Lessons on poverty at home and abroad
Reviewed by Regina Lordan
The Wanderers
By Henry A. Garon. Orbis (Maryknoll, N.Y., 2009). 151 pp., $16.
What They Taught Us
Edited by Joseph A. Heim. Orbis (Maryknoll, N.Y., 2009). 126 pp., $15.
God Knows There's Need
By Susan R. Holman. Oxford University Press (New York, 2009). 206 pp., $29.95.
Read together, the books written by Susan R. Holman and Deacon Henry A. Garon and edited by Joseph A. Heim provide a sort of a miniseries on Christian perspectives of homelessness and poverty around the world.
In "The Wanderers," Deacon Garon has written a refreshingly realistic book about ministering to the homeless of New Orleans. A Catholic deacon, father and husband, he provides short stories about the street people he has met and the experiences he has had while volunteering at Ozanam Inn. The inn is a homeless shelter located near the heart of New Orleans' business section and owned by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
The stories are compelling, well-written and certainly not fluff-filled memories of changing lives and the joy that ministering brings. Rather, his stories are grimy, sometimes sad and always a realistic description of the human condition on the street.
His characters symbolize drug and alcohol abuse, depression and madness. His stories often end without a sense of closure, as Deacon Garon never sees the street people again to know if they succeeded in quitting drinking, stayed out of jail, reconnected with family or found a steady job.
His book covers his 28-year service to the homeless, which includes his work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. One particular story stands out amid the rest. After the hurricane, when the inn was back up and running, a man told Deacon Garon that while he was in line outside the inn, a tour bus pulled up and its passengers started taking pictures of the men "like they were animals" at the zoo. This forced him to remember that at one time he also had felt disdain for these men. This is just one of many stories that forced him to reflect about his life volunteering at the inn.
Within this theme of self-reflection, Heim's book, "What They Taught Us," is a collection of stories shared by Maryknoll missionaries about lessons they learned from the poor. The stories take place in Guatemala, Venezuela, Bangladesh, Philippines, Tanzania and even Pennsylvania, to name a few places.
The lessons covered several topics, including interfaith work. For example, Maryknoll Father Douglas Venne wrote about his desire to pray more when he realized that the Muslim community in Bangladesh was praying five times a day to the same God. Their prayerfulness, which at first Father Venne considered an annoyance and disturbance, became his call to prayer.
The book also includes great lessons of the wealth of generosity, happiness and family in the face of poverty; one such story highlights refugee women in a Honduran camp who gathered corn to feed the starving children in another refugee camp despite their limited food supply.
The most poignant story is that of "the gentleman," a dirty, smelly homeless man in Tokyo who survived by collecting and selling scrap cardboard. The gentleman spent his last days caring for another man on the street, feeding him and sharing his meager living with him. The gentleman's generosity eventually led to his own death. Maryknoll Father John Grimm told this story, describing the gentleman as being "without a doubt a saint."
The stories and their lessons are quite beautiful, and a reminder not only of the wonderful work the church does abroad, but how the people the church serves are wonderful gifts made in the image of God.
In contrast to Heim's and Deacon Garon's books, Holman's "God Knows There's Need" is not an easy read. Nor is it anecdotal. Instead, Holman writes like the Harvard academic she is, for, presumably, Harvard-type academics. And so, one must be in an academic mood to enjoy --- and understand --- her book. This is not to totally knock the book, because it has its moments. But the moments would be greater and far more frequent with a little bit more color and perhaps an accompanying professor to lead a discussion on her main points.
Holman's book explores the subject of poverty throughout time through the lenses of noteworthy Christians, such as Sts. Basil and Gregory. Importantly, her book reminds readers that poverty is a timeless issue, and Holman points this out via her exploration of ancient Christian responses to poverty.
Because the topic is so scholarly and specific, Holman's book would be great for a reader --- or researcher --- interested in dissecting poverty and need.
---CNS
The intersection of culture and faith
Reviewed by Allan F. Wright
The Difference God Makes: A Catholic Vision of Faith, Communion and Culture
By Francis Cardinal George. Crossroads (New York, 2009). 342 pp., $26.95.
