Carl E. Olson's Blog, page 333

New: Study Guide for "Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week"

Now available from Ignatius Press:

Jesus of Nazareth Study Guide, Volume II

by Curtis Mitch and Mark Brumley

100 pages | Paperback

With a foreword by Tim Gray, Ph.D., chapter summarizes and outlines by Mark Brumley and Curtis Mitch, and study questions by Mark Brumley and Laura Dittus

A user-friendly aid for readers of Pope Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection, this Study Guide is excellent for individual or group study, for formal class instruction or informal study. Excellent for parish groups, high school programs, college classes, and graduate studies. The Study Guide does not replace Benedict XVI's book, but it makes it more accessible and beneficial to the average reader-whether lay, religious, or clergy-as well as the knowledgeable student.

The Study Guide includes:

An outline of Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection
A convenient chapter-by-chapter summary
A list of key terms
Questions for understanding, reflection, application, and discussion
An easy-to-use glossary of important terms and persons
A section for readers to include their personal reflections on the reading

Mark Brumley is President of Ignatius Press and editor of A Study Guide for Joseph Ratzinger's Jesus of Nazareth (Ignatius Press). Curtis Mitch is co-editor and annotator (with Scott Hahn) of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament.

Related:

• Jesus of Nazareth Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection by Pope Benedict XVI/Joseph Ratzinger
• Website for Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week.

New: Study Guide for "Jesus of Nazareth Study Guide: Holy Week"

Now available from Ignatius Press:

Jesus of Nazareth Study Guide, Volume II

by Curtis Mitch and Mark Brumley

100 pages | Paperback

With a foreword by Tim Gray, Ph.D., chapter summarizes and outlines by Mark Brumley and Curtis Mitch, and study questions by Mark Brumley and Laura Dittus

A user-friendly aid for readers of Pope Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection, this Study Guide is excellent for individual or group study, for formal class instruction or informal study. Excellent for parish groups, high school programs, college classes, and graduate studies. The Study Guide does not replace Benedict XVI's book, but it makes it more accessible and beneficial to the average reader-whether lay, religious, or clergy-as well as the knowledgeable student.

The Study Guide includes:

An outline of Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection
A convenient chapter-by-chapter summary
A list of key terms
Questions for understanding, reflection, application, and discussion
An easy-to-use glossary of important terms and persons
A section for readers to include their personal reflections on the reading

Mark Brumley is President of Ignatius Press and editor of A Study Guide for Joseph Ratzinger's Jesus of Nazareth (Ignatius Press). Curtis Mitch is co-editor and annotator (with Scott Hahn) of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament.

Related:

• Jesus of Nazareth Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection by Pope Benedict XVI/Joseph Ratzinger
• Website for Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week.

"The classical vision is about introducing our students to the true, the good, the beautiful..."

When I wrote this post last November about St. Jerome Academy I was a bit surprised (in a good way) by the interest. The school has continued to get attention, including a just-published piece, "Embracing a classical education", in The Washington Post Magazine (ht: J.O.):

It's 1 p.m. and time for Amy Clayton's fifth grade to show off their memorization skills.

Decked out in blue long-sleeved shirts and dark pants for boys and bright yellow blouses and plaid jumpers for girls, the students begin with the words of Patrick Henry's immortal "Give me liberty or give me death" speech first delivered on March 23, 1775, in Richmond. That recitation merges into verses from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Paul Revere's Ride." That morphs into a few phrases from the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution and finally to fragments of speeches by Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

"Beautifully done," Clayton says at the conclusion. "We just encapsulated 80 years of American history in our recitation." She is engaged, dramatic, and students are nearly jumping out of their seats trying to answer her questions about the beginnings of the Civil War. To her right is a banner containing a quote from Aesop: "No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted." Near that hangs a crucifix.

This is St. Jerome Classical School, the new name for what once was a traditional Roman Catholic elementary and middle school in Hyattsville. Starting last spring, St. Jerome's began transforming itself from a debt-ridden, pre-K-8 institution into a showcase for one of the more intriguing trends in modern education. It is one of a handful of archdiocesan Roman Catholic schools in the country to have a classical curriculum.

