Books: The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

This Lent, I decided to read The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, edited by Benedicta Ward, SLG.  I bought this book last May at the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo.  My wife is currently pursuing her doctorate in history (and I think she's gaining on it), and her specific area of interest is medieval England.  For the past few years (three? four?) we have been attending the ICMS at Kalamazoo, and this past year we both presented papers: hers was on the Book of Hours belonging to Sir William Porter and what it reveals about him ("Affinity, Nationalism, and Religious Devotion"), and mine was on an eschatological perspective on JRR Tolkien's use of geography in his Middle Earth literature.  Sadly, we are not attending this year, as we have too many things on our plates, and too many plates in the air.

WMU is home to an Institute of Cistercian Studies, and there is a good showing of Cistercians at the ICMS each year.  One of the book vendors is Cistercian Publications.  It was at their booth last May that I found The Sayings of the Desert Fathers.  I don't tend to buy too many books at the ICMS because most of them are, to be honest, over my head and out of my realm of interest.  I do get a few each year, though.  Last year I also bought a commentary on Second Corinthians (by CCSS) and a book about the medieval literature behind the writing of JRR Tolkien, The Keys of Middle-Earth.

These books are in good company in my man-cave in the unfinished basement of our house.  A man-cave I have not spent much time in lately, because it's been winter, and because we sometimes get floods down there, and because my part of the basement is a federal disaster relief site.  It's a real mess.  Now that the temperature is warming up, I might be able to straighten it up a bit.  A lot.

But about my books.  I have a lot of books down there, but many of them are unread or barely started.  I've decided to create a virtual bookshelf program (using Google Books' API) so that my wife and I can keep track of the books we own, categorize them, log a history of which ones we're reading, how far we are, and when we've finished them.  With a simple program in place (and enhancements to come in time), I've resolved to enter the books I own into the system, read them, and make notes about them.

So that brings us to The Sayings of the Desert Fathers.  This 250 page alphabetical collection of sayings (not necessarily "wisdom" sayings, but sayings) from the eremitical men and women of the Egypt from the third through fifth centuries is the sort of book I like.  It introduces me to the writings and thoughts of people and potentially whets my appetite for more.  Case in point, my wife has suggested I read Athanasius' Life of St. Anthony, who has some 38 sayings in this book, four of which I marked as particularly meaningful to me.  The book is dog-eared and pencil-marked now: I put asterisks next to scriptural citations (for entry into a database later), and I turn down the corner of a page on which I find a saying that resonates with me, and draw a line down the margin next to it.

I imagine there are about two thousand sayings in this book, and they range from the utterly practical to the astonishingly absurd.  Some are amusing anecdotes about the trials of living as a well-known and sought-after hermit; a couple of these end up sounding like a fourth-century rendition of "Get off my lawn!"  Others are mind-blowing accounts of the severe ascetism of these secluded monks: eating only once every other day, fighting off sleep, not speaking a word unless it would be a sin not to do so (hospitality to one's neighbor — a funny concept among people living mostly solitary lives — was very big among the Desert Fathers and Mothers), and refusing to accept gifts or retain possessions.

Some are quite fantastic, like the story of Abba Sisoes of Calamon who, to avoid sleep, hung himself over a precipice.  It is related that "an angel came to take him down and ordered him not to do that again and not to transmit such teaching to others." (p. 219)  Others are quite mundane, like the story of Abba Macarius who had nothing in his cell but some stagnant water.  Two brothers noticed this and invited him to accompany them to a village where they would get clean water for him.  Abba Macarius asked if they knew the man who owned the bakery in the village; they did.  He asked if they knew of the field which lay adjacent to the river; they did.  Then he said to them, "I know it too.  So when I want to, I can go there myself, without your help."

A simple "No thanks" would have sufficed!

