Gone for Two Weeks
I am functionally gone for the next two weeks. Headed to Boston for a college reunion. It is only 6 days of vacation, but I have obligations in Seattle upon my return. So no Pastor’s Note again until October 30.
Recent Book Recommendations
From time to time, I like to publish a list of books I have recently read that I would recommend for others. If you want to track my reading in real time, you can follow me on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/47470930-fr-jeffrey-moore
Fiction:
I read about as much fiction as non-fiction, but I am less likely to recommend many of the books. They are often interesting, but not as clean as I would want for me to recommend them.
- “Lord of the World” by Fr. Robert Hugh Benson
- Pope Benedict and Pope Francis both recommended this book, and I understand why. I cannot stop thinking about it. In short, Humanism has won and Catholicism is the last remaining supernatural religion, in precipitous decline. This book really forced me to confront the nature and discipline of raw faith without external confirmations.
- “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir
- Really compelling sci-fi by the same guy who wrote “The Martian”. Made me tear up at the end.
Religious Non-Fiction:
- “The Way” by St. Josémaría Escrivá
- Excellent and often challenging collection of spiritual aphorisms. Best read with a highlighter and post-it notes.
- “God or Nothing: A Conversation on Faith” by Cdl. Robert Sarah and Nicolas Diat
- I found Sarah’s biography fascinating and inspiring. The rest of the book was good, but not life-changing. I worry that the book is actually excellent, but that I have read too much theology for it to be novel and exciting for me.
- “The Golden Legend” by Jacobus de Voragine
- A 13th century collection of stories of the lives of the saints. If you have ever wondered where some story about a saint comes from, it comes from this book. Very helpful for understanding Christian art and the Medieval devotion to the saints.
Societal / Political Non-Fiction:
- “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness” by Jonathan Haidt
- Exploration of how childhood has changed over the last 40 years, but especially how it has changed due to the introduction of the smartphone. A lot of good food for thought as the administrator of a school.
- “Democracy and Solidarity: On the Cultural Roots of America’s Political Crisis” by James Davison Hunter
- A review of American history, with special focus on what sources of solidarity have kept American democracy operating as a cohesive unit. And an exploration of why American democracy is fading and failing now that those sources of solidarity have vanished. The book is heavy on five-dollar words – it seems accessible enough, but I also spent 6 years studying philosophy and theology. Hyper politically balanced – the entire time, I was waiting for the shoe to drop on one side or the other, but he was never once unfair to either political side, nor did he let either side off the hook.
- “Conscience and Its Enemies: Confronting the Dogmas of Liberal Secularism” by Robert P. George
- I have been reading Prof. George since college and have always appreciated his insight, especially as a member of the new school of Natural Law. This book was a fascinating look into “pure” conservative theory (think Republican intellectuals before the advent of Pres. Trump). There were some real surprises in there, like the essay against Marbury vs. Madison (which, I learned, Pres. Lincoln also opposed).
- “The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America” by Andrés Reséndez
- Recommended by one of our parishioners, this was a dark side of North American history that I had never really known about. I found the author incredibly fair minded and fact-oriented in covering a topic that could easily have become polemical.
Fr. Moore 