book reviews

Childlike confidence in God

SPIRITUAL CHILDHOOD. The Spirituality of St. Therese of Lisieux. By Vernon Johnson (Ignatius Press, P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, Colo. 80522, 2001), 230 pp. PB $13.95.

Msgr. Vernon Johnson, a convert from Anglicanism, began the Association of Priests of St. Therese of Lisieux. The purpose of his text is to present the teaching of St. Therese as taken in its relationship to the faith and the scriptures. He believes the essence of her teachings can be found in St. Matthew’s Gospel. Simply put, one must become a little child before the Lord which immediately places one in a relationship to the Father. While the Fatherhood of God is one of the oldest doctrines of the Church, the familiarity of it can lead one to miss the strength and intimacy of its message.

This doctrine teaches of a confidence in the Father in pointing to material needs as well as spiritual graces. The tragedy of sin is seen in the “rejection of fatherhood” with its “consequent loss of sonship,” Repentance of course is symbolized in the return of the son to the father. Jesus lived this relationship to the Father, and thus there is a living reality of the relationship. Jesus’ calm reliance on the Father’s loving providence is seen as he approaches the cross. Msgr. Johnson points out that the simplicity of St. Therese takes her to the heart of Scripture. In this instance, a meditation on the Passion leads her only to the Father’s merciful love for his children. The gift of Redemption brings about an adoption of sons different from that of any other adoption for in no earthly adoption does the child share the life and possess the actual likeness of the father who adopts. Therese speaks of the love of a child for its father as “simple, unquestioning, spontaneous and direct.” The supreme gift of the Father’s love is the Indwelling Trinity. Therese’ soul becomes the tabernacle of the Trinity she becomes a partaker of the Divine Nature.

Msgr. Johnson refers to St. Therese’s mission as one of recalling the world to a childlike confidence in God. Ultimately, the Little Way is the Way of Spiritual Childhood. Therese speaks of her way as one of” all love and confidence in God.” She proclaims that she does “not understand souls who are afraid of so tender a friend.” Therese sees this confidence as leading to a self-surrender. She images this self-surrender as one of “a small child throwing itself into its father’s arms in times of joy as well as of trial, and remaining peacefully there, certain that it is safe.” The degree of our closeness to the Father will depend on how completely we surrender ourselves to the Father’s embrace. This, in turn, depends on how far we, through grace, turn away from our self reliance and independence and, especially in face of the problem of suffering and pain, become as little children. Therese points out that when we meet with suffering, which she readily did, we are called to practice the virtues of love, humility and confidence in the spirit of a child. Therese sees suffering as the “seal of the divine friendship. We are no longer alone. God is suffering for us and with us.”

This study closes with the conversion story of Fr. Vernon Johnson from an Anglo-Catholic religious order to the Roman Catholic priesthood. The influence of Therese is pivotal in his movement toward the Church.

The work of Msgr. Vernon Johnson was originally written in 1953, long before the Church elevated Therese to the level of a Doctor. It is a thorough and accurate study, one which provides a clear perception of the spirituality of the Little Flower. It is therefore an appropriate text for adolescents as well as adults.

Sr. Madeleine Grace, C.V.I.
University of St. Thomas
Houston, Tex.

THE CATHOLIC WAY

Faith For Living Today. By Bishop Donald W. Wuerl (Doubleday/Random House, Inc., 1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036, 2001), xiv + 367 pp. PB $14.00.

In the early 1990’s, while the catechetical bureaucracy in many U.S. dioceses was “circling the wagons” to fend off the magisterial Catechism of the Catholic Church, Bishop Donald W. Wuerl of Pittsburgh was writing a monthly column on the new Catechism for Columbia magazine, which has over a million subscribers.

Besides the red zucchetto and the white hat, Wuerl wears a mortar-board. A few of his credentials: former professor at the Angelicum, co-editor of The Teaching of Christ, a reliable and very popular post-conciliar catechism for adults, and currently Chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Education. Bp. Wuerl was one of the forty expert consultors during the drafting phase of the CCC, and since its publication he has publicly and repeatedly encouraged his brother bishops to implement the new Catechism in their respective dioceses.

