Springtime Reading

Every so often, someone asks me: "What are you reading lately?" Most often the question comes from a friend or acquaintance who's visited our home and has taken a peek into my so-called den. Often enough this messy room shocks visitors who for some reason expect me to be more organized. I could include a photo but would prefer to avoid the embarrassment. I'd rather just drop a few hints and leave the rest to your imagination. 

Most of the walls of this room are hidden behind six tall overflowing bookcases. More books rise up from the floor in semi-neat stacks. The storage of books is a process of continual evolution and even a cursory look suggests no real system of organization. The result? Searching for a particular book usually turns into an adventure. I'm not proud of this, but organization takes time. Perhaps every couple of years, the chaos reaches a critical level and I devote most of a day to rearranging books by subject matter, separating others I intend to give away, and moving some to the many bookcases in other rooms of our home. This task, driven by necessity, is far from enjoyable. But it must be done because I lack the discipline to return books to their proper place and tend to stash new books wherever they fit. Yes, indeed, my lack of discipline and organization leads only to chaos.

But even chaos can bring its rewards. Yesterday, while looking for a particular book, I found another I had not yet read and had forgotten. Buried at the bottom of one of those stacks on the floor, it called to me, demanding to be read. Since I tend to have three or four books going at the same time -- something that Dear Diane finds strange -- I simply added it to my current reading.

When do I read? Whenever I have the time. Multiple ministries have no respect for personal schedules and make it difficult to set particular times for other activities, including reading. Fortunately, I read rather quickly, thanks to a speed-reading workshop I attended in graduate school back in the early 70s. Unless the book is a particularly dense theological or philosophical text, I can usually finish it rather quickly.

Anyway, if you are interested, here's a sampling of what I'm reading now, or intend to read, in the springtime of 2022.

Dare We Hope That All Men Be Saved? by Hans Urs von Balthasar (1986). 

Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988), one of the great theologians of the 20th century, wrote this book not long before his death. Although I first read this book in the mid-90s, its publication had already generated so much controversy, I wanted to read it myself and see what all the furor was about. And now, as I am much closer to the end of my life, I thought perhaps it was time to read it again.

Although I was (and still am) no theologian, I found the book to be thoughtful, measured, and scripturally sound. I could never understand why von Balthasar and his book became the target of so many attacks. God's plan for the salvation of humanity, particularly for the salvation of each individual, remains a mystery. Can we not hope for the salvation of all?

Von Balthasar examines sacred Scripture and brings to light many of the passages that encourage Christians to hope that God will bring all to salvation. He neither ignores nor denies the more "threatening" passages that obviously argue against this. In his follow-up "Discourse on Hell" (included in the book and written as a response to his critics), he simply says:

"I claim nothing more than this: that these statements give us a right to have hope for all men, which simultaneously implies that I see no need to take the step from the threats to the positing of a hell occupied by our brothers and sisters, through which our hopes would come to naught."

He goes on to write: 

"I do not wish to contradict anyone who, as a Christian, cannot be happy without denying the universality of hope to us so that he can be certain of his full hell: that was, after all, the view of a large number of important theologians, especially among the followers of Augustine. But, in return, I would like to request that one be permitted to hope that God's redemptive work for his creation might succeed. Certainty cannot be attained, but hope can be justified."

Von Balthasar then adds the following, suggesting the Church, in its wisdom, has long understood this:

"That is probably the reason why the Church, which has sanctified so many men, has never said anything about the damnation of any individual. Not even about that of Judas, who became in a way the representative example for something of which all sinners are also guilty."

I've just completed (I think) my third reading of this book and strongly recommend it, especially if you find the idea of God bringing all to salvation highly improbable or even impossible. As for me, I've always been a sucker for hope, the theological virtue that promises me so much more than I deserve.

Eliot and His Age, by Russell Kirk (1971). 

Russell Kirk (1918-1994) was perhaps the most eloquent, influential, and solidly conservative man of letters of the 20th century. I attribute the genesis of my own political beliefs to his book The Conservative Mind which i first read only months after its publication in 1960. At the time I was a high school junior who was searching for some solid foundational ground to support the beliefs I instinctively held. 

