Book List Changes

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Because of circumstances beyond my control my booklist has momentarily narrowed and slightly shifted.

I'm still reading Joseph Ellis's Founding Brothers and reviving my distaste for both Jeffersonian Business as usual and Hamiltonian business as usual. Mr. Perry makes some good points about these figures, but it does little to allay the momentary distaste I have for the casual amorality of some of their actions.

For the week I have dropped Lancelot, which I plan to pick up again on the weekend. I'll be doing a lot of travel and I find the Percy doesn't read well in fits and starts--you need to concentrate and really focus attention on large chunks at a time.

In addition, the time for the book group approaches and I have not yet gotten into Time of the Ghost by Diana Wynn Joes. I really hope it picks up a bit as the story moves along.

Finally, von Balthasar's study of St. Thérèse and Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, while profoundly good, is a bit too academic for my needs at the moment. Passing through a period of dryness--perhaps sloth-induced, perhaps induced by the ennui of too many Florida days that look like the dregs and loose-ends of hurricanes, I need something a little more practical and a little more focused on my perennial problem--lack of simplicity. As a result I've taken up Paula Huston's The Holy Way: Practices for a Simple Life. I may follow this with a rereading of Richard Foster's remarkable study Simplicity I also have a work by St. John Chrysostom and Richard Mathes. I need to figure out what simplicity is really about and how to really put it into action in my life. Right now that necessity overrides almost all other considerations.

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2 Comments

Balthasar is a bear to read, though tremendously fruitful when (if) you grasp what he's saying, which is unfortunately rare in my case, which is why I steer clear.

He does have a few more 'spiritual' works, which are lower down the scale in academic rigor. His _Origin: Spirit and Fire_ is one of them, though it's pieced together rather sloppily. He has some on the Blessed Virgin which are also directed towards laypersons.

You're in my prayers.

Dear Jamie,

I fear I've given a false impression of this Baltharsarian work--it is quite accessible, and quite fruitful. It's just that it is more of a study and less of a practical guide than I need at the present time. I am in a period of time when I must take a utilitarian view of books. Right now, I need those that will support my spiritual life in a more substantive way than mere intellectual stimulation will allow. So, my apologies if I gave a mistaken impression. Von Balthasar's book is both well worth while and very accessible--it simply doesn't meet my needs at this moment.

shalom,

Steven

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This page contains a single entry by Steven Riddle published on August 9, 2004 7:03 AM.

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