There are many real gems among these sayings as well.  Love of neighbor as love of Christ comes up often.  The radical nature of life for Christ alone, to the exclusion of virtually every worldly comfort, is a constant theme.  And then there are frequent reminders that we should be concerned for, and weep for, our own sins, rather than judge another person.  I was surprised at the sort of laissez-faire attitude towards sin that several of these sayings contain, along the lines of "If you see a brother sinning, say nothing to him."  A brother is being judged by the other brethren, and the abba shows up and asks to be judged too; or the abba appears carrying a large sack of sand on his back and holding a small satchel of sand in front of him: "In this sack with contains much sand, are my sins which are many; I have put them behind me so as not to be troubled about them and so as not to weep; and see here are the little sins of my brother which are in front of me and I spend my time judging them." (Abba Pior, p. 199)

I found one saying near the end of the book that aligns with the popular saying, "hate the sin, love the sinner."  Amma Syncletica says, "Hate sickness but not the sick person." (p. 233)  There were also striking encounters with sinners (often harlots) wherein the abba converts the sinner by sorrow for his or her life of sin and concern for his or her immortal soul.

There is practical wisdom to be found as well.  Abba Silvanus said, "Unhappy is the man whose reputation is greater than his work." (p. 224)  Abba Pambo lamented that a courtesan had greater desire to please wicked men than he had to please God. (p. 196)  Abba Poemen states matter-of-factly that "where there are enemies, I become a solider." (p. 194)

A few sayings remind me of the encounter between Jean Valjean and the bishop in Les misérables.  Valjean is shown hospitality by the bishop but in return steals some silverware and runs off in the night.  When Valjean is apprehended by lawmen and returned to the bishop, the bishop insists that the silver was a gift.  Not having read the book, but having seen the musical (does that count?), the event is told in this way:

Constables: Tell his reverence your story, let us see if he's impressed.
You were lodging here last night; you were the honest bishop's guest.
And then out of Christian goodness, when he learned about your plight,
You maintain he made a present of this silver.

Bishop:                                                               That is right.
But my friend you left so early, surely something slipped your mind.
You forgot I gave these also.  Would you leave the best behind?
So messieurs, you may release, for this man has spoken true.
I commend you for your duty: may God's blessing go with you.

And remember this, my brother: see in this some higher plan.
You must use this precious silver to become an honest man.
By the witness of the martyrs, by the Passion and the Blood,
God has raised you out of darkness.  I have bought your soul for God.

This is the sort of reaction some of the abbas have toward a brother who is sinning.  One brother is suspected of having given into the temptation of fornication, and the other brothers decide to search his cell for the woman.  The local abba, Ammonas, knowing what has happened, enters the cell first and sits upon a barrel; he knows the brother has hid the woman inside.  He lets the other brothers in to search the cell, but they do not find the woman.  When they leave, Abba Ammonas takes the brother by the hand and says, "Brother, be on your guard." (p. 28)  Other stories relate how an abba, upon seeing his cell being raided by thieves, would not cry out in alarm, but assist the thieves in stowing what little possessions he had on their camel.

Clearly this way of life is not for everyone.  The extreme asceticism and the "look the other way" mentality do not apply to every situation of life.  Still, there is a great deal to be learned from these wise (and probably thin) men and women of the desert.  They emphasize the need to cast off vices and grow in virtue, preferably in all the virtues a little, rather than in one particular virtue a lot.  They praise obedience and humility.

I give Abba Silvanus the last remark.  Abba Moses asked him, "Can a man lay a new foundation every day?" Abba Silvanus replied, "If he works hard, he can lay a new foundation at every moment." (p. 224)

Filling the void with books!

I'm finding it difficult to blog regularly lately.  It's probably because I read a lot of blogs and comment on a few of them fairly often, and I tweet, and I'm writing a book on the Eucharistic Prayers... oh yeah, and I have a wife and a job and a dog and teach Confirmation students.

So the blog has suffered a lot because of that.  Just look at the past few months:

• February - 1 post
• January - 1 post
• December - 4 posts
• November - 4 posts
• October - 4 posts

I only posted 54 times in 2011, less than half of 2010's output, which was less than a third of 2009's output!  True, some of my posts have been short and a bit mundane, but I just don't write here much anymore.  I've got tons of "series" of blog posts which are stagnant, and a lot which never really ever got started.  I've also got two other blogs (related to the new liturgical translation) which haven't had much going on lately.

