1 comments about Vatican Secret Diplomacy: Joseph P. Hurley and Pope Pius XII.

1. Fr. Gallagher has chosen a worthy subject of historical study in the person of Archbishop Joseph P. Hurley. While this contribution to historical scholarship of the Vatican during the rise of both Nazism and Communism does not shed much additional light on the controversial figure of Pope Pius XII, Archbishop Hurley provides an illuminating focal point for analyzing not only U.S.-Vatican diplomatic relations (an intriguing topic in its own right), but even more so American Catholic attitudes toward U.S. intervention in the Second World War prior to Pearl Harbor and the rampant anticommunism which followed the war. More than anything, Fr. Gallagher's careful--and highly readable--reconstruction of Archbishop Hurley's change of attitudes over the years regarding Catholic-Jewish relations and the push-and-pull of his sometimes contrasting allegiances to Church and State provide a mirror to the many changes in socio-political attitudes that continue to characterize modern American society. Perhaps one lesson to draw from studying the times of Archbishop Hurley and the adventures in which he played a significant role is that it is sometimes better to take the long-view that the Vatican often does and think in epochs, as opposed to focusing on only the immediate concerns of the day. Yet, such temporally extended thinking should not cause one simply to stand by and wait for history to "work itself out"; and thus Archbishop Hurley can serve as a model, sometimes flawed, of a religious "man of action."

5 comments about Tears of My Soul, The: The Story of a Boy Who Survived the Cambodian Killing Fields.

1. I found this book to be heartbreaking, thought provoking and wonderfully inspiring. What this poor child went through and how he came out of it are a true inspiration for any surviving victim of any crime. Shows us what true forgiveness is ...



2. I met Reaksa accidentally a few days ago after returning from my first visit to Cambodia. Amazing but true. I was given his book and finished it almost immediately. Cambodia has a history that I believe very few truely know and almost no one understands. I strongly recommend this book. It is so difficult to believe that these events occurred so recently.



3. A great read for all, for it reveals the truths of actual events of the killing fields in Cambodia. We cannot be blind to world events and history. For this book brings insight on human nature and the power of evil and love. And How utimately love wins out!



4. An unusual account of life and loyalty under the Khmer Rouge, and afterwards.



5. Sokreaksa was an eleven-year old Cambodian boy when the Pol Pot regime took over. His parents and nine siblings were killed before his eyes. The Communists thought that he was dead as well. After they left, he got up and managed to survive. He eventually immigrated to Canada in 1989. He became a Christian and wrestled with the problem of pain and the nature of evil. Sokreaksa returned to Cambodia in 1999 to teach at a Bible School. The story was gripping and sad. The details of the Communist's cruelty was horrifying. Fortunately, the book does not end on a sad note. It has an uplifting ending.

1 comments about William Bradford: Plymouth's Faithful Pilgrim.

1. I chose this book to round out a study of the early colonies for my 4th and 6th grade boys. I would say it is geared more for 7th grade and up. But since I read it to them I could explain some of the things that they did not understand right off. I was extremely pleased with how Mr. Schmidt rendered Brandford's, "Of Plymouth Plantation" into a useable and understandable text for today's reader.
   After reading this book I feel cheated in my education as to the true lives of the original Pilgrims. All the hardships that they faced year after year.
   As much as I learned in school, it would be like explaining "The Lord of the Rings" as, A hobbit named Frodo recieved a special ring and was told to destroy it. He found some friends to help him, together they faced much danger, but in the end it was destroyed.
   The book is a very thorough explanation, with many quotes, of the hardships the Separatists faced before they came, as they came, and after they arrived. I was amazed at the fortitude of the Pilgrims in general. I don't believe many people today would have held on to their faith or striven against such unjustices with such faithfulness and patience.
   I will definetly be using this book again in the future. It was an excellent primary source.

1 comments about Elizabeth of the Trinity THE COMPLETE WORKS, I have found GOD, Vol 1.