"Classical" education aims to include instruction on the virtues and a love of truth, goodness and beauty in ordinary lesson plans. Students learn the arts, sciences and literature starting with classical Greek and Roman sources. Wisdom and input from ancient church fathers, Renaissance theologians and even Mozart — whose music is sometimes piped into the classrooms to help students concentrate better — is worked in.

On the hallway walls outside Clayton's classroom are student posters on the theme "What is goodness?," "rules for knights and ladies of the Round Table," drawings of Egyptian pyramids, directions to "follow Jesus' teachings" and "be respectful toward others," and other exhortations to live a noble life.

"The classical vision is about introducing our students to the true, the good, the beautiful," Principal Mary Pat Donoghue points out. "So what's on our walls are classical works of art. You won't see Snoopy here."

Classical theory divides childhood development into three stages known as the trivium: grammar, logic and rhetoric. During the "grammar" years (kindergarten through fourth grade), children soak up knowledge. They memorize, absorb facts, learn the rules of phonics and spelling, recite poetry, and study plants, animals, basic math and other topics. Moral lessons are included.

Read the entire piece. This video was recently created by volunteers affililated with the school:

• "Thinking outside the box in creating an authentically Catholic school" (Nov. 7, 2010)

Related Ignatius Press books:

• Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum (Paperback) by Laura M. Berquist
• Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum (Electronic Book) by Laura M. Berquist
• Harp and Laurel Wreath: Poetry and Dictation for the Classical Curriculum (Paperback) by Laura M. Berquist

"A man was raised up by Him who made man."

A Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, April 10th, the Fifth Sunday of Lent | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Ez. 37:12-14
• Psa. 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
• Rom. 8:8-11
• Jn. 11:1-45 or 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45

We live in a time of astounding scientific breakthroughs and unprecedented medical marvels. In my lifetime alone history has witnessed men landing and walking on the moon, significant advances in dealing with diseases and injuries, and the mapping of human DNA. Yet modern man has not yet found a way to overcome the one thing that is inevitable for every person, regardless of their social status, income, or lifestyle: death.

The mystery of death is rooted in the reality of sin. "Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin," Saint Paul wrote about the Fall, "and so death spread to all men because all men sinned…" (Rom 5:12). Understandably, we abhor death and fight against it, however feeble and ultimately powerless are such efforts. As Pope Benedict XVI noted in his encyclical on hope, "To continue living for ever —endlessly—appears more like a curse than a gift. Death, admittedly, one would wish to postpone for as long as possible. But to live always, without end—this, all things considered, can only be monotonous and ultimately unbearable" (Spe Salvi, par. 10).

The Holy Father's remark can only make sense in the light of Christ. If this world is all that exists, it seems logical to try to find a scientific solution to the dark finality of the grave. But for the Christian, the darkness of the grave is the passageway to resurrection and everlasting life. This is made possible by the death and resurrection of Christ, as Saint Paul expounds in today's epistle. In writing of the bodily resurrection of those who are in Christ, the Apostle points out the life-giving work of the source of life, the Trinity:  "If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you" (Rom 8:11).

This, if you will, is the Trinitarian "science" of salvation: the Father has raised the Son from the dead and now offers His Holy Spirit to fill us with divine life so that we might live fully in the world in come (cf., CCC 265). In the beautiful words of Saint Hilary of Poitier, "after the bath of water, the Holy Spirit swoops down upon us from high heaven and that, adopted by the Father's voice, we become sons of God" (CCC 537). This is meant to call to mind the baptism of Jesus, reminding us that just as Jesus prepared the waters of baptism for us, He also, by His death and resurrection, prepared the way to heaven.

In this light, the story of the raising of Lazarus, a friend of Jesus, is even more poignant. It displays both the full humanity of Christ—consider the simple and moving words, "And Jesus wept"—and His full divinity. As Saint Augustine put it: "A man was raised up by him who made humankind. A man was raised up by Him who made man" (Tractates on the Gospel of John, 49.1). Death can only be overcome by the one who created life, who Himself is Life itself. "I am the resurrection and the life," Jesus tells Martha, the grieving sister, "whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live…"

After saying this, Jesus asks her if she believes His words. He does this, of course, before He raises her brother from the dead. Belief in the Christ can be aided by miracles and wonders—such signs are gifts that should lead to belief—but must finally and fully spring from encountering Him face to face and hearing His voice. "Did I not tell you," Christ tells Martha, "that if you believe you will see the glory of God?"

