Inward examination: Three new books for refreshing the soul

Reviewed by Mike Hayes
Catholic News Service

Blessed Are the Bored in Spirit: A Young Catholic's Search for Meaning, by Mark Hart. Servant Books (Cincinnati, 2006). 129 pp., $11.99.

How to Be a Monastic and Not Leave Your Day Job: An Invitation to Oblate Life, by Brother Benet Tvedten. Paraclete Press (Brewster, Mass., 2006).119 pp., $14.95.

The Spiritual Spa: Getting Away Without Going Away, by Mary Sherry. Resurrection Press (Totowa, N.J., 2006). 171 pp., $9.95.

Autumnal retreats, when retreat properties are abounding with colorful foliage, often are fodder for fine spiritual reflection. For those of us who are too caught up in the affairs of the world and unable to take that precious "Sabbath time" for retreat, three authors have provided a panacea. Each, in fact, covers different areas of Catholic life.

Mark Hart takes up the cause for young Catholics in their 20s with Blessed Are the Bored in Spirit: A Young Catholic's Search for Meaning. Those in their college and post-college years will find Hart a meaningful and inspiring writer, who has struggled with his own spiritual demons and provides the reader with some helpful hints in overcoming their own.

A bit penitent at times, Hart writes an often heartfelt and convincing book that lays out a healthy and easy-to-follow plan for a life that is both morally sound and simultaneously engaged with the secular world. His stories will resonate with the lives of his target audience, and his excellent chapter on sexuality fails to be the usual finger-wagging drivel that often gets laughingly spoon-fed to young adults. Hart takes a real-world look at sexuality and it is a no-holds-barred session in finding meaning in our sexuality. Hardly boring, Hart's book will enliven your spirit, make you laugh and challenge secularity at every turn.

For more committed Catholics, Benedictine Brother Benet Tvedten (who boasts of hosting Dorothy Day at his monastery), takes his readers on a trip through Benedict's rule and its benefits for healthy and prayerful living in How to Be a Monastic and Not Leave Your Day Job: An Invitation to Oblate Life. Providing both personal examples from his own life as well as testimony from others, Brother Benet teaches the way to integrate the Benedictine life into everyday living.

Simple and yet profound, Brother Benet's book encourages simplicity but also prods toward commitment. The book, in short, is an invitation for lay people to become oblates -- lay monks, if you will, or people who have professed to follow St. Benedict's way without becoming professed clerics. His testimony to the value of the laity in this regard is respectful both of the lay call and the call to priesthood and religious life. In short, Brother Benet has woven a fabulous tale of invitation to a life of deeper contemplation and a life of great spiritual integration.

Finally, The Spiritual Spa: Getting Away Without Going Away is Mary Sherry's attempt to construct a metaphorical retreat house, or spa, within the pages of her book. Although the author may not have intended it, this book seems aimed at retirees looking for rejuvenation in their second half of life. Sherry herself has lived a rich life in which experience has taught her much and prayer has been at the heart of it.

An excellent chapter on "taking" is by far the deepest thought she offers and will stay with this reviewer for some time. Two small quibbles: The author often tries too hard in relating to the younger set with references to their culture and she offers exercises throughout the book that, unfortunately, often fell flat for me.

However, her personal anecdotes throughout the book have much to offer (and are often hysterically funny) and convey sound wisdom coupled with elements from Catholic tradition. As you read, you'll think that your grandmother, who always had her age-old wisdom at the ready to share, was penning these remarks. Sherry's charm, wit and sage advice will give readers much to chew on.

* Hayes is associate director of Paulist Young Adult Ministries in New York and managing editor of the Paulist online site, BustedHalo.com.