Saint The Books

From Shakespeare to Edgar Allen Poe to the Gospels, O'Malley's daily selection of passages makes for a very interesting prayer guide. Each day carries a theme and it takes all of 3 minutes to read through each section. Over time I have found myself rereading many of the selections over and over. I like the spiral bound copy because I can easily carry it around with me wherever I go.

William J. O'Malley writes from his own experience - with which most of us can identify. Speaking from the frustration spawned by the frenetic pace of life, the unending demands, the gut-wrenching sorrow of another's pain, he reflects confidence that God will hear, and the generous response of a loving, understanding God. His little books are a gift to all who scrabble for words to express their feelings and their needs. They provide the words, but they also inspire our own expressions.

Thomas More, executed by Henry VIII (one of his best friends) for treason, led an illustrious career of politics and letters. Under his friend the King, he served in many capacities - Speaker of the House of Commons, Master of Requests, Privy Councillor, etc. - culminating with the trust of the position of Lord Chancellor, a position in those days matching the prominence (if not the definition) of Prime Minister in these days. More's strong integrity and resolute mind caught the attention of scholars, political and church leaders internationally; it was this same integrity that most likely was his undoing, refusing to assent to the King's divorce and severance of ties binding the English Church with the Roman overlordship of the Pope. Indeed, More was, if not the actual ghostwriter, then certainly an inspiration and editorial aide to the document produced by King Henry VIII against the continental protestants, earning for Henry (and his heirs ever after) the title of Defender of the Faith (historical irony is that this title, most likely not intended to be hereditary, now declares the defense of a faith separated from the one for which the title was bestowed).

While an Ambassador to Flanders, More spent spare time writing this book, 'Utopia'. The very title is a still a by-word in the English language (as well as others) of a state of bliss and peace; it is often used with the context of being unrealistic. 'Utopia' is More's response to and development from Plato's 'Republic', in that it is a framework for a perfect society, or at least perfect according to More's ideas of the time. Penned originally in Latin, 'Utopia' has been translated widely; one of the better translations is by H.V.S. Ogden, in 1949, still reprinted in various editions to this day. Originally published in Latin in 1516, the first English version appeared in 1551, some 16 years after More's death.

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Utopia
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Thomas More writes this as if he were traveling, and meets his friend Peter Giles, who introduces him to Raphael Hythloday, a scholar/traveler with tales to tell.

Hythloday made friends with a prince who outfitted him for a journey. He traveled through deserts and fertile lands. He proceeds to give an account to Giles and More. In an ironic twist, given More's own attachment to Henry VIII, Hythloday states that he doesn't give his information in advice of kings or princes, for to be beholden to them is not a wise thing. He quotes Plato, in saying that unless kings were themselves philosophers, they should never appreciate philosophers.

More argues for public service, which Hythloday rejects as something that other place-seekers will use to bolster their own positions. Then Hythloday makes the startling pronouncement with regard to how a society should be constituted: 'As long as there is property, and while money is the standard of all things, I cannot think that a nation can be governed either justly or happily; not justly, because the best things will fall to the share of the worst men; nor happily, because all things will be divided among a few (and even these are not in all respects happy), the rest being left to the absolutely miserable.'

Hythloday proceeds to give an account of the life of Utopia, where, he says, there are so few laws and so much liberty and equality that virtue is always rewarded, and each person has what he or she needs. He talks about this under the following headings:

Of Their Towns, Particularly of Amaurot
Of Their Magistrates
Of Their Trades, and Manner of Life
Of Their Traffic
Of the Travelling of the Utopians
Of Their Slaves, and of Their Marriages
Of Their Military Discipline
Of the Religions of the Utopians

'Utopia' is a radical document. It anticipates the modern idea of communism, with private property at a minimum; it is generations ahead in the idea of equality of the sexes and freedom of religion. This may seem a remarkable statement from someone who will go to his death supporting the Roman hierarchy, but in historical irony, had religious freedom been respected in England at the time, More would have had nothing to fear.

'Utopia' was a place of education and free inquiry. Again, More's own life models this - travelers from as far away as Constantinople and Venice, visiting More's home in Chelsea, remarked on the incredible sense of knowledge and respect for reason and learning, not just for the men, but also for the women of the household (More's own daughter once impressed Henry VIII with her Latin training so much he was at pains to find something at which he excelled that he could best her at).