Science, for all of its astonishing discoveries, cannot deny death, destroy sin, or deliver heaven. Only the One who stands at the tomb and cries, "Come out!" has such power. And only by stepping into the light of His presence can we receive His freely offered, eternal life.

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the March 9, 2008, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

"A man was raised up by him who made humankind."

A Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, April 10th, the Fifth Sunday of Lent | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Ez. 37:12-14
• Psa. 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
• Rom. 8:8-11
• Jn. 11:1-45 or 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45

We live in a time of astounding scientific breakthroughs and unprecedented medical marvels. In my lifetime alone history has witnessed men landing and walking on the moon, significant advances in dealing with diseases and injuries, and the mapping of human DNA. Yet modern man has not yet found a way to overcome the one thing that is inevitable for every person, regardless of their social status, income, or lifestyle: death.

The mystery of death is rooted in the reality of sin. "Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin," Saint Paul wrote about the Fall, "and so death spread to all men because all men sinned…" (Rom 5:12). Understandably, we abhor death and fight against it, however feeble and ultimately powerless are such efforts. As Pope Benedict XVI noted in his encyclical on hope, "To continue living for ever —endlessly—appears more like a curse than a gift. Death, admittedly, one would wish to postpone for as long as possible. But to live always, without end—this, all things considered, can only be monotonous and ultimately unbearable" (Spe Salvi, par. 10).

The Holy Father's remark can only make sense in the light of Christ. If this world is all that exists, it seems logical to try to find a scientific solution to the dark finality of the grave. But for the Christian, the darkness of the grave is the passageway to resurrection and everlasting life. This is made possible by the death and resurrection of Christ, as Saint Paul expounds in today's epistle. In writing of the bodily resurrection of those who are in Christ, the Apostle points out the life-giving work of the source of life, the Trinity:  "If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you" (Rom 8:11).

This, if you will, is the Trinitarian "science" of salvation: the Father has raised the Son from the dead and now offers His Holy Spirit to fill us with divine life so that we might live fully in the world in come (cf., CCC 265). In the beautiful words of Saint Hilary of Poitier, "after the bath of water, the Holy Spirit swoops down upon us from high heaven and that, adopted by the Father's voice, we become sons of God" (CCC 537). This is meant to call to mind the baptism of Jesus, reminding us that just as Jesus prepared the waters of baptism for us, He also, by His death and resurrection, prepared the way to heaven.

In this light, the story of the raising of Lazarus, a friend of Jesus, is even more poignant. It displays both the full humanity of Christ—consider the simple and moving words, "And Jesus wept"—and His full divinity. As Saint Augustine put it: "A man was raised up by him who made humankind." Death can only be overcome by the one who created life, who Himself is Life itself. "I am the resurrection and the life," Jesus tells Martha, the grieving sister, "whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live…"

After saying this, Jesus asks her if she believes His words. He does this, of course, before He raises her brother from the dead. Belief in the Christ can be aided by miracles and wonders—such signs are gifts that should lead to belief—but must finally and fully spring from encountering Him face to face and hearing His voice. "Did I not tell you," Christ tells Martha, "that if you believe you will see the glory of God?"

Science, for all of its astonishing discoveries, cannot deny death, destroy sin, or deliver heaven. Only the One who stands at the tomb and cries, "Come out!" has such power. And only by stepping into the light of His presence can we receive His freely offered, eternal life.

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the March 9, 2008, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

Watch the video of Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J. on "The World Over with Raymond Arroyo"...

... on EWTN—discussing Pope Benedict XVI's book,  Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week--From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection—filmed live on Thursday, April 7th:

And here is the "aftershow" of that same appearance:

 

For more information about Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week, visit www.JesusofNazareth2.com.

New: "The Appalling Strangeness of the Mercy of God: The Story of Ruth Pakaluk, Convert, Mother and Pro-Life Activist"

Now available from Ignatius Press:

The Appalling Strangeness of the Mercy of God: The Story of Ruth Pakaluk, Convert, Mother and Pro-Life Activist

Ruth V.K. Pakaluk; edited by Michael Pakaluk. Introduction by Peter Kreeft.

