Book reviews

Attending Mass for Waugh
was a bitter trial

A BITTER TRIAL: Evelyn Waugh and John Cardinal Heenan on Liturgical Changes. Edited by Scott M. P. Reid (The Saint Austin Press, Home Farm, Curdridge, Hants SO32 2HE, England, 1996), 71 pp. PB UK 3.95; USA $6.50.

This little book is a documentary of essays and correspondence, with an Introduction by Scott Reid about the discovery of four letters between Waugh and Heenan during and just after Vatican II (1962-67). The book contains an essay by Waugh on liturgical reform in the Spectator and Cardinal Heenan's Brief Intervention to the Synod of Bishops in Rome in 1967. The book includes letters of Waugh to the Catholic Herald, to Lady Acton, Monsignor McReavy, Katherine Asquith, and of Waugh's wife and daughter to Lady Diana Cooper after Waugh's death on Easter 1966.

The "bitter trial" was Waugh's reaction to the changes in the Church, especially in the Liturgy, stemming from Vatican II. Heenan seems to play the role of a sympathetic Prelate who listens to his famous countryman with patience but with little awareness that what Waugh feared would mostly come about. Waugh seeks to inform the British Prelate of the reactions of many an English Catholic, especially a convert like himself, of a sense of betrayal and a loss of dignity and beauty in the worship of the Church.

Waugh's last letter was to Lady Mosley, dated March 30, 1966, in which he told her frankly: "Easter used to mean so much to me. Before Pope John and his Council-they destroyed the beauty of the liturgy. I have not yet soaked myself in petrol and gone up in flames, but I now cling to the faith doggedly, without joy."

Waugh could be acid in his description of movements in the Church. "If the Mass is changed in form so as to emphasize its social character, many souls will find themselves put at a further distance from their true aim." Waugh thought that the liturgical changes were largely the product of the Germans-"I think it a great cheek of the Germans to try to teach the rest of the world anything about religion." Waugh could be biting: "The Mass is no longer the Holy Sacrifice but the Meal at which the priest is the waiter. The bishop, I suppose, is the head waiter."

In his dealings with the Cardinal, Waugh is amusingly direct: "I read in many papers that the clergy welcomed advice from the laity. I doubt if this is true, but your kindness at our last meeting emboldens me to write." To the idea that Mass in English would somehow attract Protestants, Waugh was skeptical. "Any idea that it will attract Protestants may be dismissed. The Anglicans have an elegant and comprehensible form of service. All they lack is valid orders to make it preferable. If a complete English Mass is desired the first book of Edward VI, with very few amendments, would be satisfactory. Instead we have a jumble of Greek, Latin, and uncouth English."

Can we any longer imagine that the form of worship could be the problem for many Catholics? "Every attendance at Mass leaves me without comfort or edification. I shall never, pray God, apostatize but Church going is now a bitter trial." Again he writes, "I find the new liturgy a temptation against Faith, Hope, and Charity but I shall never, pray God, apostatize."

Waugh was also acutely aware that there were theological problems barely below the surface of the changes in the Mass. "More than the aesthetic changes which rob the Church of poetry, mystery and dignity, there are suggested changes in Faith and morals which alarm me. A kind of anti-clericalism is abroad which seeks to reduce the priest's unique sacramental position. The Mass is written off as a 'social meal' in which the 'people of God' perform the consecration."

This is what Waugh thought of the idea of "participating" at Mass: "'Participation' in the Mass does not mean hearing our own voices. It means God hearing our voices. Only He knows who is 'participating' at Mass."

With all his efforts to influence or warn Cardinal Heenan, Waugh judged that he had failed. He wrote in his diary: "Cardinal Heenan has been double-faced in the matter. I had dinner with him à deux in which he expressed complete sympathy with the conservatives and, as I understood him, promised resistance to the innovations which he is now pressing forward. How does he suppose the cause of participating is furthered by the prohibition of kneeling at the incarnation in the creed?"

But in his address to the Synod, after Waugh's death, Heenan seemed to have gotten his point: "Our people love the Mass but it is the Low-Mass without psalm-singing and other musical embellishments to which they are chiefly attracted." Heenan noted the fear that "the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament would be taken away." Who has Benediction any more?

In his essay in the Spectator, Waugh put his finger on a problem that I am sure is that of many a layman in today's Church: "If the Mass is changed in form so as to emphasize its social character, many souls will find themselves put a further distance from their true aim."