Kirk (photo left) was a prolific writer, and many of his books have pride of place in my personal library. I had known of his fondness for T. S. Eliot, with whom he shared a personal friendship, but I had never read this remarkable work. I'm now about halfway into it an already consider it essential reading for anyone truly interested in understanding the great poet's life and works, as well as the ideas that stimulated his timeless writings.

If you're a fan of Eliot (photo left), you'll know that his essays and other prose works are almost as important as his poetry. Indeed, his ideas are perhaps even more meaningful to our society today than when they were first written. Kirk, writing of Eliot's influence in the early 1920s, stated:

"Of missions to the masses, the twentieth century knew too many; Eliot's mission was to the educated classes. The drift toward Marxism, or toward some other totalist ideology, was apparent already among literary people: Eliot would offer them an alternative -- in philosophy and religion, in humane letters, in politics." [P. 81]

And while you're at it, pick up a copy of Eliot's The Idea of a Christian Society, a wonderful essay containing such profound gems as this:

"...in a society which has ceased to be Christian...I would remark that there are two points of view...The first is that a society has ceased to be Christian when religious practices have been abandoned, when behavior ceases to be regulated by reference to Christian principle, and when in effect prosperity in this world for the individual or for the group has become the sole conscious aim. The other point of view, which is less readily apprehended, is that a society has not ceased to be Christian until it has become positively something else...I believe that the choice before us is between the formation of a new Christian culture and the acceptance of a pagan one." [P. 10]

By the way, my copy is a first US edition (1940) for which I paid all of $2.00 in a used bookshop some years ago. 

Of yes, and don't neglect the great poet's poetry...perhaps more on this in some future post.

I'm running out of time (and steam) and still have two homilies to write for Mass and a Baptism on Saturday. Here's one more suggestion, a bit of a change of pace since it's a work of fiction.

There Are Doors, by Gene Wolfe (1988). 

Gene Wolfe (1931-2019) might well have been one of the best modern American writers of fiction. Sadly, his work tends to be overlooked because it is usually classed as science fiction. I suppose it is, but it's really so much more. Just the fact that I rarely read the genre -- except for books written by Wolfe -- might convince you to give him a try.

Every so often I find one of his books in a used bookstore or turn to Amazon and search for one I haven't read. This book is one of those Amazon purchases. A used copy, it arrived on our doorstep a couple of days ago and I just started to read it yesterday evening. It took only about 30 seconds to grab my attention, although after about 50 pages I realized it was too late to continue reading since I had to get up at 5:30 this morning. I'll probably finish it tonight.

Wolfe once wrote that "A great story...is one that can be read with pleasure by a cultivated reader and reread with increasing pleasure." Believe me, this describes Wolfe's stories perfectly.

If you've never read Wolfe, I would suggest turning first to his novel, A Soldier of the Mist (1987). (The link takes you to a double novel that includes this book and its sequel.) The novel tells a remarkable story set in 479 B.C., a time when "the gods walked the earth with men." The hero, a Greek mercenary soldier named Latro, suffered a head would in battle and became separated from his fellow soldiers. As a result of his wound, he experienced severe memory loss that included his ability to remember from one day to the next. He is forced, therefore, to live in a constant present. His only aid is a daily written record which he reads each morning to give his life some continuity. But his wound has also given Latro a gift of sorts: his sense can penetrate into the supernatural world that surrounds him. He can see and communicate with a wide variety of beings, from gods and goddesses to ghosts and demons.

Another of Wolfe's books that received a lot of critical attention is among my favorites: Pirate Freedom (2007). I just love the plot. It's a time-travel story of a Catholic priest, Father Christopher, who finds himself transported back in time to the age of piracy in the Caribbean. There he becomes Captain Chris, a rather successful pirate. An absolutely fascinating story -- I won't reveal the ending -- that examines the relationship among love, faith, and morality.

Wolfe was a Catholic whose deep faith permeated his works, often in the most subtle ways that no doubt had a significant influence on many of his readers.

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In addition to the books mentioned here I'm currently reading a few others. Perhaps I'll take the time to mention them in the near future.

God's peace and happy reading.