1. This centenary series of the Complete Works is a major accomplishment. Volume I ('I Have Found God') goes right to the heart of Elizabeth's mystical vocation with a positively riveting General Introduction by Conrad De Meester, O.C. D., followed by a brilliant translation of Elizabeth's writings by Alethia Kane. Elizabeth's four major spiritual treatises being written in the last three months of her life, it's difficult to go anywhere but to the distinct heart of her message. I doubt that I've ever read a more enlightened essay on Elizabeth than De Meester's. If you look to understand who this woman was, read his perfect Introduction; taken together with a brief biography, he produces an ancient Elizabeth in an essential light. His appreciation burns with real insight into an obscured message and an authentic modern mystic. Kane leaves Elizabeth's voice alone, as other translators have not, making Kane's courageous, and ultimately peerless contribution the more valuable by leagues. Highest recommendation for Vols. I & II-- it's a champion series.

5 comments about The Sun at Midnight: A Memoir of the Dark Night.

1. Foe a full panorama of A. Harvey's experience one must read the first 'Mother Meera " book to see how passionate and star struck ( and possibly demonically possessed ) a searcher can get. I read the Sun at Midnight book years back and count it among my many valuable learning experiences in discernment.. I will never again question getting the creepie crawlies when I see an Indian mystic swathed in brightly colored silk on a platform strewn with flowers ,surrounded by devotees addressing this entity as "Oh sacred one."The section in this book detailing the excorcism by proxy is enough for me..



2. Andrew Harvey is truly a gifted writer, and the passion with which he lives comes through in this book. This is an open, honest and blatant excavation of his deepest fears, needs, desires and motivations. The journey is incredible. He sheds light on the influence of ego in the spiritual journey and the importance of looking honestly at our motives, actions and beliefs. It's an incredible look into the manipulation and dubious nature of the "guru system" and a light to be shed on all spiritual teachers. A must read!



3. In his earlier work, Hidden Journey, Andrew Harvey literally wrote the book on Indian guru Mother Meera as he described how this woman he came to believe was an incarnation of the Divine Mother assisted him in coming into a more awakened state. Not much later, his view of Meera (for whom he had become the official spokesperson) began to change when she informed him that his homosexual lifestyle was spiritually wrong and insisted he renounce both homosexuality and his newfound lover.
   
   Harvey's account of his split from Meera and the resulting dark night of the soul is intensely personal, and some readers may find the graphic depiction of tantric gay sex in one chapter a little too personal. But the story is compelling as a raw chronicle of one man's courageous struggle to reclaim his spirituality from someone who was clearly abusing it and instead forge his own direct connection to the divine.
   
   The one problem I had with Harvey's account, however, is that while he outlines the process of projection that caused him to originally see Meera as an incarnation of the Divine Mother, I wasn't left with the impression that he understood that his new, negative perceptions of who Meera really is might also be subject to the same process of distortion.



4. When the foundations of your life crumble; when you've tried everything that's practical, and it doesn't work; and when you know what it is to enter the darkness of desolation and loss, then you can read and read this book, over and over again, and you can find a kind of comfort in it. For me, it is useful that Andrew Harvey is so emotional, because my own spiritual training has been in the direction of denying emotions. There is a lot of wisdom in the book and, because I love words and the English language, the literary style is a great pleasure; and I enjoyed the romance of the love story between himself and Eryk Hanut. For these and many other reasons, Sun at Midnight was an almost-daily source of solace for a couple of months last year.



5. As another reviewer said, the introduction, on the stages the soul must go through on the way to union with God, is excellent, one of the clearest expositions on the Dark Night of the Soul I've ever read. The Dark Night is not just depression, and it is not something that can be avoided or an unfortunate turn of events. It is the proximate cause of fuller awakening, the process through which the already-spiritualized ego now comes apart, to allow something better to take its place.

   But the story that follows does not qualify as a true Dark Night, though it was certainly painful and humiliating. The evidence that it is not the death of Harvey's ego is the self-absorbed story of his love for Eryk Hanut. Yes, it is amazing to fall in love. And yes, sex with someone you love deeply is awesome. But graphic descriptions of homosexual love are not to everyone's taste (nor would equally graphic descriptions of heeterosexual love seem called for). And the idea that your love and marriage is a Tantric revelation that is part of God's plan to save the planet is, well, it is ego-inflation, not ego-death.

