Ever since the University of St. Thomas kindly gave me a new assignment as Artist in Residence and Research Fellow in Catholic Studies, I have been able to read more widely rather than finding written resources for my courses. The following books should give you a sense of the freedom this new assignment has given me.
Since my training is primarily in “classical” liturgical studies from the Pontificio Istituto Liturgico at the Ateneo Sant’Anselmo, I have a special bent toward historical liturgical studies. Therefore I have been delighted to dive into the two volumes of Eric Knibbs’ new translation of Amalar of Metz’s On the Liturgy in the Dunbarton Oaks Medieval Library [Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library 36; Cambridge, MA-London: Harvard University Press, 2014]. There was a time in graduate school when I thought of translating this important document myself, especially since the Latin seemed remarkably easy (probably placing my mastery of Latin at the low level of the “average” Carolingian cleric). Facing-page Latin text and English translation makes the volume especially useful. Highly recommended for immersion in the allegorical interpretation of the liturgy so beloved to the medieval mind.
Having given a few talks on Evangelii Gaudium and become an avid reader of the pope’s daily homilies on ZENIT, I decided to deepen my understanding of Jorge Bergoglio’s thought and values before becoming Pope by means of a short volume of his letters, homilies and talks entitled Only Love Can Save Us [Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor Press, 2013]. The radiance of his love for the poor and his joy in the gospel shines from nearly every page. It is clear that his instructions on homiletic preparation and delivery in EG are not just theoretical, as he seems a master of how to preach using remarkably few words, with clear attention to scriptural and liturgical texts, presented in arresting metaphors and memorable narratives.
Since Pope Francis endorsed Walter Cardinal Kasper’s Mercy: The Essence of the Gospel and the Key to Christian Life [New York, NY – Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2014] stating that “[t]his book has done me so much good,” I thought I should engage it. Having already read his The God of Jesus Christ, I knew that I would find a master theologian at work, deftly weaving careful exegetical work on the scriptures in conversation with patristic, medieval and modern/contemporary theologians. However I was not prepared for how profoundly pastoral Kasper’s insights are and how powerfully he explicates the tradition of the Church in light of the contemporary world’s needs.
With many others I grieved the recent death of Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete, physicist, media pundit, and great friend of St. John Paul II. A member of the Communion and Liberation movement associated with Luigi Guissani, Albacete’s unique blend of broad reading, intellectual engagement and theological precision animates the short essays that make up God at the Ritz: Attraction to Infinity [New York: Crossword Publishing, 2002]. Anyone who believes that ideas matter and is concerned with the “drama of atheist humanism” animating much of the First World will find a wise and witty conversation partner addressing the compatibility of science and religion, the profound challenge of suffering to all systems of thought, and what he calls “the big three”: sex, money and politics.
Finally, I am finding Malala Yousafzai’s I Am Malala [New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 2013], an account of a young Pakistani woman shot by the Taliban in 2012 when she spoke out in favor of women’s education but who has since recovered to become a spokesperson for educational rights, the youngest person to address a full session of the United Nations, and a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, incredibly inspiring and a reminder of the power of witness in this world.
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