So, facing the decision of 1) not changing my blogging habits, 2) increasing my blogging, or 3) stopping blogging here altogether, I'm going to try #2.  I'm going to blog about the books I'm reading, because if there's one thing I have a lot of, it's unread books on Christianity!  I wouldn't call these book reviews, per se, although I'll tag them as such for good measure.

My first installment will be on The Sayings of the Desert Fathers translated by Benedicta Ward, SLG.

Dominican book on prayer

One of the clerical bloggers I follow, Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP, has a new booklet out, Beatitudes and Beads, published by Liguori.

The booklet contains an original rosary with prayers and meditations based on the Sermon on the Mount.  It is available in English and Spanish.  Each booklet is $2.50.  All the royalties from this booklet go to my province.

Excellent resource on the Eucharistic Prayers and many Prefaces

I bought a copy of A Commentary on the Prefaces and the Eucharistic Prayers of the Roman Missal recently and started reading it yesterday.  It's part of my research for my second book on the Mass, Praying the Mass: The Prayers of the Priest.  It's out of print, but I bought a copy through Eighth Day Books.  The book is by Msgr. Louis Soubigou, translated by Rev. John A. Otto in 1971 for The Liturgical Press.  The content seems quite orthodox, and many of the comments in the text present a decent picture of the liturgical and reform-related turmoil of the late 60's and early 70's:

"Constant recourse to the official Latin text [of the Prefaces] is particular necessary in this commentary because it is a translation from the French.  The author develops his observations from the official Latin readings and the French version, which normally remains very faithful to the original.  After comparing the American ICEL version of the Preface of the Holy Trinity (page 144) with the original Latin text, one may decide for himself the degree of its fidelity." (Introduction, p. 4)

"P.S. This Preface [for the Sacred Heart] (and for that matter the feast as a whole) has its gainsayers among the 'litniks.'  For them an aura of uncongeniality seems to haunt its thought and expression, particularly the effort 'to offer homage of reparation to the disdained and disregarded love of Christ.'  It may be difficult to see how this motif fits into traditional liturgy — but why make this appeal to tradition when traditional liturgy as such is likewise being discredited and discarded?" (Preface of the Sacred Heart, p. 125)

I'm skimming the Prefaces; I'll be reading in detail the second part, on the Eucharistic Prayers.  I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the doctrinal and spiritual content of the Prefaces and Eucharistic Prayers.

Powerful Lenten Reading

If you've read C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, I strongly recommend that you buy a copy of Fr. Dwight Longenecker's The Gargoyle Code and read it this Lent.  The book is written in the style and genre of Screwtape, in the form of letters from a senior tempter to a junior.  There is a letter for every day of Lent, so it makes for simply daily "devotional" reading.

You will not be disappointed... in the book.  It may make you disappointed in yourself, as you see the book slowly revealing how Satan might be influencing you — rather than just the fictional (?) persons whom Slubgrip and Dogwart seek to ruin — in parts of your life.  (I made it to the bottom of page 7 before I was convicted.)  But don't let that disappointment get you down; instead, turn to the Lord and seek His grace, without which there is no overcoming these temptations which the Devil so craftily prepares for us.  Now is a most acceptable time, now is the day of salvation!

Language in the liturgy

I just finished reading one of my Christmas gifts, Beyond Smells and Bells: The Wonder and Power of Christian Liturgy by Mark Galli.  The final chapter, "Words of Living W-A-T-E-R," discusses the use of a particular form of language in the liturgy.  I think these paragraphs are apropos to the conversations, debates, and arguments surrounding the new English translation of the Roman Missal:

In a media age, words come at us from all directions, like arrows from a thousand bows.  Most of these arrows are marketing words, advertising words, words designed to manipulate us, to sell us something. [...] For these reasons, among others, we distrust words, especially words that have been fashioned and shaped for the occasion by Madison or Pennsylvania Avenue.

So it's not surprising that many are put off by the words of the liturgy.  Surely, if we're trying to worship sincerely, praise a God who loves us as a father loves his children, we want to use language is "authentic."  What child uses formal speech to communicate with their "daddy"?  We want nothing to do with pretension, stuffiness, and any rhetoric that prevents us from being real.