Perhaps my favorite passage in Waugh is this: "The word 'vernacular' is almost meaningless. If they intend to have versions of the liturgy in everyday speech of everyone, they will have to have some hundreds of thousands of versions. In civilized countries, Norway has two languages, Spain three, Milanese cannot understand Sicilian, etc. When you get to Asia and Africa, it is Babel. . . . They say that we must have the same version as the Americans, heaven help us." Alas, heaven didn't help.

The morning he died, Waugh attended a Latin Mass celebrated by Father Philip Caraman, S.J. His daughter wrote, "I am sure he prayed for death at Mass. I am very happy for him."

James V. Schall, S.J.
Georgetown University
Washington, D.C.

Natural Family Planning come of age

THE ART OF NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING, 4TH EDITION. By John and Sheila Kippley (The Couple To Couple League International, Inc., P.O. Box 111184, Cincinnati, OH 45211-1184, 1996), 529 pp. PB $19.00 + P&H $4.00.

Like the Engineers' Handbooks this reviewer once used, the fourth edition of The Art of Natural Family Planning gathers between covers more knowledge and more help than anyone has a right to expect from any one volume. Furthermore, it is written for self-instruction where teachers are not available.

It starts by defining Natural Family Planning (NFP for short) as "a system in which you become aware of the fertile and infertile times of your menstrual cycle, and act accordingly. To avoid pregnancy, you have marital relationships only during the infertile times. If you want to become pregnant, through NFP, you know the best days in each cycle for seeking pregnancy."

Recalling from our high school texts that the scientific method is the systematic observation and recording of recurrent events, it tells us that NFP is a truly scientific method. (Later we read of statistical proof that NFP's effectiveness can equal or exceed most unnatural methods. It can even be relied on when avoiding pregnancy is a must for health reasons.)

The book has eight parts. Part One gives the information basic to planning a family; Two is a workbook. It gives couples two years of vicarious charting experience; Three answers the question, "Does God care about birth control?" Its four chapters address the moral use of NFP, the marriage relationship, Bible and tradition, and theological issues. For anyone concerned about religious and moral aspects of NFP, this section is priceless. It compiles crucial texts from Vatican II, the popes and the Catechism, and follows with a deep spiritual and marital analysis of responsible use of NFP. It helps us understand providence, prudence, and the times in which we live by citing cases where use of NFP is not only a right but a must!

Part Four has special helps for achieving pregnancy, and informs readers of the scientific case for "ecological breast-feeding," the form of child-spacing nature provided through the ages. It also treats of couples who can't conceive, and explains the teaching of Donum Vitae. This is important. Where else are the 10 to 20% of couples who have infertility problems being taught to avoid immoral methods of seeking pregnancy? Where else but in NFP are they helped to enhance the chance of achieving pregnancy without invasive intervention by simple scientific timing of their natural act of love and baby-making?

Part Five advances to solving the problems some couples have because of irregular mucus or temperature patterns; Six helps those with other special problems and life stages, such as miscarriages and premenopause; Seven looks to spreading the providential good news of NFP to doctors, clergy and friends; Eight provides a glossary, and an annotated list of further reading and contacts, and concludes with an index. It surely is "the most complete and user-friendly book on NFP" (back cover).

Dr. Konald Prem says that-since medical schools don't teach NFP-physicians as well as married couples will find the book "an indispensable aid" (the foreword).

This book has help for couples who don't want to conceive, couples who do, and couples who can't. The League works with them all. Just one caution: This book-8 1/2 x 11", 1" thick-can be intimidating. But its clear layout and step-by-step readable prose help dispel any initial fears, and its store of wisdom and knowledge impart peace to the anxious couple.

1989 saw published, under the aegis of the NCCB, the book Faithful to Each Other Forever: A Catholic Handbook of Pastoral Help for Marriage Preparation. It says: "We urge that in each formal premarriage program, a presentation on Natural Family Planning and fertility appreciation be included as an integral, not an optional, part of the schedule." May all who give the presentation get this book and recommend it to all!

If culture is "a way of giving expression to the transcendent dimension of human life," this 4th edition is more than a book. It is the high water mark in a tide of NFP publications that represent human culture advancing in one of its most significant manifestations: the control not of inanimate nature or of beasts, but of the human self in favor of marriage, family, the life of the race, and life eternal. These are moral and religious matters. In view of this, can we doubt that God is interested in this book, and we should be too?

Herbert F. Smith, S.J.
Philadelphia, Pa.

Introduction to the Bible

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE BIBLE. By Peter M. J. Stravinskas (Ignatius Press, P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, Colo. 80522 [1-800-651-1531]), 135 pp. PB $9.95.

