article about Willa Cather"

It was excellent Lisa. Thank you. O Pioneers! is also on my to read list. Oh the literature I just cannot get to.

Very interesting, thanks...

Lisa wrote: "https://catholicexchange.com/willa-ca..."

One wants to grab one of her books RIGHT NOW and start reading :)

Manny wrote: "O Pioneers! is also on my to read list. Oh the literature I just cannot get to."

LOL! I think we all share this dilemma. It is a good place to be in, for we have so much to look forward to.

I just finished Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity by James Martin. I really enjoyed it. I found it to be a mature, thought-provoking examination of both sides.

Kerstin wrote: "Lisa wrote: "https://catholicexchange.com/willa-ca..."

One wants to grab one of her books RIGHT NOW and start reading :)"

I did! Bought it on Audible! :)

I am currently reading My Name is Asher Lev as the November pick for well read moms. I am really enjoying this book and learning a lot about traditional Hasidic Judaism.

Susan wrote: "Kerstin wrote: "Lisa wrote: "https://catholicexchange.com/willa-ca..."

One wants to grab one of her books RIGHT NOW and start reading :)"

I did! Bought it on Audible! :)"


My favorite Willa Cather book is Shadows on the Rock,
but this article really makes me want to read O Pioneers! I didn't realize it had explicitly Catholic characters/setting in it.

Shadows on the Rock is in my to read stack

Through the Liturgical Year: Reflections for Feasts & Seasons by Francis Kelly
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Short chapters provide historical background, theological roots and spiritual reflections on the major feasts and seasons on the Catholic calendar. Although I was familiar with most of the information presented, these brief overviews were a nice companion through this past year.

A Year with the Saints
In deciding to look at this previous reading I opened it on the right day it seems. These daily instructions that include lessons from the Saints are good for spending a few minutes on in the morning to reflect on during the day. We are advised on November 27th what it means to love our neighbor. True love arises from charity to love our neighbor in God and for God, because God dwells in him. Francis de Sales saw God in all his neighbors and to regard God alone in all men. He instructed his missionaries to honor all men and say nothing but good of them.

Thomas Merton, Brother Monk: The Quest for True Freedom by M. Basil Pennington
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Fr. Pennington, brother Cistercian, writer and spiritual guide, reflects on the life and witness of Thomas Merton with a particular emphasis on how Merton sought and found true freedom in the strict confines of the Cistercian Order. Not only does Pennington provide an insightful encounter with this spiritual master, but he also offers the reader insights into his or her own spiritual journey.

Just finished
Joy To The World by Scott Hahn
www.goodreads.com/review/show/2620524308

I finished
The Divine Commedy by Dante Alighieri
www.goodreads.com/review/show/2635762093

I'm currently reading . It is from a novena of sermons that he gave on the occasion of St. Therese's 100th birthday. Absolutely beautiful book! As I'm reading it, I can hear the Archbishop's voice in my head.

The Sermon on the Mount: The Perfect Measure of the Christian Life by Frank Matera
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This is a thought-provoking, challenging, yet accessible exegesis of Matthew 5-7.

Tattoos On The Heart by Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Fr. Boyle has spent 3 decades ministering to youth involved in gangs in Los Angeles. With compassion, reverence and wisdom, Fr. Boyle weaves the stories of the young people who have touched his life with spiritual reflections on the mercy, acceptance and unconditional love of God. 4.5 stars

I'm currently trying to re-read To Love An Invisible God to try to see any corrections/improvements I can still make on the book. This is a very personal book on my spiritual journey and I hope that there is nothing in it that can lead others astray but by God's grace, may it lead people closer to God's Love.

To Love An Invisible God

I am currently reading . Every year, the monks are assigned a male and a female patron saint. This year, my son was given Saint Eliseus and Saint Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart. I knew nothing about this wonderful woman before starting to read this book and I am so happy to now include her in my list of saint friends!

That looks great Lisa. I have never heard of her. Thanks for sharing.

Prayerfulness: Awakening to the Fullness of Life by Robert Wicks
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This felt more like a pop psychology self-help book than a primer on prayer. Readings for a 30 day self-directed retreat concludes the book. I took the full 30 days to read through this section, but nothing resonated with me. I was surprised by how rarely God or any member of the Trinity was mentioned. The goal of this book appeared to be self-acceptance, internal tranquility and healthy relationships, all laudable goals, but not intimacy with God or fidelity to Gospel values, which is what I was seeking. 1.5 stars

Manny wrote: "That looks great Lisa. I have never heard of her. Thanks for sharing."

She reminds me a lot of St. Therese of Lisieux

When Saint Francis Saved The Church by Jon Sweeney
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The author argues that St. Francis of Assisi was ahead of his time, citing 6 spiritual qualities of his teaching that he believes is a radical departure from Catholic spiritual practices of his era. He believes that these spiritual elements are needed today to reinvigorate the contemporary Church. The writing, the analysis, the generalizations felt sophomoric which distracted me from a serious consideration of his points.

Interesting article from The Catholic Thing in my email today

https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2019...

Manny, this is about the Guido de Montefeltro canto in Inferno, comparing Celestine's resignation to Benedict XVI's, and the result.

Madeleine wrote: "Interesting article from The Catholic Thing in my email today

https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2019...

Manny, this is about the Guido de Montefeltro canto in Infe..."

Madeleine, I saw it. But Royal also pointed out Dante's chastising (to put it kindly) of Pope Boniface VIII, the pope who got Dante exiled. But Royal forgot to point out how Dante has St. Peter rebuke Boniface in the strongest words possible in Paradiso Canto XXVIII. I haven't gotten to it yet in my summaries. Hopefully within this week.

