[virtualwhys]

Curious, are you familiar with the writings of Thomas Merton? Outside of Paradise Lost, the other book that made me realize the Christian leap is not without reason is, "The 7 Story Mountain"

Anyway, obviously you are a fully converted Christian, congratulations on your happiness ;-)

[michaelsbradley]

I have not read that book by the late Thomas Merton, though I am familiar with the author and I've heard others recommend Merton's works numerous times. I should probably put it back on my "to read" list.

From a Catholic perspective, reason and faith necessarily go together and official Church teaching rejects fideism[1] outright. That's not to say that individuals don't experience "leaps of faith", wherein reason and belief may be in tension with one another for brief periods.

Most of my Christian reading these days consists of historical works, treatments of specific topics (e.g. theology of Atonement), and spiritual classics (e.g. Augustine's "Confessions", Scupoli's "Spiritual Combat"[2]).

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fideism#Fideism_rejected_by_the...

[2] http://www.ecatholic2000.com/combat/spirit.shtml

[virtualwhys]

Thanks for the links, I have yet to read Augustine's "Confessions", that's going on the Amazon order list.

I'm a big fan of spiritual autobiography, which is exactly what the 7 Story Mountain is all about, the story of Merton's fall and salvation -- it's really quite beautiful, can't recommend it highly enough ;-)

Curious, may I ask why the Church seems to be emphasized over Jesus in your posts? Put another way, before the Church came to be there was Jesus -- should the cart not come before the horse?

[michaelsbradley]

It's not an auto-biography, but one of my favorite books is a biography of a modern saint, or at least a man who I think will be canonized some day: Strange Vagabond of God[1], by Fr. John Dove, S.J.

The book tells the life-story of John Bradburne[2] – mystic, poet, wanderer, care-taker of lepers. There are very few recordings of John reciting his own poetry[3] but a couple of them were featured in a short film about his life: Mombe! (Cry Cattle!)[4] and Love (1971)[5].

For a Catholic Christian, the Church and Jesus always go together, for the Church is Our Lord's mystical body[6], of which he is the head. The Apostle St. Paul in his epistle to Timothy refers to the Church as the "pillar and foundation of truth"[7]; St. Cyprian of Carthage, a bishop in the 3rd Century, would remind his flock that "he cannot have God for his Father who has not the Church for his mother."[8] The Church is the context for my personal relationships with Jesus and His Blessed Mother[9]. It is in and through the Church that I have received and am continually strengthened by the life of Divine Grace[10], nourished with the very body and blood of Jesus[11], and taught the truth about myself, other men, the world and its Creator and Redeemer.

[1] http://www.johnbradburne.com/shop.php

[&] http://books.google.com/books?id=VjdXWDpt34YC&pg

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bradburne

[3] http://johnbradburnepoems.com/

[4] http://vimeo.com/23668242

[5] http://vimeo.com/23669547

[6] http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/docum...

[7] 1 Timothy 3:15, http://newadvent.org/bible/1ti003.htm

[8] On the Unity of the Church, paragraph 6, http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view....

[9] http://www.catholictreasury.info/books/true_devotion/index.p...

[10] http://www.christianperfection.info/tta5.php#bk1

[11] http://www.livemass.org/LiveMass/dailyHD.html

[virtualwhys]

John Bradburne, pretty far out look in his eyes back in the 70s, unkempt and going old school desert style asceticism no doubt. Would like to hear a recording of him reciting a poem (same-ish deal with Merton, there are some recordings from Gethsemani, the monastery that 7 Story Mountain leads to, but not much, few things on Youtube if you search for it).

Peace Pilgrim, if you've heard of her, while not technically Christian, lived a Godly life, pretty amazing faith to walk across the country in the name of peace, penniless, only taking food or shelter if offered -- her autobiography is astounding.

I'll put this one out there for contrast, Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind[1] I imagine you've prayed from time to time, no? Obviously, yes ;-) Ok, now, let's say your calling is such that rather than laying down to sleep at night, you are drawn to prayer instead of sleep, and you do that for 1,000 days sitting upright. Maura O'Halleran is the result of that. It's the best account of spiritual awakening I have come across as it's her diary, the living account of her transformation from wandering free spirit to canonized saint in Japan.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Pure-Heart-Enlightened-Mind-OHalloran/...