"He who does not know the Sacred Scriptures does not know Christ." St. Jerome's apothegm is taken by some Protestants as an indictment of Catholics. In actual fact the Catholic Church is responsible for preserving and investing the riches found in Scripture during the formative centuries of Western civilization.

Fr. Stravinskas's introduction to the Bible from a Catholic perspective, first published in 1987, has been revised and updated with copious references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The five chapters exemplify various approaches to the vast and complex subject, but all have the same purpose: to help average Catholic laypeople to appreciate the importance of Sacred Scripture in the life of the Church and in the individual's life of faith.

Chapter I, "The Word of the Lord," addresses the questions: What is the Bible? How and why should we read it? Tracing the main arguments of the Vatican II document Dei Verbum, (which is the basis also of the treatment in the CCC), the author demonstrates that Scripture and the Church's Tradition are in no way opposed; both are essential parts of God's Revelation. "For us, Revelation is a Person, not a book." Fr. Stravinskas briefly cautions the readers against the two extremes of literalism and and "private interpretation" of the Bible. He cites the episode of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8) as proof of the need for authoritative interpretation.

Technical concerns (e.g., investigation of literary forms, theories of redaction) are mentioned but not emphasized. The author writes for Catholics who want to read the Bible to gain knowledge of the Lord.

Chapter II is a quick thematic survey of the OT and NT. Salvation history is described as God's pursuit of mankind through the ages, until the Lord's promises are fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah, the Good Shepherd. Fr. Stravinskas incidentally offers expert advice about standard and recent translations of the Bible. Scripture study groups would do well to start along the lines set down in this chapter. Appendix A refers readers to more in-depth works.

Chapter III is a fascinating study of the prayers and rituals of the Mass. Far from being "Catholic inventions," they are shown to preserve faith traditions and customs from both the Old and the New Testament. Not only the Liturgy of the Word, enriched by the reforms of Vatican II, but also the entire structure and "atmosphere" of the Mass are biblical. This eye-opening chapter should help Catholics count their Scriptural blessings.

Chapter IV examines the prayers of the Mass, line by line, and cites the Bible passages in which they are rooted. This method explores the theological depth of the Novus Ordo Eucharistic Prayers, proving that Liturgy, Scripture and Catholic dogma are a triple cord that is not easily broken.

Fr. Stravinskas's book has great apologetic value. The tone is positive and non-polemical, except in Chapter V, a series of polite but firm "Catholic answers" to non-Catholic challenges about the Bible, and Appendix B, "Seven Principles Essential to Fundamentalism." The book sets aside common misunderstandings civilly and sensibly.

Fr. Stravinskas has kept this practical and highly readable introduction to the Bible short and simple by keeping it on the sure and solid foundation of traditional Catholic theology. "The focus of our attention . . . is not the Church, the Scriptures, or Tradition, but God. The other three are means given to us to arrive at our end-union with God."

Michael J. Miller
Glenside, Pa.

Intensely practical

ANSWERS, NOT PROMISES. By Mother M. Angelica with Christine Allison (Ignatius Press, P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, Colo. 80522, 1996), 263 pp. HB $15.95.

This book is based on questions Mother Angelica has received by way of her television station EWTN. She and her Sisters went over all the questions received and found they came in three groupings. There were questions about God, finding out what he wills for us. These were placed in the section "First Things." Then there were questions about the trials in the real world, and these were located in the section "Life and Love." Finally there were questions about the next world. Mother Angelica called that section "Last Things." These are the main divisions of the book.

Mother treats of hard things. See some of them. Under First Things she asks and answers: Why do we suffer? Why won't God answer my prayers? Under Life and Love, How can I overcome lust? Why is it so hard to be good? Under Last Things she asks: Why am I afraid to die? What will heaven be like? I am an old mission band preacher. As I write these questions it strikes me that these are the kinds of topics we used to treat on our missions. Then came the great explosion of exegesis and we began to treat of such things as the jod in the bosom. Mother Angelica is intensely practical, as were the missions of yesteryear. Is she filling a vacuum by her question and answer programs on TV and by this book, a vacuum caused by the neglect of parish missions?

It is amazing that this cloistered nun could do what the bishops of this country could not seem to do-found a Catholic television network. It seems to proceed from her great trust in Divine Providence and her readiness to follow inspirations from on high. She calls herself and some of her Sisters "dummies," willing to take chances on seeming inspirations. I would say: "By their fruits you will know them."