Setting The World On Fire by Shelley Emling
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I enjoyed this biography of St. Catherine of Siena. It filled in some gaps in my knowledge of her life. I do not know enough to evaluate any of the claims about this 14th century mystic, but her bibliography was solid.

Irene wrote: "Setting The World On Fire by Shelley Emling
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I enjoyed this biography of St. Catherine of Siena. It filled in some gaps in my knowledge of her life...."

Irene, you just warmed my heart! As I've mentioned a number of times around here, St. Catherine of Siena is my personal patron saint. I'm totally devoted to her. It happened a number of years ago when I read Sigrid Undset's Catherine of Siena and fell in love with her. She is the most remarkable of all saints, at least for me. Yes, she is a mystic, but she was no starry eyed mystic. Like a true Dominican, she was a woman involved in the world. Once she had spent three years in a sort of isolation, she came out of her cell and took care of the sick and dying. That's why she's a patron of nurses. In addition she wrote the most remarkable letters to the whole spectrum of society, popes, peasants, nobility, simple women. She convinced the Pope to return to Rome after about a hundred years of moving the Holy See to Avignon. That's big. And either she was self educated or if you believe the hagiography miraculously knew how to read and write. She may be the most remarkable woman of the middle ages.

I don't know that biography, but I highly recommend reading any biography of this great woman. St. Catherine of Siena, pray for us!

Reading about her renounciation of food for so long that she did permanent physical damage which she could not reverse, could never eat properly again, was very difficult because people I dearly love have suffered with eating disorders. I felt so badly for her mother watching her daughter engage in ascetical practices which were diminishing her physically. I know the pain of watching that and the inability to do anything to stop it. The author did state that most modern eating disorders start with a desire to be more slim while the popularity of extreme fasting in the Middle Ages came from a desire to subdue the flesh in order to be holier, but not all modern eating disorders have roots in vanity. I know those whose problems came from a desire to be "perfect", not all that different from the Middle Ages.

Irene wrote: "Reading about her renounciation of food for so long that she did permanent physical damage which she could not reverse, could never eat properly again, was very difficult because people I dearly lo..."

Yes, that is very true and late in her life St. Catherine renounced this asceticism. Unfortunately given the medical development of her time, they could not help her. It's amazing she lived on the Eucharist alone for years.

But sometimes I wonder how accurate this part of her life is. First it is hard for me to believe that a person can only live on the Eucharist for years. That certainly must be an exaggeration. But they have preserved her head. You can google a picture of it. It's a little gross, but here:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/s...

That does not look like the face of a malnourished woman. But certainly she was acetic and she rejected that extreme asceticism/mortification late in life.

Yes, she did reject that extreme asceticism as she matured spirituality and she did not promote it among her followers. And I understand that she is a product of her time. The author makes it very clear that this extreme asceticism was held up as a spiritual good in that era. Nonetheless, my personal history made that aspect of her life (all be it, just one aspect of her saintly life) difficult to read.

Currently I am reading a few books (most for my independent studies). But, one of the books I am reading just cause I want to is:



This book written by Fr. Donald H Calloway so far is really good. It was recommended to me by a Lay-sister of my Dominican Laity Chapter.


Anyone else read this book?


Happy Holy Thursday everyone,
Nikita

Nikita wrote: "Currently I am reading a few books (most for my independent studies). But, one of the books I am reading just cause I want to is:



This book written b..."
Nikta, that looks like a must read. Thank you. You're a Lay Dominican? That's fantastic. If you look through my reading list, you will see quite an attraction to Dominican oriented books.

Nikita wrote: "Currently I am reading a few books (most for my independent studies). But, one of the books I am reading just cause I want to is:



This book written b..."

I read it not too long ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was so surprised how far reaching the history of the rosary is. Fr. Calloway put together an impressive compilation.

I've got some interesting reads currently going on today. The Story of Michelangelo's Pieta, The Raft is Not the Shore: Conversations toward a Buddhist/Christian Awareness, and The Passion Week Manual: History of the Sufferings, Death, and Exaltation of the Saviour. I'm currently visiting an area where the Moravian church had it's beginnings in this nation and the later book is from their church. Very different and yet the same. Interesting.

I just finished

Catholic Modern by James Chappel
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In half a century, from 1920 to 1970, the Catholic Church dramatically altered its position on several social issues such as religious liberty, individual rights and the secular state. Chappel traces this evolution by looking at 3 key figures in each shift along this transformation in Germany, France and Austria. For the most part, this was over my head. I knew few of the figures studied, almost none of the political or economic organizations examined. Although this is well enough footnoted to suggest that it is well researched, I can not evaluate this work. Although the philosophers and cultural movements present in these chapters seem to support his conclusions, we all know that facts and figures, quotes and characters can be cherry-picked to support any thesis. I simply do not know enough about 20th century political, economic and cultural shifts in Western Europe to determine the validity of what is argued here.

Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This is an excellent, mature, thought-provoking reflection on the famous Gospel parable of the Prodigal Son. In sharing his very personal prayer with this story and its depiction by Rembrandt, Fr. Nouwen has written a universally insightful and challenging book. I need to buy my own copy of this because I will want to return to it again in prayer.

Irene wrote: "Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This is an excellent, mature, thought-provoking reflection on the famous Gospel parable of the Prodigal So..."

Thank you Irene. I put it on my list.

I would love to read your thoughts if/when you read this.