The Catholic Way collects and revises in book form the articles that he wrote for the Knights of Columbus magazine over the course of seven years. The author’s purpose is “to help unfold the richness of the Catholic faith, found so wonderfully summarized in the CCC.” Wuerl has managed to streamline the main teachings of the Catechism in a presentation geared to today’s English-speaking, North American readers.

Like a scale model, the book maintains the sequence and proportion of the four parts in the original. The approach is contemporary and not scholarly; gone are all but a few essential patristic references and quotations from the saints. The authorities cited are twentieth-century popes and Vatican II.

This formula works quite well for Part One on doctrine (chapters 1-33). The Creed provides the framework here, as in the CCC, and the author elaborates in well-constructed paragraphs of clear, measured prose. This exposition of the Catholic faith by a wise and authoritative teacher could be of interest to non-Catholics, also.

Unfortunately, this method of adaptation is unsuited to the section on prayer (Part Four, ch. 79-83). The Scriptural roots of prayer are downplayed (cf. CCC ##2568-2584). There is little sense of participating in an ancient covenant, and not a word from the rich Patristic commentaries on the Our Father. Instead the reader finds chalkboard diagrams. It is like entering a worship space from which the statues have been removed.

“American” emphases are found in the section on the Sacraments, too. In treating Matrimony, Wuerl squarely addresses the breakdown in the family. He writes movingly on the Eucharist. There is a strong chapter on Penance. Yet he glosses over the controversial practice of general absolution in a way that will ruffle no feathers.

In the long section on “Life in Christ” (ch. 49-78) Bp. Wuerl defends the Church’s right to speak out on contemporary issues and her authority to define moral teachings. Many chapters explicitly attempt to offset the voices amplified by the media and to counteract the culture of death. There is a tendency, though, to discuss trends rather than individual responsibility. A mixture of colloquial and technical language blurs the crucial explanations of conscience and the components of a moral act.

These criticisms would be more serious, perhaps, if The Catholic Way were intended as a free-standing catechism. This book was designed, however, to facilitate access to the CCC. As such, it contains much genuine pastoral wisdom. It may even provide generations raised on bad catechesis with just the “remedial” material needed to make the true faith palatable.

Michael J. Miller
Glenside, Pennsylvania

The burial cloth of Christ

THE SHROUD OF TURIN: A Case for Authenticity. By Fr. Vittorio Guerrera (TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., Rockford, IL 61105, 2000), 172 pp. PB $12.00.

The Gospel of John records the first moments when Peter and other disciples peered into Christ’s empty tomb (John 20:3-8). The only things remaining were the linen cloth in which Christ’s body was wrapped and the small pillow-like cloth that cushioned his head. The premise of this book is that the Shroud of Turin is the very linen cloth in which Christ was wrapped and on which he left the imprint of his crucified body.

Those who believe the Shroud is the burial cloth of Christ need no further evidence supporting that belief. Skeptics and others who dismiss the Shroud as a product of the Middle Ages, will probably not be convinced by the evidence put forth in this little book. For those who have not made up their minds, one way or the other, Fr. Guerrera’s meticulous research, systematic presentation of the evidence, and honest review of current scientific findings about the Shroud will, I believe, be challenged to give serious consideration to the question of authenticity.

In the first three chapters Fr. Guerrera provides a history of the Shroud, reflections on the Shroud by several Popes from Pope Stephen III (768-772) to Pope John Paul II (1978-), and an analysis of the terms for the Shroud found in Scripture. For example the Synoptic Gospels use the term sindon to describe the Shroud while the Gospel of John uses the term soudarion and othonia. Aramaic, Greek, and Latin translations of these and related words are also discussed at some length.

Jewish burial customs are reviewed with a focus on several unresolved questions, the answers to which have a direct bearing on the Shroud’s authenticity. Was Jesus’ body washed? (unlikely). Was his body anointed after being taken down from the Cross? (unlikely, though all four Gospels record a “pre-anointing story.” He concludes that there is a “. . . notable correlation between Jewish burial customs and the Shroud. . . .” The author’s comparison of the Good Friday account of Christ’s scourging (by the Roman flagrum), carrying of the Cross, bruised face, broken nose, swollen right eye, numerous puncture wounds about the head, pierced wrists and feet, and the javelin wound on the right side of the chest, and the image on the Shroud is truly compelling.

