It's hard to read Thomas Merton anymore—hard to get past the celebrity. Short of becoming 16 years old again and discovering one of his books in complete ignorance of the man and his legend, this little book offers the best chance for entry. Start at the end, with a talk that Doherty gave several months after Merton's death. She recalls a lunch with him, before his vocation, when she interrupted his flow of beautiful talk and said, "Why don't you shut up for a while?" Then she suggested that he come to spend some time in Harlem. He listened.
In this brief but immensely learned and penetrating book, John Witte illumines legal, social, cultural, and religious perspectives on illegitimacy from antiquity to the present, showing with painful clarity how often the church has fallen short of its calling. And he considers the current "explosion of illegitimacy" in the light of this history, reminding us in conclusion that "adoption is one of the deepest forms and examples of Christian charity."
If your Christmas gift list includes someone who relishes the Victorian era in all its contradictions, you might consider this handsomely produced volume, which accompanies an exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago (October 10, 2009&mdashJanuary 3, 2010, then traveling to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York). Drawn from photocollage albums of the 1860s and 1870s, these images will especially interest fans of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear. Why, by the way, was this a golden age of Nonsense?
While we pray for peace, we need moral clarity about this war.
As my doubts about his teachings grew, so did a secret fascination with Jesus.
The Grammy-winning artist was found dead at her home in Nashville at age 47.