In our desire to be real, we start thinking that authenticity is another word for spontaneity, as if everything we say at the spur of the moment is more true, more sincere than words we craft carefully.  For many, the Freudian slip is considered more authentic than the measured reply.

Indeed, sometimes what we blurt out thoughtlessly is actually what we mean and feel.  But more often than not, what we blurt out is ill-considered and something we either need to quality or apologize for.

The liturgy's answer to crafted language that deceives or manipulates is not to abandon crafted language but to shape it so that it reveals reality.  The most carefully crafted language in our culture tends to be poetry.  And poetry at its finest moments subverts our best attempts at hiding from reality. [...] The poetry of liturgy has just this power.  The liturgy contains words that have been shaped and crafted over the centuries.  It is formal speech.  It is public poetry.  As such it reaches into us to reveal not only the unnamed reality of our lives but the God who created us.  "In worship the voice of the Church calls up thoughts and feelings often far beyond us," wrote one liturgical theologian, "yet to which something in us faintly but firmly responds." (pp. 113-114)

I liked this book a great deal.  It's written by an Episcopalian, so it doesn't always portray a view of liturgy (and certain liturgical actions) that coincides with the Catholic view, but it is an excellent book about what the liturgy has that attracts us to it.

I might share a few other quotes from this book.  It will certainly be in the bibliography of Praying the Mass: The Prayers of the Priest.  (I'll need to read it again with a highlighter and a notepad handy, though!)

Thoughts on The Feast of Faith

One of my Christmas gifts was Card. Ratzinger's The Feast of Faith, a collection of essays and other writings on "approaches to a theology of the liturgy".  I'm 100 pages into it (of 150), and it's full of excellent insights into the liturgy, full of observations which are timeless and timely.  His praise and his criticisms of the liturgical reform which followed the Second Vatican Council are sometimes specific, sometimes general, but he continues to return to a necessity of continuity.

What I have read so far dealt with 1) the theological basis of prayer and liturgy, 2) the form of the Eucharistic celebration (is it a meal? a sacrifice? both? which first?), 3) the structure of liturgical celebration, and 4) what it means for some things to be mutable (changeable) or immutable (permanent) in the liturgy.  The remaining four sections deal with liturgical music, the significance of Corpus Christi, orientation during liturgical prayer, and parish life 15 years after the Council.

Additions to my library

I received the following books today during my family's Christmas gift exchange:

• The Feast of Faith by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• Beyond Smells and Bells:  The Wonder and Power of Christian Liturgy by Mark Galli
• Ignatius Catholic Study Bible volumes:  Luke, John, and Acts
  

5 reasons to read Taylor Marshall's new book, The Crucified Rabbi

This is reposted from Taylor Marshall's blog. I'm looking forward to buying and reading and reviewing this book!

At last! My new book The Crucified Rabbi: Judaism and the Origins of Catholic Christianity is finally published!

It's a book about how the Catholic Church best fulfills the Old Testament promises with regard to Messianic prophecies (over 300 listed). This includes analysis of Catholic baptism, the Holy Eucharist, the Papacy, the role and place of the Blessed Virgin Mary, liturgy, architecture, prayers for the dead, saints, martyrdom, suffering, the afterlife, etc.

It's now available at Amazon.com.

Here are five reasons why you should read The Crucified Rabbi:

1. The Crucified Rabbi lists over 300 Messianic prophecies fulfilled by Jesus. Similar lists have been compiled by Protestants, but this treatment is unique in that it also includes Messianic prophecies from the Deuterocanoncial books (e.g. Wisdom, 2 Maccabees, etc.). As far as I know, this is the only book that has a full "Catholic" treatment.
2. The Crucified Rabbi explains how the Old Covenant foretold a structure resembling the Catholic Church. As Pope Benedict observed, the Jewish notion of "kingdom" is the key to understanding Messianic prophecy and the shape and structure of the Catholic Church.
3. The Crucified Rabbi demonstrates how the Catholic sacraments derive from the rituals and signs of the Old Covenant economy. We examine how baptism fulfills the ceremonial washings of the Moses and how its rooted in creation imagery. We also examine the Passover as it relates to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass--showing the Eucharist must be sacrificial and that Christ must be eaten as the Lamb.
4. The Crucified Rabbi shows how traditional Catholic architecture and vestments derive their significance from the Old Covenant Temple and other ceremonial features. As far as I know, no other book has this sort of analysis all in one place.
5. In The Crucified Rabbi, I explain how a chance meeting with a Jewish rabbi, back when I was an Episcopalian priest, led me to renounce the Anglican ministry and embrace the Catholic Faith.

