catholicweekly.com.au 29 25, December, 2020 BOOK REVIEWS MAGNIFICAT HAS collected together 10 of its published books, past and present, in or- der to present them to a new readership. Beautifully illus- trated, often with Old Mas- ter paintings, and drawing on well-known religious writers, they would make thought- ful, devotional gifts for parish priests, married couples and friends, both inside and out- side the faith. Several of the books have been written by Fr Romanus Cessario, senior editor at Magnificat, including Com- passionate Blood: Cathe- rine of Siena on the Passion . Catherine, a 14th-century mystic, Dominican laywoman and Doctor of the Church, re- minds us, in Cessario’s words, that “the shedding of [Christ’s] compassionate blood causes the transformation that once and forever enters our world on that blessed day that the Church everywhere reveres as ‘Good’. In his essays the au- thor quotes Flannery O’Con- nor and Oscar Wilde on the reality of sin, as well as the Numerous authors – including Pope Francis – share the fruit of their spirituality and experience The richness of faith forceful statement of Cathe- rine herself: “If you want love you must begin by loving.” Heather King, a regular contributor to the month- ly prayer guide Magnificat, draws on her own experiences as a former addict in her pen- etrating meditations on Gos- pel passages, Holy Days and Gospel Reflections . Taking inspiration from writers such as the two great 20th-century mystics, Caryll Houselander and SimoneWeil, she reminds us that Weil, for all her eccen- tricities and failures, “offered up her wounds, her neuroses, her weaknesses, her motives and her body. She ‘sold’ all that she had and distributed it to the poor. That is more than many of us do.” Comprising a novena in honour of the priesthood, texts for meditation, essays and devotions, The Year for Priests Companion also in- cludes a memorable quo- tation from Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Writing about his own vocation, he admits: “Since I was diffident and downright impractical, since I had no talent for sports or ad- ministration or organisation, I had to ask myself whether I would be able to relate to people. Bound up with this was naturally the question of whether I would be able to re- main celibate, unmarried, my whole life long.” Illustrated appropriately by Fra Angelico’s transcendent paintings of Jesus’s life from the monastery of San Marco in Florence, The Magnificat Rosary Companion has a thought-provoking essay by Fr Peter John Cameron OP, answering the question, why should we pray the rosary? He reminds us that the rosary is a powerful way to contemplate the face of Christ, a source of self-discovery, a sublime en- counter of friendship, and a 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. VISTA 2020 The Adoration of the Magi, Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippa, circa 1440/1460 PHOTO: SAMUEL H. KRESS COLLECTION/PUBLIC DOMAIN supreme source of comfort and solace. The Seven Joys of Mary and its companion The Seven Sorrows of Mary , both by Fr Cessario, are illustrated with Hans Memling’s The Seven Joys of the Virgin and Giotto’s frescoes in the Scrovegni Chap- el in Padua . They are a delight to the eye as well as profound reminders of the most signifi- cant stages of Christ’s life. In his foreword to the first book, Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston tells us that for him “the sixth joy of Mary, one that comes to us from tradition and that I find most engaging, is the appearance of the ris- en Christ to Mary on Easter”. Although not documented in the Gospels, the mystery is part of ancient, pious tra- dition. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, in his foreword to the second book, speaks of Mary’s “total, undi- vided gift of herself to God’s will” and how she and her Son “travel together [in] the school of divine mercy”. Throughout the Christian centuries, followers of Christ have meditated on his sayings on the Cross. In The Seven Last Words of Jesus , illustrat- ed with events from the paint- ed cross with scenes from the Passion by the Master of Ros- ano, Cessario takes the reader through each of the poignant and profound statements. In particular I was struck by his essay on the second “word”, Jesus’s response to the Good Thief, known by tradition as St Dismas. Ces- sario refers to the apocryphal story of Dismas encountering the Holy Family years before on their flight into Egypt and being moved “by the beauty, gentleness and love that radi- ated from the Mother and her Child”. The Catholic philosopher and convert Fabrice Hadjadi’s The Resurrection: Experi- ence Life in the Risen Christ , with a foreword by Archbish- op Charles Chaput of Phila- delphia, is wittily dedicated “To the reader of self-help books, this little book about heaven-help.” Into its pages he brings his own French and Jewish background, his wide reading and his rich under- standing of modern culture. The final two books are by Pope Francis: Love in Mar- riage and InHimAlone Is Our Hope . The first book is partly anexplanationof St Paul’s great paean to love in his First Letter to the Corinthians and partly the Holy Father’s own thoughts on conjugal love. Each passage is followed by a reflection and examination of conscience. The second book is composed of “Spiritual Exercises given to his brother bishops in the manner of St Ignatius of Loy- ola”, first preached to the bish- ops of Spain. I have only alluded briefly here to particular aspects of this treasury of books. They all deserve closer reading and re- flection. –www.catholicherald.co.uk ¾ Francis Phillips Cessario refers to the apocryphal story of Dismas encountering the Holy Family years before on their flight into Egypt and being moved ‘by the beauty, gentleness and love that radiated from the Mother and her Child’.”