Peter Costello
Reflections on Christian Spirituality by Karl Josef Waller
The Austrian author is both a professor of theology and a youth chaplain. He sets the tone of his book with a remark in his foreword which explains that his book ìdeals with a number of fundamental points of Catholic piety: nothing special, nothing new, and nothing speculative. I hope it is intelligible. For the Church is not an organisation with unintelligible formulae and rites and which is removed from the reality of our lives. Quite the opposite, the Church knows the way to joy. What gives the book its special characters is the fact that it is rooted in the German Catholic culture of Europe. It reflects, let us say, the outlook of Benedict XVI rather than Pope Francis. Many will find real benefit in his clearer exposition of religious ways once so familiar, now so neglected in what he refers to as our ìMcDonaldís cultureî. He writes on faith and hope, but caritas is neglected. Nowhere does he reflect upon Christís call to see him in the poor who are ever with us. The security Fr Waller enjoyed as a child, which he wishes to pass on, cannot fully be ours if we neglect to ensure that the less fortunate of the Picworld can share it.