Related Products:

• The Appalling Strangeness of the Mercy of God (Electronic Book Download)

This book is the powerful story of an amazing woman, Ruth Pakaluk, who converted to Catholicism at Harvard, married her college sweetheart and joyfully welcomed seven children. She became a renowned pro-life leader and brilliant debater, who was struck with breast cancer and died at the young age of forty-one. 

Ruth's inspiring story is told primarily through her humorous, sparkling and insightful letters in which her realistic cheerfulness shines. A biographical overview by her husband fills in important details about her life, and a collection of her talks on abortion, faith and being a Catholic wife and mother conclude the volume.  

Ruth Pakaluk exemplified the powerful integrity of someone who lived what she believed. She was steadfastly committed to Christ and to the culture of life, and this commitment was manifested in her consistent affirmation of life in her family, in society and even in the face of her own death. Peter Kreeft, well known Professor of Philosophy and author, described Ruth as the best, most effective and inspiring pro-life speaker he had ever heard. She was such a compelling, articulate pro-life debater that eventually Planned Parenthood spokeswomen refused to spar with her in public.

All Ruth's virtues revealed in this book  - her love as a devoted wife and mother, her zeal for the truth, and her faith & hope while battling a terminal illness  - offer inspiration and encouragement to anyone striving to put Christian faith into action.

"I have never read a more beautiful and touching book - a book about a joyous life and overpowering death, and grief and joy.  Michael and Ruth Pakaluk's account of love and grief towers head and shoulders above the justly acclaimed accounts of C.S. Lewis in A Grief Observed and Sheldon van Auken in A Severe Mercy. Throughout, I felt in my heart that Ruth is a marvelous saint for our times." 
- Michael Novak, Philosopher, Author, and Diplomat

"In this book you will meet a truly wonderful person. There are few things in life more precious than that. I invite you to meet a warrior for life whose pen is truly mightier than death's sword." 
- Peter Kreeft, Author, Because God is Real

"People frequently commented on Ruth's selfless character, boundless optimism, and fervent faith. Her zest for life and zeal for faith were gifts from God - gifts offered to us all.  I pray that these pages will inspire you to be ever more open to God's grace and mercy." 
- Most Reverend Daniel Reilly, Bishop Emeritus of Worcester, Mass.

"The title of this book, based on the well known quote, really says it all - while God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, He is also full of beautiful and incredible jaw dropping surprises, especially where His love and mercy are concerned.  This book reminds us that no one is ever out of God's reach.  Even when we, in our very limited capacity may think all is lost, along comes the Lord and all things are made new."
- Teresa Tomeo, Syndicated Catholic Talk Show Host

Michael Pakaluk is a Professor of Philosophy at Ave Maria University in Florida. He has authored numerous philosophical books and articles, and is credited with contributing to the recent revival of philosophical interest in the topic of friendship.

Fr. Joseph Fessio's online courses to feature "Jesus of Nazareth" books

SAN FRANCISCO, April 7, 2011 – Jesuit Fr. Joseph Fessio, Ignatius Press editor and founder and a former student of Pope Benedict XVI, will teach a series of online theology courses drawing upon the writings of Pope Benedict XVI, including the two volumes of Jesus of Nazareth, both New York Times best-sellers.

"We'll examine theology from the foundations through revelation, Christ, the Church, the Sacraments and the Liturgy," Fr. Fessio said. "We'll use classic works of the 20th and 21st centuries by G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis and Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI." Fr. Fessio's courses are among a series of new online classes offered by the College of St. Thomas More (CSTM), Fort Worth, Texas, through its website for online courses www.CSTMO.org.

Ignatius Press and the online Angelicum Academy are collaborating with the College of St. Thomas More to provide the first comprehensive Great Books education online (48 credit hours) offered by any college. The 12 credit hours of theology taught by Fr. Fessio will complement the Great Books offerings, for a total, initially, of 60 credit hours – two years of college – online.