Can God Be Trusted? Finding Faith in Troubled Times
By Rev. Thomas D. Williams, LC. Faith Words (New York, 2009). 208 pp., $19.99.
In "The Difference God Makes," Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, offers thoughtful reflection and analysis of American individualism and culture in the context of the mission of the Catholic Church.
As the church struggles to get its message heard in a society which fails to understand the nature of the church and very often refuses to listen to it, Cardinal George offers a coherent, reasoned account of how the church is called to continually evangelize the culture. He states, "A culture is transformed only by those who love it, just as individuals are converted only by evangelizers who love them."
Offering scholarly insight, historical witness and personal wisdom from one of the church's intellectual leaders, this book offers a Catholic vision of relationships as they ought to be from an authentic Catholic position. It illustrates the church's connection to the very fabric of society, including our responsibility to dialogue with the secular world in order to transform our culture.
Drawing from Scripture, tradition, the lives of the saints and the author's lived experience of Catholicism around the world, Cardinal George demonstrates how to recognize the generous, self-giving God who stands in contrast to selfish individualism and moral relativism that has permeated the culture that once reflected Christian values in its institutions.
"The Difference God Makes" acknowledges the tension between individualism and a communitarian worldview and challenges American Catholics to look outside the national boundaries that define how we look at the world, including the church which stretches beyond our shores. While many American Catholics have differing views on the effectiveness and moral leadership of the bishops in the U.S. Catholic Church, Cardinal George has a refreshing emphasis throughout the book on the centrality of Jesus Christ in the life of the believer. He then proceeds to discuss the issues that separate and divide so many in the church and references St. Augustine's work, "City of God," in explaining the church's relationship to faith and society.
In addition to writing on matters concerning the clerical sex abuse scandal, he addresses issues involving lay ecclesial leadership, episcopal leadership, the mission of priests, Catholic-Jewish relations, Islam and globalization, all within the context of Christ's call to evangelize the culture.
Cardinal George spends a fair bit of space responding to the critique of church leadership offered by Peter Steinfels in his book, "A People Adrift." He handles most of Steinfels' objections skillfully and within the context of faith, Scripture and tradition.
But while Cardinal George comments on the sexual abuse scandal, he fails to give a proper hearing to the view that more than a few bishops failed to lead ethically and morally. The role of women in the church is another topic that does not get adequate mention. This is a missed opportunity to state how the church understands and values women as part of the fabric of church and culture.
"The Difference God Makes" successfully confronts many of the issues our culture faces today and gives the reader, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, an understanding of how being simply Catholic can bring hope and transformation to the culture. Cardinal George writes a timely book and moves the dialogue forward as the church moves further into the third millennium.
In a society where self-reliance is a virtue and moral relativism is the norm, Father Thomas Williams, a member of the Legionaries of Christ, quotes believers, nonbelievers and seekers, along with verses from Scripture which cause the reader to consider the case for trusting in a loving God.
Examples from ordinary people put flesh on what faith "looks like." He asks, "Does God really know what's best for us? Of course he does. But we often would rather do things our way. Since we cannot see the outcome, we cling to our earthly wisdom rather than step out in an act of true confidence in him. Let's look at how this plays out."
Father Williams lists anxiety, complaint, discouragement, ideologies and self-sufficiency as some of the "sins" against trust and gives some very practical steps to overcome them in the subsequent chapters.
One of the advantages of this book, in addition to its pastoral tenor, is the ability of the author to speak to the heart of one who has struggled with faith, lost faith or never had faith to begin with. His encouragement in writing about a God who is patient with human beings is a great source of hope in a suspicious and untrusting world.
"Can God Be Trusted?" is down-to-earth and personally relevant to the layperson and an excellent tool for those who want to give voice as to why they do trust in God. Straightforward and lacking theological terminology, it provides an easy read. The exhortation to faith is present, leaving room for readers to reflect upon their own beliefs.
---CNS
The religious lives of teens
Reviewed by David Gibson
Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers
By Christian Smith, with Melinda Lundquist Denton. Oxford University Press (New York, 2009). 346 pp. $17.95.
