Catholics (The Loyola Classics Series) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The fog lifted..." (more)
Key Phrases: cloister walk, father general, private confessions, Father Kinsella, Father Manus, Father Abbot (more...)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Brian Moore was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1921. He served with the Ministry of War in North Africa, Italy, and France during the Second World War. He emigrated to Canada in 1948 and worked as a newspaper reporter for the Montreal Gazette from 1948 until 1952.

While living in Canada, Moore wrote his first three novels, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, The Feast of Lupercal, and The Luck of Ginger Coffey, the first two set in Belfast, the third in Montreal. In 1959 he moved to the United States, but Canada continued to play a role in his later novels, including I Am Mary Dunne, The Great Victorian Collection, and Black Robe. His many honours included two Governor General's Awards for Fiction.

Brian Moore died in Malibu, California, in 1999. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: Loyola Press (January 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0829423338
• ISBN-13: 978-0829423334
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #529,568 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A heartrending story of the inner battle of religious faith, August 31, 1999

By	Margaret Fiore (North Granby, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Catholics (Paperback)

This has to be one of Moore's best. I ached with grief for the old Abbot at the end of the book. And I am an atheist...

Catholics are coming from all over the world to celebrate the old Latin mass at an obscure spot in Ireland. Some see it as a religious revival. Some see it as a sign of the endurance of "hard core" Catholicism. However, the Pope, and other modern highly place ecumenical figures, see it as trouble. A rebellion against the new, populist church, and a flagrant disobedience.

A young, modern, American priest is sent to deal with these old-style upstarts. But can he help but share the genuine sincerity of the isolated monks - living in utmost modesty on the Island of Muck - who have innocently begun the furor? And it comes down to belief in miracles versus the mundane need for the common good. The brash young American priest comes hard up against the solid old Abbot of Muck. Dependable, honest within and without, the Abbot is the only one that knows that his faith is a tenuous thing.

The facts of the plot matter little. The excellent character portrayals, and the understanding of the internal workings of such different minds is uniquely Moore. As only he can, he makes the anguish of the Abbot your own, and brings you with him through the trials of his decision.

Outstanding.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A jewel of a novella, May 13, 2001

By	Marjorie Parent-Greenman (Ann Arbor,, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Catholics (Paperback)

This is my favorite Brian Moore work. It's briefness doesn't detract from the hugeness of the story. This is a story which touches on faith and how fragile it can be and does it in a simple and elegant way. I love it.

Mr. Moore's "Cold Heaven" is also a wonderful book.

4.0 out of 5 stars Provokes thoughts about our own faith, October 21, 2009

By	MassReader (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

==== SPOILER ALERT! ====

The irony in this short novel is that the views of the Abbot and of the visiting Fr. Kinsella are the same. We just don't know it at first. Kinsella is a product of the new age without a belief in the miracle of the Mass, while the Abbot represents the old tired world that lost its faith in the miraculous. It's almost as if the Abbot were relieved to have the orders from Kinsella as an excuse to stop the traditional Masses his monks have been saying.

Ultimately, the Abbot would have been obedient even without the visit, so the premise of the novel isn't very strong. (Though perhaps we can assume his superiors had doubts about his obedience.) However, the visit to the abbey allows all the characters to interact and bring out their various perspectives and fears. The height of the work is the thoughtful conversation between the Abbot and Kinsella in the evening after dinner. The talk has a tension created by the mystery of where each man actually stands, and what each will do in the end. But despite the tension, the two men are always cordial, even warm, with each other.

In the end, the only "presence" of God that the monks can be sure of is that which occurs while they pray. On first reading, this seems a frightening prospect, as indicated by the concerns of the traditionalist "triumvirate" of Fathers Manus, Walter, and Matthew. But then we must realize that if prayer doesn't work, then there is nothing to the sacraments; so prayer is the foundation of the sacraments and the first step toward the presence of God among us.