For twenty-five years or so I have been reading the works of Canadian novelist Michael D. O’Brien. Some of them I have read more than once. He speaks my language.
A common thread runs through O’Brien’s books. Evil exists. We are all fallen. We all deal with temptation and sin. Some yield to the temptation and sin. Some resist. None are perfect. Sinners can become saints. We are called to live in the world but not be of the world. Hope is essential. Heroes suffer. God never fails us.
My favorite of his books is Strangers and Sojourners. It is one of three books that have related characters and tell a story that spans over a century. I had a chance to meet Michael O’Brien at a reception in 2011 at what would become my parish in Sacramento. I mentioned to him Strangers and Sojourners was my favorite. He was surprised. He said most did not share that opinion.
I decided to write this because I recently finished a novel he wrote in 2021, The Sabbatical. The Sabbatical has characters with qualities much like the characters in O’Brien’s other novels. The principal character is an Oxford professor named Owen who is in his early seventies, “a professor of history and a fellow of Magdalen College.” I won’t go into the story except to say Owen had his faith severely tested. This is a bit of dialog from the end of the book.
“I understand your feelings,” the priest went on. “In my own long life, I have been no stranger to them. You have come through a great stress—and sorrow. You are very tired, and you are asking yourself if all the effort of your life is useless.”
“At times I do feel that. Of course, I know it’s not true. But the battle seems interminable, and the gathering forces of darkness go from victory to victory. Those who assassinate their rivals are very few, I would imagine. But the captive minds of a generation and those who rule them are now beyond numbering.”
“Minds can be illuminated. Providence is ever at work. Love does not abandon us. He never abandons us.”
“It certainly feels like abandonment, and looks very much like it too.”
“The enemy taunts you, Owen. He tells you that he has killed your new friends and driven the good into hiding. He insinuates in your heart that he is winning this war, and you wonder whether he is right.”
“He may be right, at least in regard to my friends in Romania.”
“And Europe, and the whole world. That is the impression he wishes to make in your mind, thereby tempting you to remove yourself from the zone of battle. He would have you believe that you’re already defeated.”
“I do feel defeated,” Owen admitted.
“That is the enemy’s provocation. If you leave your station in the battle line, you break the line of defense and weaken the lines behind you. But if you stand firm, if you hold your position, even though you do not understand its purpose or its usefulness, when it comes time for the King to tell you what to do, you will be ready for it and you will be effective.”
“I see the principle and I agree with you, Father. But this doesn’t change the grief I feel.”
“It is a good thing to grieve. It heals and liberates, and then strength can return.” This, from a very old man in his eighties, trapped in a wheelchair, his legs useless, his hands crippled with degenerative arthritis. Father Turner smiled fondly at Owen, more through his eyes than with his stroke-damaged mouth. Owen sat straighter and inhaled, half breath, half sigh.
I first read Strangers and Sojourners at the end of the last century. That sounds so long ago. It is more than a lifetime for my grandchildren. For me it is only twenty-five years. The story is set in Canada in the mountains of British Columbia. It begins in 1900 and goes through the late 20th century. The story concludes in the novel, Eclipse of the Sun. A third novel, Plague Journal, chronicles a character who is a critical character but who is separated from the main story.
When I read this book I was moved by the events that occurred and the impact they had on the characters. I dismissed some of the evil portrayed in the novel, assuming it could never happen in the United States. We have a Constitution and freedom of the press. I now realize these things could happen in the United States, as O’Brien was not writing about things that were unique to Canada. As I said, his novels are about good and evil which are universal concepts that transcend race and country.
We are Strangers and Sojourners. We live in a land that is not our true home. Our home is in Heaven. That is where our Father lives with our Brother and Spiritual Mother. We are pilgrims in a strange land. We live in the world but are not of the world. [John 17:11,16]
The world today is going through a very unsettled period. The prayer of the faithful on Sundays at my church includes a prayer to prevent World War III. When I was in elementary school we would have “Duck and Cover” drills. We lived within a mile or two of the San Andreas Fault so we were told it was to practice what to do in the event of an earthquake. Years later I learned other parts of the country, where earthquakes were not a threat, practiced the same drills. Apparently no one bothered to hide the purpose from those kids as I heard them referred to as Nuclear Attack drills.
I pray we will be spared from a nuclear war. I am reminded, however, God’s Chosen People did not always fare very well. Not long ago I read another book by Michael O’Brien, By the Rivers of Babylon, from 2022. It is a fictional account about the prophet Ezekiel, from his childhood to the Babylonian Captivity. I was reminded of how many times God has allowed His Chosen People to be enslaved and killed. We can’t expect He will protect us from all hardships including death on a mass scale. That is why having Hope is such an important thing.
