Romano Guardini and Wendell Berry

Earlier this week, as I wrapped up a mini-course on Ecclesiology, I showed the participants a half-hour film from EWTN, The Prophet of Lake Como. The film focuses on Fr. Romano Guardini (1885-1968) one of great theological and philosophical minds of the 20th century. The film reflects his thoughts on how technology impacts our lives as human beings, as well as our relationships with God, with each other, with the Church, and with God's gift of the natural world.

Guardini’s father, a wholesaler, moved his family from Italy to Germany for business reasons when his young son was only a year old. The young Guardini attended German schools and eventually became a German citizen. He spent virtually all of his professional life teaching in universities in Berlin, Tübingen, and Munich. World War II, of course, intervened and in 1939 the Nazis ousted Guardini from his teaching position in Berlin. Apparently they were upset because of his criticism of Nazi mythology related to Jesus Christ. As a result Guardini ended up spending much of the war with a friend, another priest who was pastor of a parish in Mooshausen. 

Guardini, however, became even more influential after the war, and his work and thought had a significant effect on the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council and can be recognized in many of the Council's documents. His influence continued long after the Council. Indeed, Pope Benedict XVI called Guardini a “great figure, a Christian interpreter of the world and of his time.”

I learned about Romano Guardini years ago when I first read some of his works, especially his, Letters from Lake Como, The End of the Modern World, and The Lord. The first, a rather brief book written in the form of letters to a "Dear Friend" reflect Guardini's insights arising from his visit to family in the Lake Como area. He wrote of the impact of technology on both humanity and the natural world. When I first read the book, I was stunned to realize it was written 100 years ago, first published in 1925, because it seemed to address many of the issues facing humanity today. After reading the letters it was easy to conclude that Guardini was a true prophetic voice pointing to our post-modern world of rapid technological change and addressing how to live amidst it all as faithful Christians. One of the wonderful aspects of the book is noting how Guardini's understanding changes over time as he considers the issues that occupy his thoughts.

And then, yesterday, I discovered that another prophetic voice, that of the Kentucky philosopher, poet, and novelist, Wendell Berry, would speak no more. Berry died in his home at the age of 92. Like Guardini, Berry clearly saw the effects of technology on the human spirit and spent much of his life encouraging his readers to respond in ways he believed would preserve both the natural world and our humanity. 

I've read and enjoyed Berry's poetry and a few of his books, and found myself wondering why some conservatives dismiss him as if he were simply a resurgent hippie who resists change. Such comments usually come a breed of economic conservatives who assume technological and industrial growth are always positive. That's a shame because Berry has much to teach those who read him. 

I certainly don't agree with all of Berry's thought, but also believe his voice is one that should be heard and not suppressed. He considered himself a Christian, a pacifist, and an environmentalist. Although a bit eccentric in his theology and his politics, he certainly took the Gospel seriously. I suspect Berry never read Romano Guardini, and that suspicion causes me to wonder how Guardini's thought might have altered Berry's worldview. Another question without an answer.

And so, today, I will pray for the soul of Wendell Berry. As a postscript it's good to know that Fr. Romano Guardini is now a Servant of God and his beatification process has begun, thanks to the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. We should pray for that as well.