ABBA, FATHER

It is difficult to ascertain what audience Sister Catherine intends to reach with Abba, Father. The book is a work of spirituality, treating the usual and traditional subjects: life in the Trinity, creation, the Church, the sacraments, etc.. Its approach, language, style, and organization are equally usual and traditional. One may wonder, then, what purpose is served by the publication of yet another work of general spirituality for a market already glutted with books equally usual and traditional --i.e., mediocre. There are times in this work when Sister Catherine exhibits a talent for writing; it is a pity that she has not exercised that talent in a direction of more value to the reader. In a field as uncrowded by talent as spirituality, perhaps one may hope that this author will yet make her mark in abandoning the now well tilled corners of the field and striking out in new directions.