In reviews

Philip Hughes, Putting Life Together, Fairfield Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-875138-07-4, distributed by Rainbow Book Agencies, rrp $34.95.

Diagnosing the next generation is like reading tea leaves. It is popular, because we would like to know how our successors will turn out. We think that it is important to hand on to them what has mattered to us. But it is also a mysterious activity. The signs are always ambiguous, so that we can read into them what we fear or would like to see.

Philip Hughes’ account of his research on the spirituality of young Australians is interesting because he goes beyond tea leaves. His research was well and soundly constructed, and gives a good idea of the ideas of young Australians. He also separates his reflections on the significance of the survey from the results themselves. This is important, because when you begin to interpret you can read your own prejudices into the survey.

The broad conclusions of his report, which comes with a CD, is that young people wish to enjoy life. They identify enjoyment with friendships and excitement. They generally want to find their own way, look to their peers for support, and do not seek authoritative guidance from churches or other institutions.

This provides a challenge to mainstream churches in which continuity with tradition is central. The heart of the Gospel that the churches have inherited and pass on lies in God’s love for us as it comes to us in Christ’s death. This takes us beyond enjoyment and superficial relationships. It requires an adult reflectiveness to appreciate. But young people must hear Christ’s message preached on their own ground. This is a large challenge.

Christian Moe fsc, God writes straight on crooked lines: The arrival of the De La Salle Brothers in Australia, De La Salle Provincialate, ISBN 978-0-9751148-2-1. Available for $25.00 incl p&p from ‘De La Salle offer’, PO Box 44, East Kew, VIC 3104.

When we think of the beginning of schools and religious congregations in Australia, we usually focus on what happens here. We don’t think of the situations that they came from. Yet these can greatly affect their new ventures in Australia.

The great merit of this little account by Br Christian Moe of the arrival of the De La Salle Brothers in Australia is that it points to the complexity of their Australian beginnings in 1904.

Both the Brothers in Ireland and in France were involved in the venture. The Brothers of the Christian Schools had been founded before the Revolution, expelled after it, refounded, flourished for a time, and then again seen their schools and houses confiscated. Many brothers were left without home or work after years of commitment. Their religious leaders, hard pressed on all fronts, looked to Australia as a place to found a French mission.

The brothers had flourished in Ireland, particularly through the encouragement of Bishop Patrick Moran. When he came to Australia, he sought their assistance for his new schools, partly because he found vexing the insistence by the Christian Brothers on their independence. But he yielded to the claims of the Bishop of Armidale, who wanted Irish brothers to teach in schools there. The resources of the Irish brothers were stretched because of other missionary demands.

These different interests led to the arrival in Armidale of a relatively large group of brothers the majority of whom were French. They found few students. The French brothers were clearly unwelcome as teachers.

For all that, the school flourished and the French brothers went on either to France or to the Asian missions. A religious congregation, to make a great contribution to Australian education, was planted.
In this work Br Moe provides an outline of the history followed by short sketches of each of the main players. His story reminds us that great ventures are always made by fragile human beings. Out of their often discordant desires and relationships arise great ventures.

Teresa of Avila, The Book of My Life – audio version, Starr Mirabai, 5 CDs (abridged), Random, ISBN: 978-159030-436-5, rrp $52.95. Available from Rainbow Book Agencies, 03 9481 6611.

She was the last person anyone would have expected to become a nun, yet she became one of the most celebrated nuns of all time. She was a brilliant administrator when such vocations were virtually closed to women. And above all, she combined an astonishing proclivity for ecstatic union with God with down-to-earth practicality and good humor. Teresa of ?Avila (1515?-1582) is one of the most beloved of the Catholic saints. During the era of the Spanish Inquisition, Teresa wrote an account of the mystical experiences for which she had become famous. The result was her book?, one of the great classics of spiritual autobiography.

A fresh, contemporary translation of The Book of My Life brings the beloved Spanish mystic to life for a new generation. This audiobook also includes Teresa's ?bookmark? prayer, sung in English and Spanish. This moving prayer was found in Teresa's prayer book after her death, and it is another record of her deep connection to the Divine.