Abstract
In this work, subtitled An Introduction to Catholic Spirituality, the author states that his aim is ‘to retrieve the part of the Christian tradition that pertains to growth in the Holy Spirit, or, as it is often called today, spirituality.’ In the Introduction his intent is clearly indicated with the statement that ‘Catholic spirituality is not ambivalent toward those revealed truths known as doctrines,’ interpreting the plurality of forms of Catholic spirituality as founded on the fundamental doctrines of the faith. Thus, he asserts, ‘Catholic spirituality is life-giving because it is a lived theology founded on truth.’ This dovetailing of ‘life-giving’ and ‘lived’ gives this spirituality its specificity in the spectrum of spiritualities subscribed in the past and present. Listing among his sources Scripture and the Church Fathers, Dominicans Aquinas and Catherine of Siena, the Catechism, and contemporary spiritual writers, McDermott divides his study of Catholic spirituality into eight chapters.
Chapters one and two look at knowledge, both of self and God, with chapter three considering the effects of divine grace in terms of the indwelling of the Trinity through deification which ‘is not a solitary process in isolation from others but is attained through Christ and in the Church, the sphere in which union with God takes place in this life.’ Chapter four looks at the theological virtues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Chapter five explores the experience of entering into the kingdom of God on earth through the church and the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Chapter six presents the three traditional expressions of prayer, vocal, meditative, and contemplative. Chapter seven is an exposition of Catherine of Siena’s ‘stages of the spiritual life’ while chapter eight looks at the end of the journey in terms of a ‘spirituality of the last things.’
This is a well written book—with a prayer or reflection at the conclusion of each chapter—on Catholic spirituality which serves as a valuable resource and reference for reflection on and realization of the second part of C. 214 (Code of Canon Law): ‘The Christian Faithful have the right to follow their own form of spiritual life so long as it is consonant with the doctrine of the Church.’ The three entries in the Index under ‘N’—Newman, Blessed John Henry/Nicene-Constantinople Creed/Nouwen, Henri—reflect the method and style adopted by the author. The lack of an entry for New Age is surprising in the light of the Pontifical Councils for Culture and Interreligious Dialogue document Jesus Christ, The Bearer of the Water of Life: A Reflection on the New Age (2003) given that the author begins his Introduction by stating that ‘These words of Jesus—‘I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly’ (Jn 10.10)—are among the most overlooked in the entire New Testament.’