At different points throughout the text, More (speaking through Hythloday) jabs in witty and insightful manner the habits of the day - that kings are often more concerned to fill their own coffers than increasing the general wealth of the nation; that courts are designed to be self-serving and self-perpetuating; that liberties are curtailed not for just and reasonable causes, but often for petty personal reasons.

Some of the ideas, however, are not as modern or enlightened as they might seem at first glance. Utopians' freedom of religion exists only in very narrow bounds of reason - they are all monotheists, and while they might identify this deity with the sun or moon or a good person who died long ago, they are not permitted to speak or attempt to convert others to this idea, without risking bondage or death. Not too Utopian after all...

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More was beatified by Leo XIII in 1886 and canonised by Pius XI in 1935 (it is significant to note that Anglican-Roman relations were at a strained point during these times, and the raising of an English saint who rejected the Anglican construct served at least minor political points, something More would have been able to appreciate, if not approve). The official feast day is July 9.

This was required reading for a graduate course in the Humanities. A great story and important historical work in literature. History of Utopia begins with Thomas Moore's book in 1516 he coins the phrase Utopia. Ideal societies have been around before like Garden of Eden, city on a hill. For Moore the idea of utopia was intended to be an ironic one. One of the problems you are faced with when reading his utopia is that you cannot really tell when he is serious and when he is being satirical. He writes on the border of the lyrical and satirical, you cannot really tell when he is trying to be funny or serious. The other problem is the Thomas Moore who speaks to us in the story is not the Thomas Moore who actually lived. He wrote himself into a character. He is intending it to be ironic. Utopia is Greek for "Good Place, and "no place." He is punning an ironic two-sided term he clearly intended irony when he wrote this text, which provided the foundation for a new genre for social representation. Now, according to Lewis Mumford, who wrote the book "The Story of Utopia" 1922, one of the first comprehensive studies of Utopian representation in Western Civilization, the word Utopia signifies human folly or human hope, the vain hope of perfection. The vain hope of remaking our own imperfect natures, so that we can establish the blissful harmonious communal life. On one hand, he is entirely playful and paradoxical. Thomas Moore could be bigoted (against Protestants), small minded, not a saint as portrayed. Among all the things, he was a great wit, great sense of humor. On the other hand, it seems that Utopia could be a reflection of his devout Catholicism. He has been represented as a Roman Catholic martyr. In which case you want to take him seriously, altering the model of menses a set of new aims for moral and social objectives. Of course, Moore's death is important to consider in this life he is glorified in the film, "A Man for All Seasons." He was a Renaissance man, he was a lawyer, statesman, Christian humanist a classical scholar an advocate for women's rights he was also Henry 8's Lord Chancellor.

In 1514, he was sent to Flanders to negotiate a wool treaty and while there, he meets and befriends Peter Giles who is the town clerk of Antwerp, and allegedly tells him "It is my intention to write a book about the way a country should be governed according to my principals. But, it is dangerous to write about those things in England while king Henry the 8 wrath is so easily encouraged, I could perhaps write that I met an old sailor in your house and introduce that man as a globetrotter, who had traveled all over the world and had seen places that we don't even know the existence of. What he had seen there was so unbelievable as compared to the life in Europe that the islands the countries he had visited would seem to belong to another world. Therefore, the title of my book will be "Utopia" a word that means "no where." That sailor will have traveled all over Europe and lived sometime in France Germany, and England. That is why he could compare the ideal community he got acquainted with in Utopia, to the ones he got to know in our countries, and that way I would keep myself out of the matter." After he returned to London, he wrote the fist chapter. Now, what would that tell us about the Utopian imagination, the creation the public presentation of a Utopia? Moore was beheaded in 1535; he would not recognize marriage to Ann Boleyn as lawful to the church. In 1534, Henry becomes head of the church, but Moore remains loyal to pope. In 1935, Moore is canonized. We have to take Moore's religion very seriously. Moore thought Protestants should be burned, he was greedy and proud, not a perfect man. Yet he had this wish for a Utopia.

All utopian fictional ideas of mythic proportion occupy kind of distant realm of the afterlife, myth, faith that unite all of these elements in a matter that is so rich and potentially illuminating and invaluable for scholars students that are interested in working across boundaries and in understanding and exploring the value of working across boundaries. Societies woven and inhabited by populations some of them very select, the exceptionally virtuous or blessed in some cases getting there requires a metaphysical transformation, in other cases it requires a harrowing journey that has to be understood as some ways metaphorical and some ways literal. There is always a sense that to reach Utopia requires a transformation of the human self how do we get away from our flaws, how do we get away from our seemingly inevitable and invariable nature of our being.