Please visit the profile page for the book on Amazon.com here: The Crucified Rabbi at amazon.com.

My grand scheme of book-writing

So I'm about to have my first book in print.  (It might be a couple of days later than September 10th, since there might be a glitch in the cover of my book.  I'll know when the proof copy arrives.)  But I don't plan on stopping with one book.  I have five books in mind.  Here's what they are:

1. Praying the Mass: The Prayers of the People.  This is the first of a two-volume series on the new English translation of the Mass.  It covers the parts of the Mass that the congregation says.
2. Praying the Mass: The Prayers of the Priest.  This is the second volume.  It covers the parts of the Mass that the priest says.  It will also include a chapter on vestments and the vesting prayers, and an appendix on liturgical colors.
3. The Mass and the Mission of the Church: Witnesses in Jerusalem and to the ends of the Earth.  This book looks at the missionary nature of the Church and how the liturgy expresses that nature and impresses it upon the faithful.  The cover (which I've already designed) is available below.
   
4. Priest, Prophet, King: Participation in Christ.  This book will look at the three offices of Christ and how the Church participates in those offices, in her ordained ministers, religious members, and lay faithful.  The primary purpose of this book will be to demonstrate that the teaching of Vatican II and the modern Catechism does not contradict the Church's traditional understanding.  That is, the book is meant to show the continuity of Vatican II with the rest of the Church's history.  The cover (which I've already designed) is available below.
   
5. O Come, Let Us Adore Him.  This will be the book form of my presentation on Eucharistic Adoration.  It will be longer and contain more reflections, Scripture, and prayers than my presentation.

And this is what I think the covers to books #3 and #4 will look like:

Banners for Praying the Mass: The Prayers of the People

(Update: 9/8) Please update your links to my banners as shown below. I have not been able to count on the reliability of Google's image hosting.

In an effort to spread the word about my book, I've come up with a few simple and elegant (or so I think...) banners that you can use on your web site to help advertise my book. All you need to do is choose the banner you like and copy the code beneath it into your blog article or other web page.  If you decide to link to the image on your own (instead of copying the code), be sure to link back to http://www.PrayingTheMass.com/ for me!

760 x 75 Banner (shown smaller than actual size)

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468 x 60 Banner

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300 x 150 Banner

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240 x 240 Banner

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Recent Reading: Dominus Est, Bishop Schneider

I went to visit Fr. Peter Stravinskas last Saturday, to give him a draft copy of Praying the Mass and for some conversation.  I received a copy of Bishop Athanasius Schneider's book Dominus Est! ("It is the Lord!")  This book is about the traditional way the Western Church has shown reverence to the Eucharist, receiving it on the tongue while kneeling.  It's a very quick read — it's only 50 pages or so — but it presents a lot of early Church Father texts interspersed with modern magisterial documents, all supporting the need for clear signs in the presence of the Most Blessed Sacrament.  I recommend this book to anyone, especially those considering the practice of receiving Communion on the tongue and/or kneeling.

BOOK: Praying the Mass: The Prayers of the People

(Updated on August 31st)

(Reminder: check out the USCCB Committee for Divine Worship web page for Missal Formation on a regular basis)

I wrote a book (hopefully the first volume of a set) about the new English translation of the Mass to be used starting in Advent of 2010 or 2011. The book is called Praying the Mass: The Prayers of the People. I'm self-printing and self-publishing it through CreateSpace.com.  It will be available for purchase ($12) in the middle of September 2009.

You can find out more information, and buy the book, at the book's official promotional web site, PrayingTheMass.com.