"In the Fall term, beginning Sept. 1, 2011, we will offer the first online, comprehensive, college-level Great Books courses, together with Fr. Fessio's courses," said college president Michael G. King. "The combination is designed to provide a unique, generalist education based on study of original great works of Western civilization, with the theology designed to complement these for a structured and sound education in the Catholic faith."

The College of St. Thomas More is an accredited, Catholic college (listed in the Official Catholic Directory), approved by the State of Texas to award the bachelor's degree. A Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree is awarded by the College upon completion of its unique curriculum based on the Great Books. The College is a recommended, faithful Catholic college by the Newman Guide for Choosing a Catholic College.

For more information about Fr. Fessio's theology courses or the Great Books online curriculum, or to schedule an interview with Fr. Fessio or College of St. Thomas More President Michael G. King, please contact Kevin Wandra with The Maximus Group at 678-990-9032. More information on the online courses is available at www.CSTMO.org.

The aim of authentic academic freedom is the free inquiry into truth

Dr. David H. Calhoun, an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Gonzaga University, has summed up, in just a few outstanding paragraphs, the essential problems with pushing and producing "The Vagina Monologues" on a Catholic campus:

Alfino claims that performance of "The Vagina Monologues" is a matter of academic freedom.  However, academic freedom is not a blanket principle that mandates or legitimates that anything and everything can or must be done in an academic context.  It is, rather, the policy that specifies that academic life presumes the free inquiry into truth.  Perhaps the most authoritative statement on academic freedom in the United States, the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure of the American Association of University Professors, outlines the issue by noting, "Institutions of higher education are conducted for the common good. ... The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition" (http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/poli...). The free search for truth does not require that every available book be read, that every poem be recited, that every available speaker be invited to campus.  In the present context, genuine academic freedom does not require that every play ever written be performed publicly on a university campus.  The objective is not the airing of every possible form of every possible idea.  Rather, practical judgments of pedagogy and practice are employed all the time by teachers and administrators regarding the best means to critically explore ideas and the arguments that support them.

Responsible teachers decline to employ certain expressions of ideas because they judge them inferior intellectually or pedagogically.  So, for example, most college teachers avoid presentations of their subjects found in popular encyclopedias, for such presentations typically fail to include the best ideas and arguments relevant to their discipline. This is not a violation of academic freedom, but a matter of pedagogical judgment.

Responsible teachers also decline to employ expressions of ideas that are morally offensive or needlessly controversial.  An excellent example of a needlessly offensive and controversial expression of ideas occurred at Northwestern University recently.  As part of a human sexuality class, a professor arranged an extra-classroom event involving a live sex demonstration with naked participants using a sex toy.  Some might defend such an event as "academic freedom," but a live sex demonstration is neither necessary nor particularly helpful for promoting academic inquiry into human sexuality.  To the contrary, such a spectacle feeds prurient interests and provokes outrage by many reasonable people inside and outside of the academy.

Similarly, "The Vagina Monologues," as a particular expression of ideas, is not necessary to explore questions of violence against women, or indeed of human sexuality and female self-image.  Not only is it not necessary, good arguments can and have been made that it is a poor vehicle for exploring these ideas.  It does not speak univocally against violence against women, insofar as it depicts sympathetically female-on-female sexual abuse of a minor.  Despite Eve Ensler's brilliant marketing campaign, the play is not even so much about violence against women as it is a celebration of polymorphous sexuality.  Beyond its poor literary quality, the play features unnecessary vulgarities which amount to vicarious live sex demonstrations.

There are further reasons for rejecting "The Vagina Monologues" as an occasion for academic inquiry at a Jesuit, Catholic institution.  The play ignores the multifaceted nature of female experience by eliminating entire ranges of human sexuality from its purview.  It offends against human dignity by reducing human personality to sexuality, and female dignity to sexual activity.  It completely ignores the rich literature and vocabulary of Catholic and Christian sexual teaching.

Read the entire letter, posted yesterday on the Gonzaga Bulletin website. By the way, Dr. Calhoun is not a Catholic; he attends a non-denominational Evangelical church. If only so many Catholic educators would understand, articulate, and show respect for Catholic teaching (and common sense) as well as Dr. Calhoun!

New novel sure to delight fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis...