These places offer anecdotes to painful and tragic realities to human existence. They are historical in nature you cannot understand any utopia, whether it is represented in a sci-fi movie, or novel or feminist utopia; they must be placed in some kind of a historical context. A fascinating proposition to explore, all utopias all acts of the utopian imagination strike us as constituting in one manner or another statements, critiques or observations about the world we occupy at that given moment. Therefore, any utopia is a reflection and study of the world that we are occupying at that given moment and what we wish it were rather than what it is at that moment. Therefore, utopia is a deeply and inescapably a historical manner organizing the human imagination. I don't think any utopia works in a fixed and eternal way because for every generation and every age they have to imagine their own utopia. Of course utopian experiments were not just talking about fiction or wishing it were so, were talking about actual Soviet Revolution of 1917, were looking at movements looking to bring about radical profound social and political changes that are so deeply utopian in nature. So utopians are aesthetic, philosophical, sociological, they are imagined and fictional, but you can look a history and find attempts most of which failed to bring about these kind of communities that Emerson, Thoreau, these 19th century American egalitarian attempts to create the ideal agrarian society. 1960 hippies reawakening movement of going back to the natural and living off the land. Even today's green and ecological revolution you find in them utopian aspects that resonate so richly with the history of envisioning the ideal society, an ideal place.

Oscar Wilde once said "A map of the world that does not include Utopia, is not even worth glancing at for it leaves out the one country at which humanity has always landed, and when humanity lands there it looks out sees a better country set sail. Progress is the realization of utopias." So when we talk about utopias we are not only talking about a desire or a wish or a longing for perfection, we are talking about an order of progress, a way in which we intend to advance, a way in which we envision or imagine improvement and progress. A progress narrative, psychoanalysis is utopian. Freud's theory of psychoanalysis is a scientific expression of the utopian imagination. The idea that where id was, the ego shall be. The idea of a talking story, the idea that we can master our neurosis that we can harness them that we can move from unconscious behavior to conscious behavior. Marxism and all the grand philosophies of the 19th and 20th centuries are grand utopian narratives. Feminism is a grand utopian narrative in and of itself.

Recommended reading for anyone interested in history, psychology, philosophy, and literature.

"Mormon mavericks" speaks to everyone of us. The mavericks mentioned are from different time periods and include people close to Joseph Smith or General Authorities. Their fates differs in that some chose to stay in the church, other chose or forced to choose to be outside. The essays are beautifully written, the writing styles are refreshing and one wonders how one own's life would be written by others, in 10-20 pages. The book taught a lot about other people's worries, thoughts and actions in a way that made it so clear, so destined in some way, one wonders again if we all are a part of this pattern of reaching one's inner fulfilled desires. Hopefully.

Most fascinating essays were those about people seeking truth, historical truth, like Fawn Brodie, Juantia Brooks, Sterling McMurrins, Michael Quinn and Thomas Ferguson. The essay about Juanita and her importance, I consider her as the first New Mormon Historian, is powerful. Most striking were the personal touch of the essays about Sterling and Michael. The "I" took me very close to these personalities. I think that the Church should see how valuable these persons have been and are. It is a good deed to grant blessings posthumously but frankly I believe that many should have experienced it when living.

This collection contains several fine essays. The most important one is exclusive to this volume and is worth the price of the book: Lavina Fielding Anderson's "DNA Mormon: D. Michael Quinn." Quinn is the most important living Mormon historian, having addressed, among other topics, the institutional development of the Mormon leadership, polygamy, post-manifesto polygamy, the folk-magic context of early Mormonism, Mormonism's changing definitions of gender, Mormonism and war, J. Reuben Clark (a high-ranking church leader and former U.S. undersecretary of state), and the complex interaction between faith and history. His books and articles have won numerous prizes, including the American Historical Association's prestigious Herbert Feis Prize for _Same-Sex Dynamics Among Nineteenth-Century Americans: A Mormon Example_. His life, unfortunately, demonstrates the perils of contradicting Mormon Church authorities, which in his case resulted in his forced resignation from a BYU professorship and in his involuntary excommunication from the church he loved. Anderson, who enjoyed access to Quinn's personal papers, summarizes his life with a sensitivity rarely found in short biography.