   The level of detail here is amazing--every twitch, every conversation, every up and down of the roller-coaster ride of a new love affair, every anxiety attack, every act of vomiting, every kiss--it seems like both spiritual and sexual exhibitionism.

   If it's true that those who say don't know and those who know don't say, then this book says far too much.

   I like Harvey, and I am reading his other books, and there is a certain fascination in this close observation of himself. But I don't think it is a sign of healthy transcendance of the ego-self. (Leaving Mother Meera, though, probably was a wise step. And his warnings about the danger of gurus and the possibility that spiritual powers possessed by humans may be driven by evil is also worth thinking about.)

3 comments about Smith Wigglesworth: A Man Who Walked With God.

1. Recently George Stormont the author of this book and my friend went to be with the Lord. I was blessed to start a relationship with this man by meeting him and continuing our relationship through letters and by phone. I saw a man who was effected by the God who effected Smith Wigglesworth. George knew the God who Smith Wigglesworth knew. I wish some day that someone would write about my friend George Stormont. His desire was that all would be touched by the Savior. If you read this book you cannot help but be touched by the Savior. Blessings



2. This was truly a man of God. He knew what he was put here to do and did it, saved souls until his last day. Truly inspirational. It really made me realize how much more I should be doing to win souls to Christ. I can't say enough about this book or the man that God blessed. EVERYONE should read this book. God Bless!



3. I had the pleasure of meeting this man and found him to be down to earth and enlightening in his discussions about the man Smith Wigglesworth. He told true stories of his friend and also explained that Smith did nothing but what he learned from his maker. This book is both uplifting and a faith builder

3 comments about Literary Giants, Literary Catholics.

1. Please excuse me my bad English; I can read well but it's difficult for me to write. In spite of this, I am very pleased to comment this book, so interesting for me as all the Pearce's things. This book in particular permitted me to read a lot of otherwise out of my reach articles, published in magazines, etc. It's so a broad vision of the more important authors of the literary catholic revival in last century, with some pleasant surprises, such as the intelligent observations about one of the Beatles!!!, that much increased the interest and respect for Pearce in my elder son. I am really delighted.



2. British author and literary biographer Joseph Pearce applies his talents in Literary Giants Literary Catholics, an examination of the lives, works, and creativity of numerous authors of Catholic prose and poetry, including G. K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, Maisie Ward, John Seymour and many others. Of especial note are the multiple essays concerning J. R. R. Tolkien, one of which seeks to answer the question: would Tolkien have given Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" movie the thumbs-up? A measured and scholarly account that balances critical insight with an understanding of the life and history of each author scrutinized, recommended for college library and literary criticism shelves.



3. _Literary Giants, Literary Catholics_, published by Ignatius Press, by the traditional Catholic convert and apologist Joseph Pearce, consists of essays on a variety of topics dealing with Catholic culture and the primary literary figures involved in the Catholic revival which were originally published in various journals and especially in the _Saint Austin Review_. These essays focus on Catholic writers and thinkers who incorporated their Catholic beliefs into their art and writings and sought to defend the tradition of the Church against modernity. Joseph Pearce, a convert to Catholicism, regards himself to be a "cultural apologist" as opposed to a theologian or an apologist who relies strictly on rational arguments to defend the faith.
   
