
Only Wonder Comprehends
John Garvey in Commonweal
John Garvey(Author)
Patrick Jordan(Editor)
Liturgical Press
Published on 26. March 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
144 pages
978-0-8146-4464-5 (ISBN)
Description
For over forty years, John Garvey was the "ballast" of Commonweal magazine. His award-winning essays and consistently notable columns revealed not only his acuity and alacrity, but his uncommon spiritual insight. These in turn provided momentum and substance for whatever followed in an issue of the magazine because Garvey never hesitated to wrestle with some of the most challenging and intractable topics of the day, and did so with a rich pastoral sensitivity, and a refreshing and rare intelligence.
Only Wonder Comprehends gleans from John Garvey's many contributions to Commonweal that reflect his spiritual depth and deep appreciation of history, politics, theology, and culture. Steeped in the Christian tradition, Garvey loved to write and, in return, his readers relished what he wrote. It is hoped that this collection of his writings from Commonweal will inspire readers to cultivate a similar sense of attentiveness and commitment, for as the author himself observed, "Religious traditions are meant to transform us, not to affirm us as we are."
Only Wonder Comprehends gleans from John Garvey's many contributions to Commonweal that reflect his spiritual depth and deep appreciation of history, politics, theology, and culture. Steeped in the Christian tradition, Garvey loved to write and, in return, his readers relished what he wrote. It is hoped that this collection of his writings from Commonweal will inspire readers to cultivate a similar sense of attentiveness and commitment, for as the author himself observed, "Religious traditions are meant to transform us, not to affirm us as we are."
Reviews / Votes
John's columns are gems of the plain style: conversational, first-person, direct, without elaborate metaphors or clever categories. He introduced people from his pastoral experience or from the rest of his everyday life: `I once knew a man who..' Or, `A woman who sat next to me on a four-hour bus ride..' Where many columnists dwell on the world's wholesale miseries, John went retail: the loss of a loved one, or of love, or of faith, or of purpose.Peter SteinfelsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Collegeville, MN
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 8 mm
Weight
188 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8146-4464-5 (9780814644645)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
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E-Book
03/2018
1st Edition
Liturgical Press
from
€31.99
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Persons
Patrick Jordan (1944 - 2025) served as the former managing editor of The Catholic Worker. He and his wife Kathleen were associated with Dorothy Day from 1968 until her death in 1980. From 1984 to 2012, Jordan was an editor at Commonweal magazine. He is the author of Hold Nothing Back: Writings by Dorothy Day, and Dorothy Day: Love in Action; and served as editor of Dorothy Day: Writings from Commonweal, and Only Wonder Comprehends: John Garvey in Commonweal, published by Liturgical Press. He served on the advisory board of the Dorothy Day Guild.
Content
Contents
Foreword
Groundings
Climbing Trees
Confidence v. Certainty
A Tree Full of Monkeys
Admitting Ignorance
Telling the Christian Story
The New Atheists
Portals
The Fiction of Philip K. Dick
Christo's Gates
Not a Wasted Word
Philip Roth's Everyman
Myths, Fables & Parables
Incarnation, Death, Resurrection, Love
Found, Not Made
An Unimaginable Intimacy
Flesh Wounds
What Is the Point of Suffering?
Outrageous or Meaningless?
Resurrection or Resignation?
More than Sentiment
A Priest of and for His Times
The Splendor of Orthodox Spirituality
What a Priest Does
Priests Should Be Married
Gender & Religious Symbols
When Church & State Marry
When Christians Kill
Why People Leave the Church
Doxologies
Sing Out
The Decline of Friendship
Only Wonder Comprehends
The Beginning of Wisdom
Books by John Garvey
Index
Foreword
Groundings
Climbing Trees
Confidence v. Certainty
A Tree Full of Monkeys
Admitting Ignorance
Telling the Christian Story
The New Atheists
Portals
The Fiction of Philip K. Dick
Christo's Gates
Not a Wasted Word
Philip Roth's Everyman
Myths, Fables & Parables
Incarnation, Death, Resurrection, Love
Found, Not Made
An Unimaginable Intimacy
Flesh Wounds
What Is the Point of Suffering?
Outrageous or Meaningless?
Resurrection or Resignation?
More than Sentiment
A Priest of and for His Times
The Splendor of Orthodox Spirituality
What a Priest Does
Priests Should Be Married
Gender & Religious Symbols
When Church & State Marry
When Christians Kill
Why People Leave the Church
Doxologies
Sing Out
The Decline of Friendship
Only Wonder Comprehends
The Beginning of Wisdom
Books by John Garvey
Index