Mother Angelica has a wealth of illustrations in this book, many of them gleaned from the operation of EWTN. Some of them would be useful in priests' sermons. An example: "A good friend of the network once told us about a debate he had with an atheist. Not surprisingly they were arguing about the existence of God. The atheist said, 'Prove to me that there is a God and I'll become a Christian.' 'Oh, no you don't,' the priest replied. 'You're in the minority in this world. You prove to me that there isn't a God, and I'll become an atheist.' 'Well, I can't,' the atheist said. 'What,' he replied. 'You believe in something that you can't prove? My dear, that means that you have faith. Faith means believing in something you can't prove. And if you're right, if there is no God, you're never going to know it. But if I'm right, and there is a God, you're going to know it forever and ever.'"

That gives you the flavor of this book. Try it. You will like it, especially if you like EWTN.

Fr. Matthew V. Reilly, O.P.
Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary
Summit, N.J.

A seed of eternity

REVELATION OF LOVE: Scripture, Prayers and Reflections for Eucharistic Adoration. By David M. Turoldo (Pauline Books and Media, 50 St. Paul's Avenue, Boston, Mass. 02130, 1996), PB $11.95.

Revelation of Love is written to be used as an instrument for contemplative prayer before the Eucharist. David Maria Turoldo (1916-1992), a member of the religious order the Servants of Mary, provides a series of eighteen prayer services each with its own theme to be utilized in holy hours before the Blessed Sacrament.

Within his introduction to this volume, Father Turoldo extends the invitation to prayer before the Eucharist. Here the reader has unveiled before him the richness of a life lived in community with the Eucharist as center.

The text reminds the reader that as a result of post-conciliar Vatican II (specifically Eucharisticum Mysterium of 1967, Dominicae Cenae and Inaestimabile Donum, 1980) there has been a "recentralization" of worship of the Eucharist that draws its origin from the Eucharist and leads back to it. Within an earlier period in the Church Eucharistic devotion was separated from Eucharistic celebration. The prayer themes of this volume have been chosen in such a way that a contemplation of the Eucharist is meant to lead to a building of the Body of Christ.

Community is an integral element within the Eucharistic celebration. As the author states, "It is difficult, if not impossible, to think of Eucharist without a community, even as it would be difficult if not impossible, to think of a community without Eucharist." Neither can this community exist without sacrifice. Each community necessitates gift and offering. As the soul gives life to the body, so the Eucharist gives life to the community.

The Eucharist is a "sign of the eternal banquet." It is offered as a goal of life and a seed of eternity. This Word of God yearns to become food and drink, to be consumed precisely for the reason that Christ became flesh: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). Through the Eucharist Christ has become one with us. The Eucharist is the fulfillment of the Incarnation and its perpetuation in time.

In the Eucharist, one finds the purpose of creation and the Incarnation fulfilled. "In it [the Eucharist] is born the Church, the community that is a figure of the kingdom to come." For those who believe, the Eucharist is the "ultimate goal of history." All life ends in Eucharist. The Eucharist judges each person individually, the Church as community, that is, whether it is "the true image of the kingdom."

The Eucharist is the first reason for the existence of religious life, for religious life at its core is a proclamation of the end of the ages.

The goal of all the sacraments is the Eucharist. All sacraments lead to Eucharist as the farewell supper, a premise until the faithful meet again at the eternal wedding banquet.

Through the Eucharist the work of the Father is realized for the Father desired a covenant with all of humanity. The goal of the Spirit is that a full community be realized, that is, what the author terms "a true Church."

The entire world seeks unity. This unity can be achieved through Eucharist when individuals become living eucharists for each other. The responsibility of the Church is to become that living eucharist, to guide all along that path from creation to Eucharist to the fruition of Eucharist in one's life.

As one may ascertain from the previous statements, the depth of spirituality found in Fr. Turoldo's invitation is well worth the volume. The prayer services which follow are one means of living out that spirituality.

Sr. Madeleine Grace, C.V.I.
Houston, Tex.

The power of beauty

Toward a Theology of Beauty. By John Navone, S.J. (The Liturgical Press, St. John's Abbey, P.O. Box 7500, Collegeville, Minnesota, 56321, 1996), 91 pp. PB $14.95.

Fr. John Navone describes total beauty as God. We are made in the image and likeness of that Beauty. He views the Christian message in the light of imaging that Beauty. His basic assumption is that

If God is Happiness Itself, communion with God is communion with Happiness Itself. If Happiness Itself is forever knowing its truth, and loving its goodness and delighting in its beauty, our ultimate and eternal happiness in the gift of the beatific vision is communion with Happiness Itself, knowing its truth and loving its goodness and delighting in its beauty.