The attempt to understand teenagers too often overlooks the religious faith and spiritual practices in their lives, according to the authors of "Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers." Their research shows that religion makes "quite a significant difference" in teenagers' lives.
But while "any adequate understanding of American adolescents must recognize and account for (the) religious and spiritual realities in many of their lives," the authors caution religious communities against "accepting and promulgating what may be simplistic generalizations about American youth." For, religiously speaking, "American teens are complicated and 'all over the map.'"
Christian Smith, a sociologist at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, wrote "Soul Searching" with Melinda Lundquist Denton, a sociologist at Clemson University in South Carolina. The book presents, analyzes and comments on the findings of the National Study of Youth and Religion, conducted from 2001 to 2005 at the University of North Carolina.
"To our knowledge, this project has been the largest, most comprehensive and detailed study of American teenage religion and spirituality conducted to date," the authors, members of the national study's research team, explain. The study reflects the views of Christian teenagers across denominational lines, as well as Jewish and Mormon youths.
The inclusion of numerous interviews with teenagers that read like stories about their lives heightens the enjoyment of what, at times, is a technical report. Readers may garner hope from the strong, balanced faith convictions of some who were interviewed. At other times readers, like me, may find themselves troubled by what teens say --- by the apparently risky and self-serving statements some make about the implications of a moral life, for example.
On a hopeful note, the book rejects the notion that religion makes no difference for the direction taken in the lives of teenagers. In fact, say the authors, religion "arguably exerts significant effects on important outcomes" in their lives.
"Soul Searching" dispels certain commonly held beliefs about contemporary teenagers. For example, it says that "very few American adolescents appear to be caught up in the much-discussed phenomenon of 'spiritual seeking' by 'spiritual but not religious' seekers" --- the pursuit of spirituality outside religion.
Furthermore, the authors found little evidence of the quest for a more "exotic" religion that widely is thought to intrigue many teenagers. "In the U.S. marketplace of spiritual practices, the religious option that is actually having the greatest influence on teen experimenters with other faiths is" Christianity, they write.
Just how complicated are teenagers, religiously speaking? "Many U.S. teenagers construct religion in nonessential terms," the book says. Still, it notes elsewhere, even "the majority of nonreligious U.S. adolescents are not particularly antireligious." And it finds that "relatively few teens appear to be actively negative about or hostile toward their religious congregations."
Not surprisingly, then, "Soul Searching" encourages religious communities to stop "presuming that U.S. teenagers are actively alienated by religion." It says, "Huge numbers of U.S. teenagers are currently in congregations, feel OK about them, mostly plan to continue to stay involved at some level," though the congregation "does not mean that much or make much sense to many of them."
An affirming view of parental influence is presented here. "Parents are normally very important in shaping the religious and spiritual lives of their teenage children, even though they may not realize it," the book states. "Soul Searching" proposes that "the best way to get most youth more involved in and serious about their faith communities is to get their parents more involved."
The book's discussion of Catholic teens may disturb a few readers, while prompting some to action. It would be mistaken, based on the enthusiastic devotion witnessed at large Catholic youth assemblies, to conclude "that Catholic teenagers in the United States are doing quite well religiously," the book advises.
At parish and perhaps diocesan levels, the Catholic Church seems "relatively weak when it comes to devoting attention and resources to its youth and their parents." In a somewhat gentler vein, the book says the Catholic Church could do better at engaging teenagers "in its religious practices, though our findings hardly suggest that overall it is entirely failing to do so."
"Soul Searching" should be taken seriously by those committed to nurturing the lives of teenagers. These include religious congregations and organizations, which "are uniquely positioned" in the array of U.S. social institutions "to embrace youth, to connect with adolescents, to strengthen ties between adults and teenagers," the book comments. ---CNS
The Reviewers:
Regina Lordan is a former assistant international editor of Catholic News Service and contributor to Catholic Radio Weekly.
Allan F. Wright has written two books on Scripture and is coordinator of parish evangelization directors for the Diocese of Paterson, N.J.
David Gibson was the founding editor of Origins, Catholic News Service's documentary service. He retired in 2007 after holding that post for 36 years. |