Nunraw and "Fools For God", Richard North

Nunraw Abbey Aug 2011

Hi, William,
Thank you for the exchange regarding the  book almost out of print.
A Review at the time on the 1987 book "Fools for God" raises interesting comments.
The writing was published for the market as much for tourism as for the interest of monastic life.
The lay man's reading and interviewing monk's acquired a gentleman's knowledge of the heart of the monk in following Christ.
During the conversations, one monk said, "People have real roots in Christ, even if they don't suspect or appreciate it.  It gives people a dimension.

            'If I ask myself why I must be gentle, or live in a moral framework, I believe it is simply that we belong to Jesus Christ.  My love of Christ has deepened over the years: my own suffering, people's troubles, or brothers who've been sick - they've all shown me that we either open our hearts more and more or we close them little by little.  And I've learned from all sorts of people that the intellect by itself is a cold instrument.  To be a lover, the heart is needed.  For me at this moment, my problem is the question of getting the heart on fire in prayer.'

This monastic experience of Richard North remains a marker to an extended life of journalism searching and writing.


Maybe, if the book, "Fools For God", is a now rare edition, it's age may  live again in the digital eBook, Kindle books ....


Yours ..
Donald

The Catholic Herald - REVIEW by Br. Jonathan

"Fools for God" by Richard North (Collins, £10.95)

30th October 1987, Page 6 

THIS is an important book

East Lothian and Fife

Important because it will introduce monasticism to many well-disposed people and introduce them to it in a very pleasant manner. It is very well written and extensively covers the subject. Clearly it entailed the author in a great amount of reading, work and travel. The book list given at the end for further reading gives enormous scope for serious investigation. It is noticeable that the author's acquaintance with monks progresses as his work goes on.  

He has a fascination with monks at the beginning which steadily develops into a more assured knowledge. He listens to the Nunraw Cistercians singing "Keep us Lord as the Apple of your eye: Hide us in the shelter of your wings". I think by the end of the book Richard North may have realised that monks are favoured and protected by the Lord. And certainly his more recent series of articles in The Independent which are very fine show the favoured position of monks and also nuns — the latter are left out in the book.

The great lacuna in the book is that the author fails to deal with Christ. I think he fears to meet Christ in a way that he does not fear to meet monks, which is a pity because every monk he met would say that Christ was a kinder person than himself.

The result is that there is no examination of Christ's invitation to follow Him more closely. There is no examination of Christ's or St Paul's example of celibacy nor of their advice to accept the call if it can be managed. And this call was heeded by many of the early Christians. So monasticism, living alone for God, started long before Richard North takes up the story in Egypt. St Anthony, of course, like so many others took up the monastic calling at the Word of Christ, "If you would be perfect, go sell what you have, give to the poor and come follow Me".

After starting in Egypt the chapters of the book alternate history with travel to a presentday monastery illustrating the historical period being dealt with. , This results in the anachronism of attributing present-day Christians divisions to past ages.

There is no realisation of the undivided universal Christian church that existed for nearly a thousand years before Rome and Constantinople finally parted ways. Clement of Alexandria was in communion with the rest of the Church: he was not a Coptic non-conformist. St Basil was in communion with the universal Church as were the early monks of Athos. St Patrick and the Celtic monks too, though they wanted their Easter date, were in communion with the universal Church. Clement of Alexandria, St Basil and St Patrick, all were in communion with the Bishop of Rome. The divisions of today came later.

But the travel chapters are entertaining and give scope to the author's fine descriptive writing and to his acumen in perceiving at least the humanity of monks. His final chapters go further and deal perceptively with modern monastic problems. His appreciation of Vatican II is sound and his special chapter on Merton and Knowles is dis..._rning both in their influence and their personal limitations.

His final attempt to come to terms with "Prayer and Purpose" is sweet e and genuine. In all humility he admits that he feels that he does not pray (consciously?), nor believe in the existence of Him who might inspire him to do so; and so, several monks have told him that he would not understand monasticism and that he would have nothing useful to say on the subject. I think in fact he has said some useful things about both monasteries and monks.

He says for one thing that the Opus Dei (the work of God) means the business of praying, or fitting oneself for prayer.

Perhaps in all his travels and attendances at night vigils the author has been fitting himself for prayer. His two chapters on the Cistercians at Nunraw show that he has some kind friends.

His repetition of Pope John Paul's injunction to contemplatives that they should make themselves educate their guests and retreatants to the virtue of silence, and that monks should keep the rigorous observances of monastic enclosure, shows he was serious about his travels.

Monks often sing (it occurs twice in the Psalms) "The fool has said in his heart there is no God". I think Richard North has not said this in his own heart, and monks have the traditional title of being Fools for God because they dare to pray.

Br Jonathan Gell

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: WILLIAM . . .
To: Donald Nunraw
Sent: Sunday, 28 August 2011, 11:31
Subject: Re: [Blog] Br. Jonathan's review of "Fools for God"

Dear Father Donald,

Thank you for sending me the review of Richard North's book by Br. Jonathan Gell.

Very perceptive: for whilst the review is appreciative of the writer's delight in and familiarity, through experience and research, with the profession of monk, it is also a critique of the writer's failure to justify the profession, that is the monk's profession of faith.

At the law firm where I worked, I had a good understanding of the mind of the lawyer and his world, and much admiration of their profession, but I failed to enter into their fascination with the law. If I were to write about it, I don't suppose I would use much of its terminology.

To employ one of your tools: there are 95,136 words in Richard North's study of monasticism, yet only mentioning "Faith" 34 times, and "Belief" 7 times. The monk's religion is also seldom mentioned: in ascending order, "Jesus Christ" 8 times, "Jesus" 28 times, "Christ" 176 times; and finally, "God" 155 times.  

The review delights in Richard North's honesty and humility before the aura of the profession, and his "fear" to approach too near to the issue of faith. The words that give the overriding portrait of the writer of the book are those used to describe the last chapter of the book; "sweet and genuine". A delightful man!

Thank you for sharing this with me. It has been a real joy.

. . . in Our Lord,

William

 + + + +

From: Donald . . .
To: William J . . .
Sent: Saturday, 27 August 2011, 16:39
Subject: Fw: [Blog] "Fools for God"

Dear William,

I am glad you have been browsing "Fools For God".

Further surfing,  the archive of The Catholic Herald has a Review, and I forward it to you.

The Reviewer is the loved  Br. Jonathan of Mount St Bernard (80+).

He writes quite incisively. Monasteries, monks and travel are fine, but he sees a significant lacuna regarding Christ. “The great lacuna in the book is that the author fails to deal with Christ.” 

I will be interested to see how you read it from this point of view.
 

Since then, copies of Fools For God have disappeared, leaving only 3, two at  £12.49, one at £30.43, both plus P&P. 

Yours . . .

Donald