Rome Newsroom, Aug 4, 2024 / 16:40 pm (CNA).
In a new letter released Sunday, Pope Francis touts the benefits of reading literature for priests and all those seeking to enrich their lives as Christian believers.
Though he said his letter was originally intended for men receiving priestly formation, he said all Christians — not just those involved in ministry — would benefit from incorporating poetry and literature into their personal times of study or leisure.
“Time spent reading may well open up new interior spaces that help us to avoid becoming trapped by a few obsessive thoughts that can stand in the way of our personal growth,” he writes in his letter, which is dated July 17 and comes at the height of the summer when many people are taking time off to rest and recreate.
The 87-year-old pontiff believes reading literature enables individual people to learn the art of reflective personal discernment, empathy with others, as well as entering a dialogue with the culture of our times, in a more profound way than modern audio-visual media.
“We are enriched by what we receive from the author and this allows us in turn to grow inwardly, so that each new work we read will renew and expand our worldview,” he writes.
In his letter, the Holy Father praises seminaries that incorporated times dedicated to the reading of literature and poetry, countering the current “obsession with ‘screens’ and with toxic, superficial and violent fake news.”
Reading, the pope insists, should not be approached with an arduous or rigid “sense of duty,” but rather with a flexibility, openness, and “readiness to learn.”
“Everyone will find books that speak to their own lives and become authentic companions for their journey. There is nothing more counterproductive than reading something out of a sense of duty, making considerable effort simply because others have said it is essential,” he shares.
Drawing upon the example of St. Paul who “gathered the seeds of pagan poetry,” the pope said Christians who are knowledgeable of the literary works of their times can bring others closer to God through the person of Jesus Christ.
“We must always take care never to lose sight of the ‘flesh’ of Jesus Christ: that flesh made of passions, emotions and feelings, words that challenge and console, hands that touch and heal, looks that liberate and encourage, flesh made of hospitality, forgiveness, indignation, courage, fearlessness; in a word, love,” Pope Francis writes.
Through “listening to the voice of others” and “seeing through the eyes of others,” Pope Francis believes there is a kind of wisdom and richness instilled in readers of the literary word that seeks truth, broadens perspectives, and enhances critical and cognitive thinking.
“It opens our human words to welcome the Word that is already present in human speech, not when it sees itself as knowledge that is already full, definitive and complete,” he observes, “but when it becomes a listening and expectation of the One who comes to make all things new (cf. Rev 21:5).”
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Reading literature and poetry can enhance our Wisdom Bank.
About reading literature, Charles Darwin himself actually had something to say about his own desiccated narrowness and what has become Darwin-ISM:
“This curious and lamentable loss of the higher aesthetic tastes is all the odder, as books on history, biographies, and travels (independently of any scientific facts which they may contain), and essays on all sorts of subjects interest me as much as ever they did. My mind seems to have become a kind of MACHINE for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts, but why this should have caused the atrophy of that part of the brain alone, on which the higher tastes depend, I cannot conceive.
“…A man with a mind more highly organized or better constituted than mine, would not, I suppose, have thus suffered. . . . The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness, and may possibly be INJURIOUS TO THE INTELLECT, and more probably to THE MORAL CHARACTER, by enfeebling the emotional part of our nature. . . . My power to follow a long and purely abstract train of thought is very limited; and therefore I COULD NEVER HAVE SUCCEEDED WITH METAPHYSICS or mathematics.”
(Charles Darwin, edited by Sir Francis Darwin, “Charles Darwin’s Autobiography,” 1887/New York: Henry Schuman 1950, CAPS added).
What might this reflective Charles Darwin have to say about now upending human sexual morality and personal “moral character,” on the basis of some newly-mutated “sociological-scientific foundation” infecting some poorly-read clericalist “intellects” in high synodal places?
The dominant culture is in free-fall and the leader of the Catholic Church has time to suggest that seminarians read literature. (You can’t make this stuff up.)
The human brain needs time to rest and be rejuvenated. A tired and overworked brain can’t think straight and is prone to errors, and the soul and spirt suffer from a constant interaction with bleak and often terrifying reality. We can’t spend all of our waking moments in battle–even our military organizations maintain recreational facilities for the soldiers, sailors, and pilots. We need physical exercise, and it doesn’t have to be Olympic-level workouts–just a slow short walk or some gardening outdoors will do for many of us. And we need relief from over-stimulation by the latest alarming news and from too much study of deep topics, including religious topics. I personally enjoy reading children’s literature–not just the classics, but charming series like the Laura Ingalls Wilder saga, the old mysteries (Nancy Drew, Dana Girls, etc.), and Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. I am also currently attempting to read everything that Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) wrote–and discovered his amazing novel about Joan of Arc! I’ve even written a series (mystery) of six skating novels for children and teens, but they remain unpublished by established publishers (and to any publishers reading this, they are filled with Catholic heroes and heroines!) Even the Lord Jesus took time away from his work on earth to relax!
I’ve encountered no public figure in my lifetime who ever impressed me more as being devoid of personal wisdom than Pope Francis. His rhetoric is a continuing monolithic expression of faith in inevitable progress if we all engage in some sort of never defined “listening” process to a never defined purpose. Repeated use of the name of Our Lord as linguistic prop to legitimize a generality does not complete an answer.
In theory, a religious man recognizes personal sin as the origin of all the evil in the world, its power to do harm occurs when large scale popular concessions are made to mythologies that promise exoneration from personal accountability. Humanity pursues accommodating dishonest falsehoods as passionately as honest truth, and honest minds understand this. A jealous and dishonest mind becomes spiteful towards those who have warned us that indiscriminate immodesty in ideas does not promote closeness to the single author of all truth, the creator of everything, instead casting this as a cynical, “rigid” denial of progress, but a progress never defined. Only a minority of honest writers have understood the tragedies of our vanities that call a lie a truth, and call what is true, too far. Many others have contributed to human brutality.
Yes. Woe to those of Isaiah 5:20…as it would be better for them to have millstones of Luke 17:2.
Reading Pope Francis’ letter to seminarians (linked in the first line of the article to the letter itself in the Vatican website) urging them to embrace and love literature is a breath of fresh air. For those of us who cherish the rich tapestry of Catholic literature, it is a welcome affirmation and a profound break from his magisterial, theological, spiritual, and moral discourses in his variety of official teachings and declarations. Pope Francis underscores the value of literature not just as an academic exercise but as a means of spiritual and moral enrichment. Pope Francis’ letter is a celebration of the enduring power of literature to nurture the soul and enhance one’s spiritual journey. For seminarians and all who seek to deepen their faith, delving deeply into the world of words and wisdom is an invitation to explore the rich intersections between faith, morality, and human experience. This guidance from the Pope is not just about reading; it is about engaging with literature as a means of growing closer to God and understanding the divine narrative that shapes our lives.
This papal view reminds me of the great Catholic literary figures whose works have long bridged the realms of faith, morality, and human experience. Dante’s epic journey through Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory is more than a grand narrative; it is a reflection on the human soul’s quest for divine truth. Similarly, J.R.R. Tolkien’s richly imagined world of Middle-earth is infused with themes of sacrifice, redemption, and the enduring struggle between good and evil, all grounded in a deep sense of Christian morality. Shakespeare, who is now more and more correctly identified as Catholic by literary critics, offers a treasure trove of insights into the human condition and the moral struggles that define our lives. His exploration of themes such as power, betrayal, and redemption echoes the moral lessons found in the scriptures and Church teachings. The viral tagging of Trump and the MAGA cult as “weird” reminds me of the three witches called the “weird sisters” in the Bard’s Macbeth.