I am the 4th great granddaughter of Patty Sessions. This book is an excellent genealogical source for me. She in one or two places in her journal addresses her descendants. I feel as if she is speaking directly to me. She worked hard all of her life, you can tell by her entries. It humbles me to know that I am related to such a great lady. I am thankful that I am able to have this book in my library.

Patty Sessions didn't spend a lot of time detailing the happenings of each day, she was too busy doing everything else imaginable. The entries are usually just a few lines for each day, yet month by month, and year by year, she paints a picture that is an effective illustration of what life was like in early polygamy, what folk beliefs influenced her, and the her role she shared with the more recognized greats of the mormon West, like Brigham Young.
Patty Sessions shares her life and passion for religion, but her religion is quite different from the Mormonism of today. Patty Sessions' life makes great reading for any student of history at any level.
The editor, through pain-staking effort, has added notes of background and clarification that really bring some obscure parts to life. I have given other books about Mormon History five stars, and I regret it as this book IS Mormon History, and provides unique insight that only comes from witnessing a life in words of those who lived it.

This was mandatory reading for a course that I took. I found the book to be enlightening and I learned much more that I ever knew about Mary, the Mother of God.

"Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church: Documents on the Blessed Virgin Mary" from Pauline Books & Media is, indeed, a very welcome collection. This work of general editor Sr. Marianne Lorraine Trouve,FSP, and featuring introductions for each of the Marian pronouncements by M. Jean Fisk, S.T.L., brings together all of the most important papal documents on the Blessed Virgin Mary over a period of 140 years, from the defining of Her Immaculate Conception by Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1854, to Pope John Paul II's letter "Tertio Millenio Adveniente" in 1994. Also included is chapter eight from the Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, "Lumen Gentium," which properly set the Church's teachings on Mary in context with what the Fathers of the Council taught on the Church in total. Having all these important statements on Mary together in one book makes this volume a God-send for believers, theologians and scholars alike.
As we approach the 29th anniversary of the passing of the unforgettable Pontiff Paul VI, it is particularly pleasing to see so many of that Pope's Marian writings included. It is very difficult to find any of Paul VI's teachings on any subject available these days. He is all but forgotten in many scholarly circles in recent decades. Many of his letters and pronouncements on Mary, such as "Marialis Cultis" and "Guadete in Domino" have not been in print for many years. Any copies are virtually impossible to find, as are many of his other important works, especially the encyclical "Populorum Progressio," reviewed so favorably here on Amazon.com.
"Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church" is an important and invaluable resource on the Church's teachings on the Ever Virgin Mother God, Mary of Nazareth. Having this volume in your library will allow you to know and love Mary as the Church has come to know and love her- as the Mother of God and our Mother.

I have read posts on blogs discussing this book that refer to it as Mother Teresa bashing, but those who seek to dismiss this book in such a simplistic manner must not have read it. What Mark Zima does in his book is to set forth Mother Teresa's works and teachings in well-documented detail, and then demonstrate, also in well-documented detail, how these works and teachings compare to established Catholic doctrine. Mr. Zima's analysis is balanced and fair. He makes no effort to diminish or detract from the many noble and selfless corporal works of mercy Mother Teresa performed but at the same time he does not hesitate to expose that many of her beliefs and teachings run directly contrary to those of the Catholic Church. In essence, Mr. Zima is performing the role of the Devil's Advocate. While it is understandable that the very admirable corporal works of mercy which Mother Teresa performed throughout her life make Catholics eager to have her declared a saint, Mr. Zima is simply trying to remind us that the canonization process requires careful scrutiny of all of the candidate's words and actions to ensure that they are faithful to the teachings of Our Lord Jesus Christ and His Church. Mother Teresa's cause can only be helped by an open and honest evaluation of the points raised by Mr. Zima. To dismiss or brush aside Mr. Zima's arguments in a rush to canonization would destroy the integrity of the canonization process. I would highly recommend this book for all faithful Catholics.

Pope John Paul II wrote, "Man is no longer convinced that only in truth can he find salvation." Charitable acts and sincerity alone can not make a saint. The Church insists on her saints being unshakingly faithful to the ancient and constant teachings of the Catholic Faith. Mark Zima contrasts the repeated sayings and practices of Mother Teresa with teachings of the Popes, quotes from Sacred Scripture,and teachings of the saints. His book proves that Mother Teresa did not staunchly defend the Catholic Faith. Instead, she believed that truth is relative and that all religions are pleasing to God.