   This book covers a wide variety of topics all dealing with the Catholic literary revival. The book begins by discussing this revival among the Victorians including the romantic movement influenced by Coleridge and Woodsworth, the traditionalist revolution in Anglicanism led by Cardinal Newman (who eventually converted to Roman Catholicism), and the art of the pre-Raphaelites. In addition, the Catholic revival came to effect the Decadents, who sought God in their own way as a means to overcome sin by facing the darkness, including Baudelaire, Huysmans, and Wilde (all of whom converted to Catholicism). Throughout this discussion, the relationship between tradition and conversion is explained. Pearce also discusses the role of tradition in modern English literature including T. S. Eliot, Evelyn Waugh, and Siegfried Sassoon. The second section of this book is devoted to essays featuring the apologetic duo, Hilaire Belloc and G. K. Chesterton (nicknamed "the Chesterbelloc" by George Bernard Shaw). Pearce shows how Roman Catholicism came to play an important part in the life of Chesterton who eventually converted. The writings of Belloc and Chesterton are both highly apologetic in nature and both focus on the economic theory of distributism, based on the social teachings of the Catholic church. Distributism provides a third way alternative to the excesses of both socialism and capitalism and is in agreement with the encyclical _Rerum Novarum_ of Pope Leo XIII. Pearce presents several interesting essays focusing on both Chesterton and Belloc, including an essay where he argues that both would oppose the modern European Union (contrary to the suggestion of another writer) and in which he exonerates Chesterton of the fascism smear (distributism being fundamentally and diametrically opposed to fascist statism). Essays on Maurice Baring, R. H. Benson, Maisie Ward, and John Seymour are also presented. The third section of this book deals with "the wasteland", particularly the aftermath of the First World War and the despair which followed. Pearce discusses poets who opposed the horrors of mass warfare including Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. Pearce also discusses the modernism versus traditionalism at the root of T. S. Eliot and his epic poem _The Wasteland_ as well as the influence of Dante on Eliot. Pearce also discusses the modernist turned Catholic writer Evelyn Waugh as well as Roy Campbell who came to embrace Catholicism in Spain. The fourth section of this book is devoted to J. R. R. Tolkien and "the Inklings". Pearce discusses the Inklings including Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, and Charles Williams as well as the role of Christian orthodoxy in their writings. Tolkien's _Lord of the Rings_ trilogy presents a profoundly Catholic and Christian epic which has lent itself to many different allegorical interpretations. Indeed, the role that a "true North" as opposed to a false "Protestant" North plays in Tolkien's work is fully explained by Pearce. Finally, the fifth section of this book includes essays of a miscellaneous sort. These include essays discussing the Decadent path to Christ through darkness and sin as well as discussions of Oscar Wilde. Pearce argues that Wilde, who is perhaps most well known for the scandal that grew out of his homosexuality, had always had a profound love for the Catholic church leading to his eventual conversion towards the end of his life. According to Pearce, Wilde has been misunderstood as a proponent of homosexual rights, instead of properly understood as a man who sought peace and regarded his homosexuality as a sickness. Pearce also discusses Hollywood, both as a source of evil and as having the potential to do good, particularly noting the recent films _The Lord of the Rings_ and Mel Gibson's _The Passion of Christ_. Pearce also discusses poetry, including both Dante and Shakespeare (both of whom may have been Catholics). In addition, Pearce discusses the Catholicism and mystique of Salavador Dali, whose surreal paintings were underlain with Christian imagery. Pearce ends by dedicating an essay to the late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, by providing a biographical piece detailing his own conversion from a militant anti-Catholic to the faith, and by ending with an essay on the Christmas season.
   
   This book presents an important contribution to the study of Catholic literature. It provides not only an opportunity to study the faith through the works of some of this century's greatest writers, thinkers, and artists, but also with a unique selection of essays that enable one to see the true beauty that is the Catholic church.

1 comments about A Collision of Truths: A Life in Conflict with a Cherished Faith.

1. It is said that literature, to be called by that name, must express ideas of universal interest. As I began to read A Collision of Truths, I remembered the words of those who'd read it before me, that amongst other things (good things), it is an extremely personal account of the author's life. I found this to be true. But I also found as I read from chapter to chapter, that not only did I have difficulty putting the book down, I also saw the cleaver way in which the story progressed, woven in and around the central theme of trying to reconcile a cherished belief with the real world.
   
   Two things in my mind ran parallel to the entire story: first, that so many times the writer's thoughts and questions and conclusions, were as if they came out of my own head, and second, that as the telling progressed, I could feel the author's feelings. His expressed ideas connected me with him with such intimacy and intensity, that as I read, I was him. A must read for any man; a should read for any woman; a fine piece of literature.

3 comments about The World's Greatest Preachers.