... combines adventure story with philosophical questions
 
SAN FRANCISCO, April 4, 2011 –The thrilling new novel Toward The Gleam by T.M. Doran opens between the two world wars, when on a hike in the English countryside, Professor John Hill takes refuge from a violent storm in a cave. There he nearly loses his life, but he also makes an astonishing discovery — an ancient manuscript housed in a cunningly crafted metal box. 

Though a philologist by profession, Hill cannot identify the language used in the manuscript and the time period in which it is was made, but he knows enough to make an educated guess — that the book and its case are the fruits of a long-lost, but advanced civilization.
 
The translation of the manuscript and the search for its origins become a life-long quest for Hill. As he uncovers an epic that both enchants and inspires him, he tracks down scholars from Oxford to Paris who can give him clues. Along the way, he meets several intriguing characters, including a man keenly interested in obtaining artifacts from a long-lost civilization that he believes was the creation of a superior race, and will help him fulfill his ambition to rule other men. Concluding that Hill must have found something that may help him in this quest, but knowing not what it is and where it is hidden, he has Hill, his friends at Oxford, and his family shadowed and threatened until finally he and Hill face off in a final, climatic confrontation.
 
Toward the Gleam is a gripping story that features a giant pirate and slaver, a human chameleon on a perilous metaphysical journey, a mysterious hermit, and creatures both deadly and beautiful. Not merely an adventure story, this is also a novel that explores the consequences of the predominant ideas of the 20th Century.
 
Author T.M. Doran says of his book, "Although the twentieth century was littered with dehumanizing ideas that produced much misery, it was also a century that boasted counter-cultural 'giants' who did everything in their power to thwart these inhuman ideologies. These were hopeful, determined, and even joyful men and women. This is a story about these giants and their grand adventure to oppose that dark tide."
 
Michael O'Brien, author of Father Elijah: An Apocalypse, has high praise for Toward the Gleam, "As this intriguing story unfolds, readers will be asked to reconsider what we thought we knew and loved so well. Flashes of recognition will occur as famous figures appear, identified only by their first names. As the plot develops, a vast landscape of drama emerges, reaching across time, probing the reasons behind the rise and fall of civilizations, our own and also another that we have considered to be myth—or fiction. The author's whimsical sense is a fine one, though he does not show his hand too early on.  His wisdom is fully evident throughout. This is a dark mystery tale, a gripping adventure, and in its own unique way a comedeia, plunging us into the war in the heavens and the wars for souls. Ingeniously inventive, it is startling, moving, horrifying at times, and ultimately consoling."

"T.M. Doran's wonderful mystery novel, Toward the Gleam, takes readers on a fantastic adventure with a man who in uncovering a manuscript from a long-lost civilization, sets out on a life-long quest to uncover its meaning and origins. In the process, he is confronted by remarkable creatures, unforeseen dangers and hidden realities. This is a book richly imaginative, intriguing and metaphysical, exploring many vexing questions of the modern era and enduring truths to be discovered in the process," says David J. Theroux, founder and president of the C.S. Lewis Society of California.
 
Joseph Pearce, author of Tolkien: Man and Myth, says, "The works of Tolkien and Lewis continue to inspire new generations of writers, most of whom are not worthy to bask in the reflected glory of their mentors. T. M. Doran is a noble and notable exception. Toward the Gleam rises above the level of parody or pastiche to reach the heights that few writers have achieved. Although it basks in the reflected glory of The Lord of the Rings and conveys inklings of That Hideous Strength, it does not merely reflect the light that Tolkien and Lewis have shone; it refracts it in exciting new directions, toward the gleam of the glorious light that is the source of all great literature."

• Toward the Gleam (Hardcover edition)
• Toward the Gleam (Electronic book edition)

About the Author:

T.M. Doran, formerly an Adjunct Professor at the University of the Detroit School of Engineering, has a Master of Science degree from Purdue University. This book is a culmination of 25 years of exploring the history and ideologies of the 20th century, along with a lifelong passion for the mystery genre. He has been a contributing writer for the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, New York Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
 
To request a review copy or an interview with author T.M. Doran, please contact: Rose Trabbic, Publicist, Ignatius Press, (239)867-4180 or rose@ignatius.com