Catholic Thought discussion

Our next read in our cycle of types of reads is Catholic fiction. Let's take this week to nominate a book and we'll put it to a vote next week.

My nomination is a bit unusual. I'm going to nominate T.S. Eliot's great poem Four Quartets, but since it may be available on the internet I'm going to combine it with a book that explains it, Dove Descending: A Journey into T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets by Thomas Howard. So it's a combination of the two.

In fact the online text of Four Quartets can be found here:
http://www.davidgorman.com/4quartets/

It's a deeply religious poem which if reading on your own may be found difficult. Here is an opportunity to read along with a book that explains it line by line. And I have some skill at reading modernist poetry, so I can help make clear what seems mysterious.

Manny, you are probably familiar with this T.S. Eliot quote: “Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them. There is no third. ”

Galicius wrote: "Manny, you are probably familiar with this T.S. Eliot quote: “Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them. There is no third. ”"

Sounds like something he would say but I don't directly recall it. I would have thought he would have included Homer as the greatest of the greats.

The Song of Bernadette

Kerstin wrote: "The Song of Bernadette"

I didn't know that was a novel. Great choice.

Because the divide in the Church before and after Vatican II comes up so often in our discussions, I’d like to nominate a slender (161 pages) novel that deals with just such an issue resulting from a fictional Vatican council in the future. The name of the book is Catholics, by the superb writer, the late Brian Moore.

That's another good one. I didn't realize it was so short.

Have we read The Power and the Glory? If not, consider it nominated.

Joseph wrote: "Have we read The Power and the Glory? If not, consider it nominated."

No it has not. It's nominated. I was just thinking of that novel. I heard it discussed on the Godsplaining podcast. Did you catch that episode?

Edit: No it wasn't Godsplaining podcast. It was some other podcast but I can't remember which. Memory is a terrible thing to lose. ;)

I was just on a short retreat and there was a copy right next to Ben-Hur on the bookshelves, not to mention that it's been recommended to me multiple times.

Oh it's a great novel. Might be in the handful of the greatest Catholic novels ever written.

Nominations are closed. I see only three nominations. They are:

Four Quartets
The Song of Bernadette
The Power and the Glory

All three look enticing. I will set up the poll in a little while.

Manny, please remember Catholics, by Brian Moore.

Frances wrote: "Manny, please remember Catholics, by Brian Moore."

Oh I’m sorry Frances. I knew there was a fourth but skipped over your comment. Yes I will add
Catholics: A Novel

When and how do we vote?

Pete wrote: "When and how do we vote?"

Welcome Pete. I'm a little late getting it up. Sorry about that. You can find the poll here:
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

The voting has ended. We had a tie, and since both books are fairly short, let's do both! The winners are Catholics: A Novel by Brian More and The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene.

You can start getting both books, but we might as well start with Catholics: A Novel. I'll put up a reading schedule as soon as I get the books. We'll start reading next week.

This is exciting. I have The Power and The Glory but will need to find Catholic’s. I look forward to following along.

Mary wrote: "This is exciting. I have The Power and The Glory but will need to find Catholic’s. I look forward to following along."

I'm happy you found us and will join us in our next read.

I don’t have nominating weight, because I’ve been in and out d/t my Carmelite studies and my FCCW group, but I would highly recommend either of the following Taylor Caldwell Catholic historic novels. Dear and Glorious Physician, about St.Luke, and Great Lion of God, about St. Paul are fairly accurate, according to the bibliographic info provided.

My all time favorite book, with its tremendous morals and themes is Green Dolphin Street. I first saw the movie in the ‘70s and was captivated, but the book is so much better, and brings out the purpose of the author clearly.