The reason for the double Subject line is simply because I
am too lazy to post more than once a day, but should there be anyone who needs
order in things, let’s just say that the book is the first of the blessings I
shall write about this day
.
If you went over to Amazon you’d see that this book has over
1700 reviews, quite a bit of reading in itself, if you are so inclined. It says the average rating is 4.5 stars, and
I suppose if I graded that way, that’d be my rating also. Suffice it to say, this book will be on my Christmas
list this year to give to friends.
The subtitle of the book is “An Anthology of the Writings of
Roman Guardini”, and this book is gleaned from a variety of his writings,
including (as I found) some no longer available in English. Surprisingly, only 18 pages are taken from
his classic, The Lord, which is on my personal top-25 list of books to read. So much of this book was new to me, and (also
as part of my own rating system) I found much to underline.
The book is divided into four major parts: Our World, Jesus Christ, The Church, and
Liturgy and Worship (which I found the least interesting). The first part is excerpts from Guardini’s
writings of the early 1950’s, looking at the lessons of the world wars and new
dangers facing the world. Considering
the problems we are facing today, his words were very prophetic. Wouldst that our own leaders could see things
so clearly today as he did sixty years ago.
The section on Jesus Christ is largely from The Lord – much good
reading here, and the section on The Church is also one which directly applies
to today’s perceived problems. His words
on Pentecost and its consequences, and what love is and implies are most
satisfying and thought-provoking. And
his chapter titled “We Are The Church” raises questions which, well as you may
know, I’ve written about here in the past.
Only whereas the “We Are Church” crowd today implies a diminishing of
the authority and value of the Church hierarchy, Guardini explains the true
meaning of those words. All in all, this
was a very satisfying read, one of my morning meditation books which stayed
with me for many days, as I slowly read a small section each morning and
meditated on its meaning and implications in my life. I highly recommend this book for the serious
student of faith.
But of course, my review would not be complete without a few
quotes:
One of the most
universal and most disturbing symptoms of the shift in the human condition that
we have: the matter-of-factness of the new man … modern man’s will and ability
to concentrate on the task at hand regardless of personal feelings … his
unwillingness to display emotions of any kind, a growing inability to see, a
progressive cooling of the heart, an indifference to the people and things of
existence. A common substitute for
genuine feeling is sensation, that superficial ersatz emotional excitement,
which, though momentarily strong, is neither fruitful nor lasting. … A
type of man is evolving who lives only in the present, who is “replaceable” to
a terrifying degree, and who all too easily falls victim to power. … When we
examine the development as a whole, we cannot escape the impression that nature
as well as man himself is becoming ever more vulnerable to the dominion –
economic, technical, political, organizational – of power.
The Crisis of Ethical
Norms: In the long run, dominion
requires not only the passive consent, but also the will to be dominated, a
will eager to drop personal responsibility
and personal effort. … Modern man cuts
himself off not only from the community and from tradition, but also from his
religious connections.
People today hold
power over things, but we can assert confidently that they do not yet have
power over their own power.
Values: All life that is determined by spiritual
factors has one essential postulate, namely, a submission to truth, the will to
do justice to the nature of things.
(But), modern autonomy theories argue that notions like sovereignty over
the world, providence, the judgment of good and evil and the establishment of
moral values were formerly accepted as prerogatives of the Supreme Being, but
pass now to man, this world and this earth.
“God” was once necessary because man was not yet mature, (but) man has
now grown up and become adult, and “God” is simply the obstacle on the path to
complete self-realization. … but what again if this be more illusion and
presumption?
The real antonym of
community is not the individual and his individualism, but the egoist and his
selfishness. It is this that must first be overcome … by mastering the mind and
the will.
Blessings:
·
Saturday Afternoon Television: Rocky and Bullwinkle, clean cartoon fun and
witty humor, followed by a classic movie, The Lone Ranger. “High Ho, Silver, and away!” Then a flip of channel to the 9th
inning of the Yankees and Tigers baseball game:
A dismal top of the ninth, where two walks and two hit-batsmen yielded a
tying run without hit for the Yankees (and mom yells: “Hit the ball already,”
rooting for the wrong team). Then in the
bottom of the ninth the Tiger rookie catcher, playing in his first major-league
game, who had made an error in each of the eighth and ninth innings and was
being booed without pity, came up to bat.
And he drove in the winning run, and was doused by his teammates in
water and hugs --- what a wonderful thing for him. And then a flip of channel to a movie and a
park scene: beautiful flowers, soft
music, and then a dog rounds the corner and someone yells out: “Brinkley!!” It is the final scene from the movie “You’ve Got Mail” and the boy meets the girl,
they hug and kiss, and everyone lives happily ever after. A fun Saturday afternoon of television; what
a blessing.
·
The End of a Day: Mom goes to bed and remembers to say “You
know I love you,” and then a visit to the chapel for a rosary and evening
prayers, some time alone with God. And
then the short ride home and ---- wait!
What’s that in the sky?? A
gigantic full moon, with a whisper of clouds around it, like a silky scarf, and
nothing else in the totally clear night sky.
A thing of peaceful beauty, a gift of God, a blessing of beauty, and
perhaps the man in the moon is smiling?
I did.
·
The Beginning of a Day: A refreshing shower, a pleasant few words with
the regulars in the 7-11 store, a cup of coffee, and a Northerly drive towards
church and morning mass. And then a
sudden glare off to the right catches my attention: the sun peeks over the clouds on the horizon and
the morning clouds are ablaze with reds and purples and yellows and
oranges. God in all His glory awakens
the day, showing forth His beauty in His creation. How could you not smile at the glory of it
all? What a great blessing!
Blessings are all around us, if we but look.
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