Copyright Permissions
I have received copyright permissons from the International Committee on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) for the English text of the Mass!  After meeting with Fr. Peter Stravinskas recently, I learned that my book does not need approval from the CDWDS in Rome to use the Latin texts (for the same reason it didn't need ecclesiastical approval from my diocese).

Diocesan Approval
I have sent a copy to my diocesan office to apply for a nihil obstat and an imprimatur. On August 3rd I heard back from the diocese: Reverend Monsignor William Benwell, JCL (the Vicar General of the diocese) has determined that ecclesiastical approval for my book is not necessary.

Foreword
My brother, Fr. Charlie (ordained 17 years!), has completed his foreword. I am very pleased with it, and I thank him profoundly for it. You can read the whole thing here:

It is with great pleasure and fraternal pride that I welcome you to this immensely useful and inspiring work. Great pleasure – because I am sure that those who read it will be edified in their approach to participating at Mass. Fraternal pride – because the author is my younger brother and godson!

In 1992, at my Mass of Thanksgiving the day following my ordination to the priesthood, altar server Jeffrey helped lead the way as the crucifer. Now it is my turn to lead the way into a great work of faith on his part.

Praying the Mass is a helpful and accessible volume for anyone who would like to enter more deeply into the experience of the Eucharistic liturgy. And it is especially useful because of the pending implementation of the new translation of the Roman Missal.

Jeffrey skillfully weaves together theology, history and spirituality to explain why we pray, how we pray and what we pray at Mass. While this book is written primarily to guide lay people, I expect that priests and deacons will also find much to nourish their own prayerful participation at Mass as well.

In his 2009 homily on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, Pope Benedict warned of the risk of “a formal and empty Eucharistic worship, in celebrations lacking this participation from the heart that is expressed in veneration and respect for the liturgy.” This book contributes to the movement to stir “participation from the heart” and is most timely indeed.

Rev. Charles Pinyan
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, 2009

Thanks!
Thank you to all who helped read and review my book.  And I am especially grateful to those who prayed for this project of mine.  I hope it will be of great benefit to all English-speaking Catholics around the world.

I have begun research for the second volume, The Prayers of the Priest.

Milestones: A Simple Faith

Continuing my series of excerpts from Cardinal Ratzinger's Milestones:

I have often reflect since then on this remarkable disposition of Providence: that, in this century of progress and faith in science, the Church should have found herself represented most clearly in very simple people, in a Bernadette of Lourdes, for instance, or even in a Brother Konrad [of Parzham], who hardly seemed to be touched by the currents of the time. Is this a sign that the Church has lost her power to shape culture and can take root only outside the real current of history? Or is it a sign that the clear view of the essential, which is so often lacking in the "wise and prudent" (See Mt 11:25), is given in our days, too, to little ones? I do this that precisely these "little" saints are a great sign to our time, a sign that moves me ever more deeply, the more I live with and in our time. (p. 9)

Recent Reading: Milestones, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

During my week-long vacation down to Sanibel Island, Florida, I brought a bunch of books with me to read. I did a lot of the driving, and I have a tendency to get distracted a lot while reading (especially when there are four other people nearby — like in the car), so I read depressingly slowly, even by my standards. I completed one book and made it half-way through another. (I also bought two books at an antique store -- Ben Hur, and Literature and Dogma by Matthew Arnold.)

The first book I read, which I finished, was Milestones: Memoirs 1927-1977, by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. It was an interesting and quaint journey through the first 50 years of his life. There is some humor, some drama, some sadness... a well-rounded life, I would say.

Over the next several days, I'll post some excerpts from the book that I found notable for sharing or else personally meaningful:

I was born on Holy Saturday, April 16, 1927 [...] I was baptized immediately on the morning of the day I was born with the water that had just been blessed. (At that time the solemn Easter Vigil was celebrated on the morning of Holy Saturday.) To be the first person baptized with the new water was seen as a significant act of Providence. I have always been filled with thanksgiving for having had my life immersed in this way in the Easter mystery, since this could only be a sign of blessing. To be sure, it was not Easter Sunday but Holy Saturday, but, the more I reflect on it, the more this seems to be fitting for the nature of our human life: we are still awaiting Easter; we are not yet standing in the full light but walking toward it full of trust. (p. 8)

Books of Reasonable Price

I'm making an effort now to list the books of a theological nature I have read or am reading or will be reading in the not-too-distant future. The books are listed in reverse chronological order, with the most recently read (or rather, completed) books first.