My husband bought this book and I just picked it up on a whim. The book spins a lovely web of the aesthetics of nature, the factual information about Mount St Helens and a personal reflection on one individual's place in the enormous cycle of nature. I enjoyed Colasurdo simple but elegant prose, her meticulous research, which I was glad to see gave credit to scientists and historians with every fact, and her personal insights and revelations.

I read this books during an absolutely insane Christmas season (I own a retail store so Christmas is always particularly draining) and it really helped me put everything in perspective.

This book was written by someone who grew up with her summers in the shadow of Mt. St. Helens who revisits the area years later, after the eruption. It was a very reflective, somewhat moody book, that I enjoyed reading. Good descriptions of the area as it struggled to recover from the incredible devastation.

Long before "In Cold Blood," Capote mastered the form of the non-fiction novel with this stunning little work. This story follows Truman to Russia on the first cultural exchange between our two countires - a touring company of "Porgy and Bess." This book is much lighter in tone and premise than "In Cold Blood." Capote is in perfect pitch here. If "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is one of your favorites, as it is most assuredly one of mine, you will adore this book. Don't miss it.

This short book originally appeared in two parts in The New Yorker during the mid-1950s. A masterpiece of reportage, it reads like a comic novel as Capote tells delightfully the true story of an American theatre company's travels to the Soviet Union during the cold war to perform the musical "Porgy and Bess." With Truman and his perfect prose as our guide, every satirical detail is vivid, every personal eccentricity is slyly chronicled, and the portrait of a freezing cold Russia is humane and indelible. We finish the book not only charmed and amused but also feeling that we were there. The book is a rare pleasure, and predates the author's more famous "nonfiction novel" ("In Cold Blood") by a decade. Incidentally, over the years "The Muses Are Heard" has also been reprinted in several larger Capote anthologies: "Selected Writings," "The Dogs Bark" and "A Capote Reader."

If you're muslim you'll love it, mainly because it was written by a muslim in his point of view...

If you're not muslim you'll probably like how he goes into detail on pre-Magellan Philippines, a subject most Christian Filipino authors tend to sum up in a paragraph...usually starting with..."we were savages, living in huts"...that kind of writing...then writes on, "..but then the mighty Spaniards came and made me human,,,oh thank you MASTERS!!!"

If you're a muslim hater, don't even bother to read the book, just buy a copy of "Mein Kamf by Adolf Hitler"

This unique book deals primarily with the histories of the sultanates of Sulu and Maguindanao (present-day Southern Philippines) from their beginnings until the end of Spanish period. In their 400 years of existence, they expanded to control a portion of Borneo, and fought the Spaniards fiercely, never actually being colonized with their northern brothers. The author also includes a chapter on how the sultanate functioned- describing the system of government that was more centralized than any other part of the Philippines, and thus the only one that could muster effective resistance against the Spaniards. The role of Islam is highlighted as the very basis of the Moros' determination to resist European colonization. A section of excellent pictures is provided, including portraits of sultans in their royal spendor and a collection of Moro weapons.
Although the book sometimes quite dry - being primarily a political history, describing the reigns of kings and battles and treaties, the information itself is extremely fascinating. There are interesting stories, such as Sultan Azim-ud-Din, prisoner in Manila for 20 years and his spiritual experimenting, and of Sultan Qudarat, unifier of Maguindanao, leader of a 50 year jihad, whom a Spaniard compared to Gustavus Adolphus.
This history, though objective, is clearly sympathetic to the Moros. Yet this is actually quite refreshing, as the Moros have generally been treated poorly by historians. While more colorful histories describe them as vicious slave-raiders and pirates, Cesar argues that this was not the case- rather it was the Spaniards who were inexorably trying to conquer the minds and bodies of the Moros, and thus the latter retaliated with raids, on both them and on the natives the Spaniards used as mercenaries.
Finally, being a Muslim, Cesar can intepret certain events far more objectively and accurately than have most other historians of the Moros. For example, the author examines the motivation and nature of Moro famous "jurmentados," in light of sayings of the Prophet. In his conclusion, the author expresses a hope that in the future an enlarged history of the Filipino people will embrace both the conquered- and the unconquered peoples of the archipelago. Indeed it is difficult to leave this book without some admiration for the bold and unconquerable Muslims of the Philippines.

An outstandingly well written account of what it was like to grow up in an extended German family in 1900 in St. Louis.

An outstandingly well written account of what it was like to grow up in an extended German family in 1900 in St. Louis.