Is God listening?
On the 2nd of July this year I attended the funeral of a "mathematical monk" who had become a friend of mine some two years ago. His name was Brendan Smith and the Benedictine Abbot who conducted the service quoted from a book that Brendan had written nine years earlier entitled "The Silence of Divine Love". Alibris found a copy for me. As an agnostic I hoped that the book would help me decide whether or not I was correct in doubting his existence. Well it did not give me the answer that I was seeking but it did help greatly in clarifying my mind.
This book is well written in excellent English and describes the journey made by a monk who had lost his spiritual way for a period. So, if you believe in God but are wavering in your faith then this is the book you should read. Mother Theresa clearly had the same problem of faith that Brendan suffered and would have benefited greatly from this book!
Brendan quotes at length from the works of many brilliant poets and authors as he searches for the answers to his doubts and concentrates on one in particular , Dante. He quotes each extract in the original Italian and then provides his translation immediately afterwards. I must admit that I found the former rather irritating after a while but soon learnt to skip the Italian! It is a book that you have to read twice in order to derive the maximum benefit; but it is well worth the effort. It combines so perfectly scholarship with simplicity.