I’m ashamed I haven’t done this sooner, and it’s probably irrelevant to most of you, now, but if you have not already read Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet In Heaven, drop everything, go get a copy, and read it. The dust jacket suggests that this is an unconventional view of heaven. But (like C. S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce) it is far less a view of “heaven” and far more a description of the process of “purgatory.” Though himself a Protestant, Lewis believed in the need for and existence of a place of purgation (see his last book, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer for this). Mitch Albom does not dwell on needs; his is a focus on realities, and each of the five people his main character meets has a crucial story to tell him, helping him make sense of his own (seemingly meaningless and diffuse) life: the reality of inter-connectivity; the value of sacrifice; the importance of forgiving; the place of love; and the need for healing. I could not get though this book without numerous bouts of tears; I doubt you will, either. But every tear is of infinite worth in this novelette which affirms, “Life ends. Love doesn’t.” It just might lead you to wonder who the five people waiting for you might be, and for whom you might be one of the five people waiting.
--Fr. David
Recommended by Fr. David Tokarz: Two books recently published deserve to have attention drawn to them, though for very different reasons. The first is Writing in the Dust (Eerdmans, 2002), by Anglican bishop Rowan Williams. He was formerly a Professor of Divinity at Oxford University (while I was there, in fact), and was at Trinity Episcopal Church on Wall Street, NY on September 11, 2001. His book is a mediation on the events of that day and their implications for us as Christians. He explores questions like justice, retaliation. Christian hope and potential for reconciliation. For those who have already read Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s book No Future Without Forgiveness, the saga of healing in post-aparteid South Africa, this book brings home to us as Americans the need we have to face the world with honesty and Christian conviction that redemption is always a possibility in the heart of a loving God. The title evokes the dust of the Trade Center disaster, of course, but also the tracings on the ground of Jesus when confronted by the Pharisees who were accusing the woman caught in adultery (John 8). How do we face evil in others (and in ourselves) from an authentically Christian perspective? Williams’ book is an important meditation on this and other questions we all have asked in the wake of 9-11. It is highly recommended. I strongly recommend, also, Thomas Cahill’s biography Pope John XXIII (Viking, 2002), but it is a recommendation to avoid this book at all costs. It is a disgraceful and self-indulgent work, far lower in quality than one would have expected of the author of How the Irish Saved Civilization. The language is often vulgar, the historical realities are over-simplified and presented in a biased form, and Pope John XXIII is almost an interruption in Cahill’s bombastic and crude analysis of Church history and Church needs. Do not waste time or money on this effort. Instead, if the recent beatification of Pope John has inspired you, turn to his own story, Journal of a Soul, or a delightful collection of anecdotes, The Stories of Pope John XXIII (collected by Louis Michaels, reprinted by Templegate Publishers, 2000). Blessed John XXIII’s tomb is now moved up from the Grotte Vaticane below St. Peter’s to a spot almost all the way up toward the high altar, on the right (the Cappella Gregoriana), before the famous statue of St. Peter in the nave. Make a pilgrimage and say a prayer, and avoid Cahill’s shameful effort.
Forgiving the People You Love to Hate, by Judy Logue. This is a process book: to truly finish it, the reader must engage in a series of exercises and items for further reflection that are practical steps in the process of letting go. It is a book well worth working through with a spiritual director, especially if forgiveness is or has been a barrier in your life. It is not a substitute for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but then neither is Reconciliation a substitute for the process of coming to terms with and letting go of the pain and anger that so often paralyzes people when they are deeply wounded. The Pope's theme for the World Day of Peace for January 1, 2002 is: "Without justice there is no peace; without forgiveness there is no peace." This book can help people enter into that peace of the Lord which we need so badly in our world.
Fr. Burke has compiled a series of 50 reflections drawn from his own journals of his journey from "night", to "dawn" and finally "day" as he recovered from clinical depression. Each reflection is prefaced with a scripture selection, and concludes with a short prayer. For anyone who has in the past or is currently dealing with depression - be it self or walking with a friend or family, this book offers no "quick fix" but offers insight, hope and consolation. The writing is direct and easy to read. William Burke's sharing of his journey of healing encompasses the mind, body and Spirit. -Beth Nicol, Auburn
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