James BrodrickReseñas

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A Procession of Saints is a collection of essays about twelve British saints, one for each month, plus a thirteenth to grow on. Admittedly, I didn't read the thirteenth one, because Marie of the Incarnation's biography happens to include an episode of maternal abandonment (on her part) that I have always found nauseating. But the main part of the book is sound. Since each chapter is about a saint who has a feast day in that particular month, there are several nicely obscure ones that you don't normally bump into in these kind of books. But then Anselm of Canterbury and Thomas Becket are there as well. Brodrick is an historian, so the book also stands out for having a great deal of interesting footnotes and useful sources. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the history of British saints or interesting saints lives.

854 Galileo: The Man, his Work, his Misfortunes, by James Brodrick, S.J. (read 21 May 1966) This is a slight work by a Jesuit who seeks to downplay the mistakes that the Church officials made in dealing with Galileo. It of course was written before Pope John Paul II acknowledged the errors of the Church in its interaction with Galileo.

2690 Saint Peter Canisius, by James Brodrick, S.J. (read 30 Dec 1994) This is a 1935 biography. The subject was born May 8, 1521 at Nymegen, Holland, and died Dec 21, 1597, and was canonized May 21, 1925. He was an extraordinary man, and I wonder if I may not owe my Faith to him. When he began work Protestantism was advancing triumphantly through Germany, Austria, and Poland. It it had not been for Jesuits would there be any Catholics in Germany? This book is awfully long (843 pages) and quotes letters at inordinate length. But it was worth reading, and though no miracle worker--is that why it was 267 years before he was beatified, and 328 years before he was canonized?--the debt the world owes him exists today, and always will.½

St. Ignatius Loyola