catholicweekly.com.au 25 29, November, 2020 NEWS BOOK REVIEWS THE AUTHOR of Humility Rules (Ignatius Press, 130pp), Fr Augustine Wetta, a Ben- edictine monk at St Lou- is Abbey in the US, has writ- ten a wise, humorous and self-deprecating book based on St Benedict’s classic Rule, which he describes as “a lit- tle-known but highly effective 12-step programme”. For St Benedict, genuine self-esteem, in contrast to the modern cult of self-realisa- tion, simply means self-aban- donment to God. Starting each chapter with a quotation from the Rule, Wetta explains how to live out the true mean- ing of fear of God, self-denial, obedience, perseverance, re- pentance, serenity, prudence, discretion and reverence. Each chapter ends with “Homework”, such as “Secret- ly do someone else’s chores” or “Spend an entire day with- out correcting anyone”. Wet- ta’s final direction is “Give this book away.” That is easily done: it makes a delightful present, not least because of the artwork, which has been “created by the author using art found on the internet”. In other words, he has tak- en famous Old Master paint- ings of holy people, especially monks, and tweaked them so that they are seen riding mo- torbikes, skateboards and so on. Is this schoolboy humour? Or a reminder that true humil- ity means being light-hearted, no longer weighed down by the ego and its heavy existen- tial problems? * * * Susan Tassone has written many books on devotion to the Holy Souls as well as on St Faustina’s personal reve- lations of the Divine Mercy, now universally celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. In St Faustina Prayer Book for Ad- oration (Our Sunday Visitor, 168pp), she draws attention to the Polish saint’s love of adoration of the Blessed Sac- rament. It is apposite, having re- cently celebrated the feast of Corpus Christi, to reflect on this great gift to the Church. As Tassone emphasises in her “personal note” to the reader, Frommonastic regularity to a powerful devotion to Purgatory, there’s something for everyone Books for one’s spirit “You were created by God for adoration.” How better than to be guided in this form of wor- ship by St Faustina who prac- tised it constantly throughout her life? The nun recorded many in- stances in her published dia- ries – extensively quoted here – of what being in the pres- ence of the Blessed Sacrament meant to her, relating on one occasion how “profound joy invaded my soul” during the Corpus Christi procession. Tassone’s book, recom- mended by Cardinal Robert Sarah, whose own book, The Power of Silence , is itself a long reflection on silent ad- oration, is not meant to be read through at one sitting. Rather, it is to be dipped into and used as an aid in joining the Stations of the Cross, the rosary and other devotions to an act of adoration. * * * Following on from Susan Tassone’s injunction to the reader, Fr Wade Menezes reminds us in The Four Last Things (EWTN Publishing, 116pp) that “We must strive to become eternity-minded.” The four last things – death, judgment, hell and heav- en – should be regarded not VISTA IS BACK! Get your parish activity noticed! Keep it brief. Don’t forget to include: date, address, time, brief description of event, contact name, phone number or email. Send your event to:
[email protected] MASS WEEKLY Community of Risen Christ continue to meet online for Divine Mercy prayer every Saturday at 8pm. All Welcome Zoom Meeting: https://zoom us/j/4399152776 Meeting ID: 439 915 2776, Password : 124622. Contact Steffi Sequeira on 0436 395 763. 1st Friday Devotion: St Bernadette’s Parish, 10 Argyle St., Carlton. 7pm Mass, followed by Eucharistic Adoration with Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Cenacle, & Rosary Recitations (4 Mysteries), & ends with Benediction at 11pm. Eucharistic Adoration Hours: 6 evenings a week (Mon to Sat) 8-11pm. Half hour Adoration after daily 8.30am Mass (Mon, Wed to Sat), Tue 6-7pm. RETREAT 4-6 December 2020 Rachel’s Vineyard Weekend Retreat : Healing after Abortion. Offering women and men a sanctuary in which to renew, rebuild and redeem hearts broken by abortion in a safe, supportive, confidential and non judgemental environment. Join in an Online Reflection - Called to Life - a confidential free online individually guided reflection at a time to suit you. Please enquire about these programs on their confidential number (voice mail): 0400 092 555 – more info at www.rachelsvineyard.org.au VISTA 2020 A reliquary containing first- and second-class relics of St Faustina. The Polish nun’s visions of Jesus led to the Divine Mercy devotion. PHOTO: CNS,TYLER ORSBURN so much as fearsome future events but in the light of faith. The author tells us that he prays “for the heroic virtue to be able to bear steadfastly all forms of suffering …while still living here on earth”, in order to avoid Purgatory. We should not, he admonishes us, resign ourselves to the inevitabili- ty of purgatory, but strive to avoid it altogether. The importance of the sacraments, especially as we approach death, is constant- ly emphasised lest, like Ce- sare Borgia (killed in battle in 1507), we die “unprepared”. Dying well is also an occasion to evangelise. “Responding to death without fear can also be a wonderful witness to others”, who may not have any Chris- tian beliefs. * * * If Abortion Matters (edited by Anthony McCarthy, Phi- los Educational Publications, 122pp) seems a curious inclu- sion in a spiritual books col- umn, it is because abortion is, at root, a spiritual evil that can only be overcome by prayer. Published to coincide with the lamentable 50th anni- versary of Britain’s Abortion Act coming into effect, the book answers all the common questions raised by abortion: when conception occurs, how life develops in the womb, the mendacious language used by those who call themselves “pro-choice” and – most har- rowing of all – how abortions are carried out. This chapter’s contents are, as the editor points out, “disturbing and challenging”; one’s shock at reading the de- tails never goes away. Approximately nine mil- lions abortions have been car- ried out in England and Wales since 1967, mainly on healthy young women for non-med- ical reasons. It is a shocking statistic which we can never become complacent about. * * * A book of insight and un- derstanding of the Blessed Trinity, Trinity: A Story of Deep Delight (by Anne Ma- rie Mongoven OP, Columba Press, 140pp), is marred only by the author’s need to apol- ogise for the masculine lan- guage of Father and Son (the Holy Spirit is allowed to be gender-neutral). Mongoven believes women feel demeaned by seemingly sexist vocabulary. I think this is a grievance almost wholly manufactured by feminists. St Augustine’s “Lover, Beloved, Love” provides a theological window into the relational aspect of the Trinity. Never- theless, all over the world for the last 2,000 years, Christians have prayerfully made the Sign of the Cross using tradi- tional terminology. - www.catholicherald.co.uk ¾ Francis Phillips Dying well is also an occasion to evan- gelise. “Responding to death without fear can also be a wonderful witness to others,” who may not have any Christian beliefs.”