Currently being read:

• The Organic Development of the Liturgy - Fr. Alcuin Reid
• Angels of God - Mike Aquilina
• Crossing the Threshold of Hope - Pope John Paul II
  
• Documents of Vatican II - Fr. Walter M. Abbott, S.J.
  

Next in the queue:

• The Resurrection of the Body - Caroline Walker Bynum
• Orthodoxy - G. K. Chesterton
• Knowing Scripture - R. C. Sproul
• Inviting Catholics Home - Sally L. Mews
• Pagan Christianity - Frank Viola & George Barna
• The Agony of Jesus - St. Padre Pio
  
• Why Is That in Tradition? - Patrick Madrid
• "I'm Not Being Fed!" - Jeff Cavins
• How Not to Say Mass - Dennis C. Smolar
• The Biblical Basis for the Catholic Faith - John Salza
• Jesus in the House - Allan F. Wright [Thanks, Fr. Charlie!]
  

Finished:

1. The Lamb's Supper - Scott Hahn
2. The Mass - Rev. Guy Oury
3. Stolen Identity: The Conspiracy to Reinvent Jesus - Peter Jones
4. The Practice of the Presence of God - Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection
5. "I'm Not Being Fed!" - Jeff Cavins
6. The Apostles - Pope Benedict XVI
7. Faith of Our Fathers - Eamon Duffy
8. An Abundance of Graces: Reflections on Sacrosanctum Concilium - Dr. Pamela Jackson
   
9. Looking at the Liturgy - Fr. Aidan Nichols, O.P.
10. The Children of Húrin - J. R. R. Tolkien (edited by Christopher Tolkien) [Thanks, Kristin!]
11. By What Authority? An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition - Mark Shea [Thanks, Gretchen!]
12. A New Commandment: Toward a Renewed Rite for the Washing of Feet - Peter Jeffery [Thanks, Emily!]
13. In the Beginning - Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
    
14. The Spirit of the Liturgy - Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger [Thanks, Adoremus!]
15. The Spirit of the Liturgy - Romano Guardini
    
16. The Mass of Early Christians - Matt Aquilina [Thanks, Kristin!]
17. Loving and Living the Mass - Fr. Thomas Kocik
18. The Reform of the Reform - Msgr. Klaus Gamber [Thanks, Shawn Tribe!]
    
19. Reform of the Reform? - Fr. Thomas Kocik
    
20. The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
21. C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Church - Joseph Pearce
    
22. The Catholic Verses - Dave Armstrong
    
23. By What Authority? - Richard R. Gaillardetz
    
24. Perelandra - C. S. Lewis
    
25. Out of the Silent Planet - C. S. Lewis
26. The Narnia Chronicles - C. S. Lewis
    
27. Till We Have Faces - C. S. Lewis
28. The Weight of Glory - C. S. Lewis
29. The Abolition of Man - C. S. Lewis
30. The Great Divorce - C. S. Lewis
31. The Problem of Pain - C. S. Lewis
32. A Grief Observed - C. S. Lewis
33. The Screwtape Letters - C. S. Lewis
34. Mere Christianity - C. S. Lewis
35. The Silmarillion - J. R. R. Tolkien
    
36. The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
    

Gathering dust, waiting to be read:

• Mary and the Fathers of the Church - Luigi Gambero
• The Language of God - Francis S. Collins
  
• Everlasting Man - G. K. Chesterton [Thanks, Kristin!]
  
