A Long Retreat: In Search of a Religious Life.A LONG RETREAT: IN SEARCH OF A RELIGIOUS LIFE By Andrew Krivak (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What happens when a young person in a secular age feels God calling him to a decidedly countercultural way of life? The minutiae mi·nu·ti·a n. pl. mi·nu·ti·ae A small or trivial detail: "the minutiae of experimental and mathematical procedure" Frederick Turner. of such journeys have formed many a memoir. In A Long Retreat: In Search of a Religious Life, writer Andrew Krivak looks back on eight years in the Society of Jesus Society of Jesus Roman Catholic religious order distinguished in foreign missions. [Christian Hist.: NCE, 1412] See : Missionary with fondness, wonder, and occasional misgivings, but most of all with refreshing self-awareness and candor. Largely free of rancor or personal agendas, A Long Retreat is also well-written. Other than a few moments where Krivak seems to overreach overreach the error in a fast gait when the toe of a hindhoof of a horse strikes and injures the back of the pastern of the leg on the same side. overreach boot in his language, its 300-plus pages are a leisurely paced pleasure to read. This is not light fare, of course: The reader must venture with Krivak far into the inner reaches of his emotional and spiritual life, and adventure consistently takes a back seat to self-analysis and contemplative reflection. There is little dishing of gossip (though Krivak surprisingly does not use pseudonyms This article gives a list of pseudonyms, in various categories. Pseudonyms are similar to, but distinct from, secret identities. Artists, sculptors, architects
n. 1. a. The final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot. b. to shock the reader--simply a straightforward and honest account of Krivak's journey through Jesuit formation. From the disorienting dis·o·ri·ent tr.v. dis·o·ri·ent·ed, dis·o·ri·ent·ing, dis·o·ri·ents To cause (a person, for example) to experience disorientation. Adj. 1. first few months of his novitiate (a time that included the 30-day Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, the "long retreat" of the title) through years of study and work in Jesuit apostolates Organizations of the Catholic laity devoted to the mission of the Church. Explanation Most understand the term "apostolate" to be synonymous with the term ministry, or outreach, such as "youth ministry. , Krivak encounters with open eyes a host of new experiences, from working with AIDS patients to teaching college students to learning how to pray in new ways. Each helps Krivak to "be taught again to see where grace is as well as the beautiful." There are bumps along the way too: struggles living in community with other men of varying personalities, profound experiences of loss, unmet desires for companionship, the unwanted attentions of an older priest, and eventually the difficult experience of discerning a different call. Krivak's years of work and study do not take him to the priesthood, but they do help him discern God's calling for him, and remind him of God's role "in our collective earthly pilgrimage."--James T. Keane, S.J. |
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