The Sudarium of Oviedo, believed to be the face cloth or napkin that covered the face of Christ when he was taken down from the Cross, is discussed at some length. Of particular interest is the scientific evidence on pollen analysis (from many places including Jerusalem), the stain marks (which match exactly the shape and form of the face of the man on the Shroud), and blood type (AB, the same found on the Shroud).

The next two chapters address the scientific studies conducted between 1898 and 1973 as well as the 1978 STURP Study. From the first scientific study by Paul Vignon of the Institute Catholique (the image is not a painting), to the anatomical studies of the Shroud by Dr. Pierre Barbet in 1933 (the man whose image is on the Shroud was indeed tortured and crucified), evidence supports the authenticity of the Shroud. In a continuing effort to settle the matter with some greater degree of finality there was a commission appointed in 1969 to examine the Shroud which it did on June 16-17. Sample threads revealed the presence of cotton in the cloth, of the variety grown in the Middle East (G. Herbaceum). A follow up study in 1973 allowed the removal of several threads with findings published in January 1976. Due to a singular lack of cooperation among the participants it is little wonder that this study produced no conclusive results though it did open a path for further inquiry.

The 1978 STURP Study (Shroud of Turin Research Project) spent 120 hours over five days conducting extensive tests, some 3000 photographs, and every possible scientific test available at the time (x-ray, fluorescence spectrometry, macro/microscopic observations, photomacrographs, sticky tape samples, to name a few). The principal findings of the study include: the image is not formed by paint, there is evidence of human blood on the cloth, the image formation must be caused by some cellulose oxidation/dehydration process—a burst of radiant energy.

The next chapter addresses the case against authenticity with questions about evidence of paint, work of an artist, the vapograph, scorch, latent-image, and powder-rubbing theories. The following chapter presents the case for authenticity focusing on the marks from the wounds, wounds on the hands, wounds in the feet, the asphyxiation theory, wound on the side, blood on the face, pollen tests (complete with a Table of Pollens from the Shroud identified by Dr. Max Frei), Pontius Pilate Coins, early portraits of the Holy Face, the Pilgrim’s Medallion, the Prayer Manuscript, inscriptions on the Shroud, and the Devil and the Shroud. The case against and for are honestly and forthrightly set out by the author for readers to draw their own conclusions.

The final two chapters cover the 1988 Carbon-14 controversy and post-1988 research. The carbon-14 process, and problems associated with it are described in detail. Despite public press reports to the contrary the problems associated with carbon-14 dating procedures realistically invalidate the tentative conclusion reached at the time that the Shroud dates to between A.D. 1260 and 1390. This chapter also contains numerous full color photographs of the Shroud and data from testing.

The final chapter discusses post-1988 research including Russian scientists research on problems with carbon-14 dating testing procedures and resultant conclusions, the Cloth-Collapse theory (how the image on the Shroud was formed), fungi on the Shroud, recent advances in DNA testing that open up important new avenues of research on the Shroud, the question of flowers on the Shroud, the historical evidence about the Shroud in the Codex Vossianus Latinus Q 69, and finally, the relationship between the Corporal/Antimension and the Shroud. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of the fire of April 11-12, 1997 (second one in 465 years that nearly claimed the Shroud), the 1998 exhibition of the Shroud from April 18 through June 14, 1998 in Turin, and the Jubilee Year 2000 exposition of the Shroud from August 12-October 22, 2000 at the Cathedral of Turin.

Fr. Guerrera closes his investigation with these words, “Science, at its best, has limitations. However, science can aid in one’s understanding of the Faith by shedding light on the facts of history. The insights of science on the Shroud of Turin can contribute in leading man toward God and toward the Saviour, Jesus Christ. For the time being, may the mystery of the Shroud inspire those who gaze upon its image to seek the face of God.” Whatever the reader’s views on the Shroud of Turin, this book offers an in-depth and honest assessment of continuing efforts to determine its authenticity. The preponderance of evidence convinces this reviewer of the Shroud’s authenticity. Read the book and make up your own mind.

Michael G. Allen
Georgia Southern University
Statesboro, Georgia