• Doors to the Sacred - Joseph Martos
• A People Adrift - Peter Steinfels
• Pensées - Blaise Pascal
• The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri
• Confessions - Saint Augustine of Hippo
• The Pilgrim's Regress - C. S. Lewis

Books I'd like to acquire:

• Introduction to the Scriptures - Scott Hahn
• The Celebration of the Eucharist - Enrico Mazza
  
• Eucharist through the Centuries - Rev. Roberto de la Vega
• Unabridged Christianity - Mario P. Romero
  
• The Mass: The Presence of the Sacrifice of the Cross - Charles Cardinal Journet
• Ceremonies of the Eucharist - Howard Galley
  

Book Update

From the ICEL:

We are pleased to grant permission, free of charge, for the reproduction of the ICEL texts from the Order of Mass in your publication entitled Praying the Mass: The Prayers of the People, contingent upon the following conditions...

One down, one to go: I need (well, strongly desire) permission for the Latin text from the CDWDS.

Book: The Practice of the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence

I got a copy of this book three years ago and never really read it. I received another copy as a gift at Christmas. I'm almost done with it, and I decided to compare it to my previous copy. I feel compelled to warn you about the first copy I got.

The 1982 publication by Whitaker House is not very good at all. It is a loose paraphrase. In the words of the publisher's preface: "In this abridged edition, we have sought to update and clarify the language of this Christian classic, paraphrasing where necessary, while keeping the essence of the message intact." It goes way overboard. It excises several passages, some of which are distinctly Catholic:

• mention of praying at set times throughout the day (in his Carmelite monastery) in Conversation #2
• a reference to receiving absolution through a confessor in Conversation #2
• references in Conversation #2 to acts of mortification are corrupted; Br. Lawrence spoke of "bodily mortifications" as "useless, except as they serve to arrive at the union with God by love" and that "all possible kinds of mortification, if they were void of the love of God, could not efface a single sin." (pp. 21-22) The Whitaker version renders these two separate clauses as one, "that all possible good works or self-abasing acts of contrition we could possibly do would not erase a single sin." (p. 18)
• a quote from Br. Lawrence at the end of Conversation #4 in which he mentions kneeling in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament

It also re-orders his 15 letters, damaging them in the process:

• Whitaker's Letter #6 appears to be completely fabricated
• Br. Lawrence's 11th and 13th letters are missing completely, probably because they praise the salvific quality of suffering and bearing suffering joyfully
• Br. Lawrence's 14th and 15th letters are merged into one, retaining only the first sentence of letter #14

The new copy I have, from Spire, is far better.

Upon inspection of the original French text (which I haven't found online all in one place), the Spire translation is exceptionally faithful to the French:

• "qu'il n'avait pas besoin de directeur, mais bien d'un confesseur pour recevoir l'absolution de ses fautes qu'il faisait" (Conversation 2)
• "toutes les pénitences et autres exercices n'étaient utiles que dans la mesure ou ils servaient à amener l'union avec Dieu par amour" (Conversation 2)
• "toutes les pénitences possibles, si elles étaient séparées de l'amour, elles ne serviraient pas à effacer un seul péché." (Conversation 2)

And Conversation 4 ends with a clear reference to the Blessed Sacrament:

On ne le voyait jamais agir en hâte ; mais avec une juste modération, il donnait à chaque chose le temps qu'il lui fallait, conservant toujours son air modeste et tranquille, travaillant sans lenteur et sans précipitation, demeurant dans une même égalité d'esprit et dans une paix inaltérable. "Le temps de l'action, disait-il, n'est point différent de celui de l'oraison, je possède Dieu aussi tranuillement dans le tracas de ma cuisine, où quelquefois plusieurs personnes me demandent en même temps des choses différentes, que si j'étais à genoux devant le Saint-Sacrement."

Recently Read

I've been doing some reading lately. Here's what I've recently finished; look for book reviews soon.

• Pope Benedict's The Apostles (a collection of his audiences on the lives of the Apostles and their co-workers)
• Jeff Cavins' "I'm Not Being Fed!" (about recognizing the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist)
• Eamon Duffy's Faith of our Fathers (a collection of short essays about traditional Catholic beliefs in a modern world)
  

I have so many books in my "library" yet to read. Don't let Kristin hear me say that, though... she'll laugh mockingly and point to her enormous collection.

Lenten Reading

Last week, I purchased two more books by Michael Dubruiel, and they arrived a couple of days ago. One was "The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life" (sixth book down). This will be my daily reading project for Lent.