I’m not talking about hoping the bogeyman doesn’t get me. Hope is not just a desire for a certain outcome. Hope is not just believing something will not happen. Hope is knowing that if something terrible happens God will be there with me. Hope is knowing God’s love will give me strength to endure. Hope is knowing this life is not meant for eternity. Hope is knowing that when I die, whether it is in my sleep or in some horrific event, Jesus will be there to greet me and welcome me home.
Hope is based on faith. Faith is knowing God as He has revealed Himself. Knowledge alone is not enough. The evil one knows God. The evil one can quote scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church better than any person. However, he has no hope.
We need to make our faith part of our very being. We need to move our faith from our head to our heart. That takes prayer. I talk about this in the sections titled Faith vs. Belief and The Need for Prayer in On Catholic Evangelization — Twenty Years Later. [See Below]
The evil one tries to use every opportunity he can to make us think he is winning. He tries to create despair. He tempts people to serious sin. He tempts us to do things that are wrong but give us pleasure. He tempts some to soothe their pain through alcohol or drugs. He tries to get us to think we are alone.
Owen admits he understands what the evil one tries to do, but he still is grieving.
We all have times like that. I have times like that over things much less serious than Owen went through. Sometimes it’s over little things such as wondering if I am doing God’s will or just doing my own by writing these blogs. I have no idea if anyone is even reading these words. I’ve come to the conclusion that as long as I am getting new ideas on what to write I am likely doing His will. When the ideas stop, well, that may mean it’s time to quit.
I may be presuming too much.
Addendum:
I did not originally write this to post on Christmas. However, the more I thought about writing something specifically about Christmas the more I thought Strangers and Sojourners is appropriate for Christmas Day.
The world is not the home for which we were created. We were created to live for eternity in Heaven with God. While the world is fallen, God came to us; like us in all ways but sin. By doing so, God blessed our world, and by His death and resurrection, provided us with the means to be with Him forever in Heaven.
Give thanks and praise today and all days to God for lowering Himself to be one of us. Celebrate the gifts we receive every day from Him.
Luke 2:14
Glory to God in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good will.
Faith vs. Belief
Faith is not merely believing in something or someone. Faith is knowledge. I can believe in the Easter Bunny, but I can’t know the Easter Bunny. It does not exist. I can believe in God and I can know God because He does exist.
In my essay “On Faith“, I quoted Fr. John Hardon as stating, “Faith is the power to know God as He has revealed Himself.” He was referring to the theological virtue of faith.
How do we acquire this knowledge? First, the teachings of the Church. Second, Sacred Scripture. Third, prayer. Fourth, through our encounters with God in everyday life.
Faith formation classes at all levels help us with learning the teachings of the Church. Reading sacred scripture, or even just hearing the scripture read at Mass, provides us with knowledge of God as well.
The Need for Prayer
Catechesis alone is not enough. We need to pray. We need to make sure this knowledge is not just something we know and can articulate. We need to have it permeate our whole being; we need it to be centered in our hearts.
Why do I say this? We all know thought comes from the brain in our head. We know the heart is nothing more than an organ in the body that pumps blood. That is true. We also, though, refer to our hearts as more than just an organ. We talk about learning something important by heart. We talk about love coming from our heart. We say we gave our heart to someone else when we talk about our love for the other person. We talk about our heart being broken when our love is not returned.
Humans usually talk about the heart when we are talking about something that is beyond our analytical understanding. We usually associate feelings with the heart. However, when we are talking about God and our knowledge and love for Him it goes much deeper than just feelings. They are feelings, emotions, that are also mixed with our reason. Our will is formed by our understanding of the knowledge we have learned along with the love for and from God we have felt.
In prayer we ask God to help us understand what we have learned. We ask Him to show us what he wants us to know. In prayer we can ask God what He wants us to do. Prayer helps us to combine our knowledge we have received in catechesis with what we have learned in scripture. In prayer, lifting our minds and hearts to God, our love for Him and desire to do His will is multiplied.
Prayer is like what a baker does to make bread. He starts with the flour and adds other ingredients to it; water, salt, perhaps some fruit or nuts. He adds yeast to make the bread rise.
Prayer is the levin that makes our faith rise. Our knowledge deepens and our love for God increases.
As we grow in our knowledge and love for God we begin to recognize all He is doing in our everyday lives. This adds to our knowledge. Once you start looking for God it is amazing how often you see Him at work in everyday life.
Knowledge and love for God leads to our wanting to live our lives with Him and for Him.
Our knowledge of God has spread from our head to our heart.
Greg Gillen
October 15, 2024
Edited November 9, 2024
© 2024 Greg Gillen
Image Credit/Cover art by Michael D. O’Brien — The Sojourners/From the cover of his novel, Strangers and Sojourners — A Novel/© 1997 Ignatius Press
The Sabbatical — A Novel/Michael D. O’Brien/© 2021 Ignatius Press
Scripture Credit/Douay-Rheims Bible
The Catholic Catechism/Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J./© 1981 by John A. Hardon
