The God of Faith and Reason

 I finished The History of Black Catholics in the United States.  This was a really, really good book.   I thought I had written about it already but I guess not.   The account drew to a close a bit before Vatican II; in fact just the same time period when the author himself came back from getting his doctorate in Belgium, with a specialty in medieval history, and found US culture in a civil rights turmoil.  It changed his whole career, according to various articles I read -- mostly in memoria type articles, because he died in 2015 and except for his books and various speaking engagements, generally seemed to keep a low profile.   His intent through life apparently was to document parts of history that until then had not really been compiled or documented formally, and also point out avenues for further research for future historians.   That seems like a thoroughly Benedictine way to proceed.  

From what I read he converted to Catholicism as a teenager because he loved history and the Catholic Church WAS history; then he went looking for a monastery that would accept a Black postulant, and then he went on from there.  As with Dr Arthur Falls, he was by no means oblivious to the injustice of the institutional Church discriminating against him because of race -- but he didn't let it stop him, either.

I know I mentioned I was going to read Key to Balthasar, and I am -- but I diverged temporarily and picked up Robert Sokolowski, The God of Faith and Reason, which was mentioned by Fr Ashley as a secondary course recommendation.   I read another Sokolowski book a long time ago, called Introduction to Phenomenology, though I remember little of it -- as one does, when one reads something that is outside one's normal course of thought, and doesn't ever really follow up or review.   He is as clear a writer as one can be while talking about things that are not easy to understand.  I really appreciate that, because it's hard enough grappling with difficult topics without also struggling with someone's complicated style.