1. This book gives the personal history of each of these great preachers as well as their sermons. Spurgeon uses the Law (as do Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron today) to show people their need of a Savior. Whitefield's sermon includes the imputation of Christ's righteousness to us. Edwards, John Wesley, Martin Luther, R.A. Torrey and, of course, Whitefield and Spurgeon will move you to act. Ray Comfort's footnotes are very helpful and insightful. Kirk Cameron's Foreward will inspire you and make you eager to devour the contents of this book and then move out to ministry; get about the business of witnessing using these principles that leave people desperate for salvation. Ray and Kirk do as Jesus and the disciples and these preachers of old did - they use the Law as a schoolmaster to show us our sin and point us to the necessity of a Savior. No watered down gospel here. Just truth told in love. I highly recommend this book.



2. In this work, Comfort and Cameron, bring honor posthumously to the greatest oral preachers of the 19th Century, and leave their imposing voices thundering in our hearts and minds.
   
   The sermon by George Whitefield (pronounced Whitfield) 'The Lord Our Righteousness' is the cornerstone of this volume, and I too accept it to be the greatest sermon ever preached.
   
   'And we have inherited such pride that we would glory - if not wholly, at least in part - in being the cause of our own salvation. Judge it equally absurd, equally blasphemous, to join our obedience - either wholly, or in part - with the obedience of Christ, as if His was not sufficient. And if so, what absurdities will follow denying THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS?' pg 76
   
   Edwards, Torrey, Spurgeon,Wesley, all weigh in and bring the importance of the Law in convincing sinners by way of their conscience, to bear on Christians.
   
   A beautiful and gracious book.



3. Ray Comfort's latest book is a perfect introduction to the evangelicals of the 19th century. As usual, he emphasizes the need to show sinners their sinfulness before they can understand the Gospel message. This truth, often neglected in modern evangelicalism, was the common practice of the great evangelists: Luther, Wesley, Whitefield, Spurgeon, and Edwards, who used the Law of God to confront the sinner's conscience and reveal his need for the Savior.

   A characteristic sermon from each of these evangelists is featured in the book, along with introductory notes and footnotes by Ray Comfort.

   Sermons include "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards, possibly the most famous Puritan sermon of all time, along with "Law and Grace" by Spurgeon, "The Lord Our Righteousness" by George Whitefield (my favorite sermon of all time), and three more.

   The second part of the book includes essays by R.A. Torrey, John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, and Gawin Kirkham. An excellent essay by Ray Comfort closes the volume.

   I heartily recommend this book to anyone who is serious - or wants to be more serious! - about evangelism. With both examples of good evangelism, and guidelines to wise evangelism, every evangelical Christian should consider adding this book to his library.

1 comments about Why the Baal Shem Tov Laughed: Fifty-two Stories about Our Great Chasidic Rabbis.

1. Why did the Ball Shem Tov laugh? Out of sheer delight in the way G-d had chosen to make His point: In the village of Koznitz, a tragedy has occurred. Reb Shabsai has earned no money whatever this week, and hence there is nothing with which to buy candles or even food for the Sabbath. Dispirited, he goes to the shul to welcome the Sabbath anyway. At home, his wife decides she could at least clean the house -- there may be no food, but the Sabbath Queen could hardly be welcomed in a dirty house! And what happens? While cleaning, she finds a packet of jewelry and money she had hidden away and then lost many years prior. The Sabbath was welcomed that week with both fish and chicken, and everyone shares the joy, including the Baal Shem Tov, who joins the laughter three separate times with Reb Shabsai and his wife. Once again, G-d has provided whatever His people needed.

   This first of the 52 stories is typical of the others -- take simple people, in impoverished shtetl conditions, add sizeable doses of great faith, seasoned with joy, and what do you get? Moral lessons for today, well told in 2-3 page stories, together with a biographical note on the storyteller himself -- one of the Chassidic Rebbes who were the original followers of the Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760). The stories are perhaps intended for children -- one a week, perhaps? But Mrs. Citron has done her research -- most of these stories were new to me, even though I've been a fan of Chassidic stories for many years. Some of them will bring tears to your eyes -- we think WE have problems!

   The book would have benefited from the inclusion of more information about the Rebbes whose favorite tales she retells -- maybe even some incident from their own persecuted lives and troubled times. Giving us their geneology -- who is whose son, grandson, father-in-law, etc -- is probably of limited interest to a general readership.

   Nonetheless, this is a delightful book -- great Bar-Bat Mitzvah gift, too!