We participate in and enjoy some of that Beauty in this life.

The author reminds his readers of that passage in Genesis: "Let us make man in our own image" (Gen. 1:26). Augustine saw this statement as proof of the doctrine of the Trinity in the first narrative of the Bible. Augustine describes Trinitarian vestiges in the human soul: love, reason and memory. Each of these three is distinct from the other two, yet together they make one single mind. This metaphor implies that our knowledge of God and human nature are correlated.

Christ embodies in his own "form" the "image of the invisible God." He forms our lives by enabling us through the gift of his Spirit to conform to his Father's will, love and wisdom. He reveals and accomplishes his Father's will for the transformation of all humanity, "reminding us that His Father's will for us is always His Father's love for us."

St. Paul speaks of being conformed to Christ, taking on the same shape as Christ. To be "in" Christ for Paul means to be transformed by Christ. One need only think of the analogy of the potter and clay (Rom. 9:19-23). This transformation comes about through grace: "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding/reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another" (2 Cor. 3:18). Fr. Navone describes the "life story" of Christ as "the beautiful icon disclosing God, Beauty Itself, to the world" (John 12:45; 14:9).

Beauty has the power of attracting us. It is at the heart of all human motivation for it expresses the reason for an attractiveness to a particular good. Without this attractiveness of beauty, intellectual, moral and religious goods lose their power to transform human life. "We cannot live without beauty." Divine beauty is the motive for creation for God loves divine beauty, and wishes to communicate this likeness to creatures.

When John's gospel (John 10:11) affirms Christ as the Good Shepherd, the Greek term kalos is used, meaning "morally good." There is an attractiveness about the Good Shepherd. This "good" is not only good inwardly but good as perceived. He came "that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10).

Inasmuch as God is the Giver of this beauty, it is the manifestation of divine grace. Living the beatitude of the pure heart means that wherever you look, what you see is God revealing himself in different ways. The beatitude of a purity of heart is witnessed by the authenticity of people's lives.

We reflect Beauty Itself to the extent that we conform to it. There is a difference between true beauty and seductive beauty. True beauty like true good is whatever attracts one to true fulfillment and happiness. Seductive beauty allures one to self-destruction.

Fr. Navone's work is an extended meditation focusing on that journey toward the beatific vision. The author draws on an extensive philosophical and theological background. This text is not easy reading but it is well worth the readers' investment for those serious about the spiritual journey.

Sr. Madeleine Grace, C.V.I.
Houston, Tex.

Brilliant and humble

THE QUIET LIGHT. A Novel about Saint Thomas Aquinas. By Louis de Wohl (Ignatius Press, P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, CO 80522, 1996), 377 pp. PB $14.95.

This book is a reprint of the fine novel by the gifted writer Louis de Wohl. It is about St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the most brilliant men who ever lived. The author makes the saint come to life, writing, as he does, in the form of a novel. We are grateful to Ignatius Press for bringing this out-of-print book back so that many new readers can enjoy the life and times of Thomas and realize his tremendous contributions to philosophy and theology.

Thomas was a quiet student, causing some of his classmates to call him the Dumb Ox. When St. Albert the Great, Thomas's teacher who knew his high intelligence, heard this he said that the bellowings of the Dumb Ox would one day be heard all over Europe, and so they were. Few people have thought more clearly and profoundly. It is said that he "baptized" Aristotle. He took the writings of the great Greek and made them a tool for Catholic learning.

To know the sincerity and humility of Thomas one needs only one story. When Aquinas was a student some fellow students, to tease him, yelled, "Thomas, Thomas, come to the window and see a cow that is flying." Thomas went to the window and they laughed uproariously. But Thomas said quietly, "I would rather think that a cow could fly than that students could lie."

One of the most touching of all the many stories about St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that he was praying before a life-size crucifix and Christ came to life and said, "Thomas, Thomas, you have done so much for me, what can I give to you?" And the giant thinker said softly, "Only yourself, dear Jesus."

This book by de Wohl tells us so much about this great saint, how he was of an aristocratic family but defied them to become a simple friar of the new Dominican order. He taught at the University of Paris, the greatest university in the world in his day, and broke new ground with his mighty intellect. Yet at the same time he was as humble as a child. It is rare in history that a person of brilliant mind is also simple in prayer. Thomas was. When one reads the life of a saint he realizes again what it truly means to be a Christ-follower.

Fr. Rawley Myers
Colorado Springs, Colo.