RETREAT INSIGHTS

Retreat Insights is a full-blown spiritual retreat rather than, as the title might imply, a series of ""thoughts"" complementary to retreat conferences. The author follows more or less the classic pattern so far as presentation of his material is concerned: statement of various themes, development of the themes, reflections on them, and suggestions for reading and prayer. The themes themselves are, at first glance, slightly different from those to which one has become accustomed: ""Our Personal Nature""; ""Others""; ""The Times We Live In,"" etc. A closer look, however, confirms that the subjects underlying those contemporary-sounding titles are indeed the traditional ones: silence and solitude, abandonment to god's will, obedience, the obligation to perfection, faith, poverty, and the Church as the means of spiritual advancement. This does not mean, of course, that the book is without value or usefulness; but it does mean that the author's material is suitable only for the older Catholic who is also tradition-oriented. The younger Catholic, or indeed the older one who has felt the winds of change, will find the author's views as unexciting as they are usual, in that the idea basic to the retreat seems to be to outline a way in virtue of which the Catholic may attain perfection in spite of ""the world"" rather than in conjunction with secular interests. If the book therefore has an audience, it will be a conservative one, more clerical than lay. For that particular audience, Retreat Insights may serve as a useful and well organized text for private retreats.