Blessed is the Kingdom

This week’s 7 Quick Takes will focus on seven of my favorite books.  I hope some of you will share some of your favorites as well in the comment section of this post. Don’t forget to check out other bloggers’ quick takes over at Conversion Diary.

–1–

When Fr. Tom first moved in to the rectory last summer we discovered a shared love for the writings of C.S. Lewis. The Great Divorce tells the story of a man’s dream of heaven and hell. The title comes from Lewis’ belief of their complete divorce. He begins by stating,

If we insist on keeping Hell (or even Earth) we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell.

The challenge of this book is to see oneself in each of the flawed characters, not fearing to confront our own failings. It is almost as if Lewis wrote this story as an examination of conscience for the reader. It is also a book full of the wonder of God and his creation. While it never fails to challenge me to see my own need for continual conversion, it also points me to the unfathomable love and mercy of God.

–2–

Halfway through my first year of seminary I was given a great gift in the form of a book recommendation. Having just moved to the northwest corner of Missouri, I woke up everyday missing the mountains of East Tennessee. Dr. Don Klinefelter, a friend and former professor who always has a knack of knowing what I should be reading, mentioned Kathleen Norris’ book Dakota in a letter. As I made my way through the book, the fields of the great plains slowly began to carve out a place in my heart. Dakota describes the author’s experience of moving from New York City to a family home in South Dakota. She also spends a good part of the book focusing on Benedictine life, which was also something I was attempting to understand at the time. Perhaps what brings me so often to this book is the beauty of the author’s writing,

I walk downtown, wearing a good many of the clothes I own, keeping my head down and breathing through several thicknesses of a wool scarf. A day so cold it hurts to breathe; dry enough to freeze spit. Kids crack it on the sidewalk.

Walking with care, snow barely covering the patches of ice, I begin to recall a canticle or psalm — I can’t remember which — and my body keeps time:

Cold and chill, bless the Lord. Dew and rain, bless the Lord. Frost and chill, bless the Lord. Ice and snow, bless the Lord. Nights and days, bless the Lord. Light and darkness, bless the Lord.

Another line comes to mind: “at the breath of God’s mouth the waters flow.”  Spring seems far off, impossible, but it is coming. Already there is dusk instead of darkness as five in the afternoon; already hope is stirring at the edges of the day.

–3–

The witness of Dorothy Day has been a continual influence in my life. The Long Loneliness is her autobiography. Once again I will let a few of her own words speak for themselves,

We were just sitting there talking when Peter Maurin came in.

We were just sitting there talking when lines of people began to form, saying, “We need bread.” We could not say, “Go, be thou filled.” If there were six small loaves and a few fishes, we had to divide them. There was always bread.

We were just sitting there talking and people moved in on us. Let those who can take it, take it. Some moved out and that made room for more. And somehow the walls expanded.

We were just sitting there talking and someone said, “Let’s all go live on a farm.” It was as casual as all that, I often think. It just came about. It just happened.

I found myself, a barren woman, the joyful mother of children. It is not easy always to be joyful, to keep in mind the duty of delight. The most significant thing about The Catholic Worker is poverty, some say.

The most significant thing is community, others say. We are not alone any more. But the final word is love. At times it has been, in the words of Father Zossima, a harsh and dreadful thing, and our very faith in love has been tried through fire.

We cannot love God unless we love each other, and to love we must know each other. We know Him in the breaking of bread, and we know each other in the breaking of bread, and we are not alone any more. Heaven is a banquet and life is a banquet, too, even with a crust, where there is companionship.

We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community. It all happened while we sat there talking, and it is still going on.

–4–

During my first priestly assignment at Sacred Heart Cathedral, I took up the task of making my way through the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, which is really one very long book that publishers decided to break into three smaller ones for the sake of raising sales. Many people have no doubt seen the movies, but I still recommend the books, as there is no way to convey the depth of imagination and thought of Tolkein in film. This is no criticism of Peter Jackson’s work in the three films — they are excellent.

Tolkein’s story of the battle between good and evil is simply amazing. As a Catholic, I was struck by how much of our faith is portrayed in this story. The part of the journey where Frodo, Sam and Smeagol (Frodo refuses to call him Gollum, but insists upon his real name) make their way into the darkest parts of the story stick with me to this day. They carry with them lembas bread, given to them by the elves. Frodo and Sam need only eat a small piece of the bread to be nourished for days. Smeagol, however, is so corrupted by evil that the bread is poison to him. It is a great image of what we Catholics believe concerning the Eucharist.

–5–

Tracy Kidder’s book, Mountains Beyond Mountains, helped wake me up at a time in my life when I needed to be reminded of the joy that comes in taking on the challenge of serving others. The book tells the story of Dr. Paul Farmer, a doctor who has spent most of his life fighting disease, especially among the poorest of the poor. Dr. Farmer has dedicated much of his work to Haiti and has been to Knoxville to speak to the parishioners at Sacred Heart Cathedral who are also dedicated to the work of assisting our brother and sisters there.  The title of the book comes from a Haitian proverb and is a metaphor for life’s challenges. Once you have scaled one mountain, you can see that there are always more mountains to be climbed, more challenges to be met.

–6–

Thomas Merton is another author loved and respected by both Fr. Tom and I. As suggested in the title, New Seeds of Contemplation, this is a book full of “seeds” that one can take to prayer where they can continue to grow in one’s heart and mind. Here is an example from the chapter titled, Sentences:

Our minds are like crows. They pick up everything that glitters, no matter how uncomfortable our nests get with all that metal.

–7–

For the Life of the World may be the best book I have ever read. In it, Fr. Alexander Schmemann describes Christianity in a way I have not seen elsewhere. It is a book first and foremost about the Kingdom of God in which we are called to participate in the very life of God. I have written about it on several occasions here, perhaps most notably in the post entitled, Two “Nos”, One “Yes”, and the Kingdom to Come.

Tags: C.S. Lewis, Catholic Worker, cold, Dorothy Day, Dr. Don Klinefelter, Dr. Paul Farmer, Eucharist, Fr. Alexander Schmemann, Fr. Tom Moser, Haiti, heaven, hell, J.R.R. Tolkein, Kathleen Norris, Kingdom of God, love, Order of St. Benedict, Quick Takes, Sacraments, Sacred Heart Cathedral, seeds, Thomas Merton, Tracy Kidder

This entry was posted by Fr. Christian Mathis on Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 11:35 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.