Night of the Confessor: Christian Faith in an Age of Uncertainty

Night of the Confessor

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He has lectured at many universities throughout the world and is currently a professor of philosophy and sociology at Charles University. His books, which are bestsellers in his own country, have been translated into many languages and have received several literary prizes. In order to forestall any misapprehensions or possible disappointment on the part of readers: It is likely that some of them confided to me things they had never spoken about even with their nearest and dearest.

I realize that this experience has shaped my perception of the world maybe more than my years of study, my professional activity, or my travels around the seven continents of our planet. It has been my lot to have worked in a number of occupations. Every profession involves seeing the world from a different viewpoint. Surgeons, painters, judges, journalists, businesspeople, or contemplative monks, all view the world with a different focus and from a particular perspective.

Confessors, too, have their own way of viewing the world and perceiving reality. It is necessary, without any manipulation, to help specific individuals, in their unique situations, to find their way and arrive at a solution for which they are capable of accepting responsibility. It is usually late at night by the time I get home after hearing the last of those waiting for me in the church. On occasions it can take me a long time to get to sleep.

At such moments, as one might expect from a priest, I also pray for those who have put their trust in me.

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Namely, I endeavor to listen patiently and attentively, to discriminate and do my best to understand, so as to obviate the risk of asking seemingly prying questions that might be wounding. My questions are aimed at bringing them to reflect on whether they are concealing something fundamental from themselves. Sometimes they feel a void, because in spite of their sincere endeavors and often long years of spiritual search they have not found a sufficiently convincing answer in the places they have looked so far, or what had so far been their spiritual home has started to seem constricted or spurious.

Despite the uniqueness of individual human stories, after years of practice as a confessor one discovers certain recurrent themes. I constantly compare it with what is written by my professional colleagues: Whereas Christian hope is openness and a readiness to search for meaning in what is to come, I sense at the back of this caricature a cockeyed assumption that we always know in advance, after all, what is best for us. It is my deeply held belief that we must not conceal our crises.

We must not evade or elude them.

And we must not let them scare us. Every Christian has heard plenty of reflections and sermons on the theme of the Easter events, but has Easter really become the key to understanding our life and the present situation of the Church? Paul at the moment when early Christianity parted ways with Judaism, Augustine amid the turbulence after the fall of Rome, Pascal in the upheavals that gave rise to the modern world, and Kierkegaard when this world of mass civic Christianity of modern times was finally beginning to fall apart.

It is withering away with its epoch: The deliberations in this book seek to take the theology and spirituality of paradox a step further. It is evident also in Jewish mysticism and theology from the earliest times up to modern Jewish thinkers, particularly Martin Buber, Hans Jonas, and Abraham Heschel. Would you like to tell us about a lower price?

Night of the Confessor: Objective, Subjective, and God

If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support? Learn more about Amazon Prime. He has lived through the political oppression and intolerance of religion that defined Communist Czechoslovakia, and he draws from this experience to remind readers that not only does crisis lead to deeper understanding but also that any living religion is a changing religion. The central messages of Christianity have always seemed impossible, from peace and forgiveness in the face of a harsh world to love and self-sacrifice despite human selfishness to the victory of resurrection through the defeat of the cross.

It is a difficult way that offers an unclear immediate future, but it is ultimately the only honest way. Read more Read less. Add all three to Cart Add all three to List. Some of these items ship sooner than the others. Buy the selected items together This item: Night of the Confessor: Ships from and sold by Amazon. I Want You to Be: Customers who bought this item also bought.

Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. On the God of Love. Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age. How Not to Be Secular: Image; Original edition January 10, Language: Related Video Shorts 0 Upload your video. Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features: Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review. Read reviews that mention halik tomas chapter god deep paradox mystery perspective thoughtful christianity living provoking loving challenging view dense impossible paradoxes agree seeking.

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. So far, I am really enjoying this book. Halik is from a different perspective than what I am used to, but I appreciate his knowledge, wisdom, and insight. There may be a slight learning curve in coming into this book that makes it a little inaccessible. The resources and other authors he brings to the table are well worth looking into while reading through the book. I would recommend dedicating to read a whole chapter at a time, then reflecting a bit on what he says. You may agree with everything he says or you may not, but you will definitely have a some more insight into your faith and your walk because of reading this book.

Halik also has a dry wit about him that comes out so clearly and is often so funny.

The way he addresses the students who invite him to a youth rally particularly stood out to me. I will try to update once I have finished reading all the way through.

It was presented like a "dark night of the soul" but without many suggestions or solutions. Oct 30, Nancy Janzen rated it it was amazing. This is an excellent book for someone that wants to explore the deepest meaning and issues around faith, particularly of the Christian tradition.

Halik worked as a psychotherapist during the Communist occupation of the Czech Republic. He also served as adviser to Vaclav Havel. He explores faith rationally, reasonably and questions all. It's beautifully written and he winnows down what faith can and is about, and what it is not. Dec 30, Julie Davis rated it really liked it. This is a dense book However, when I read the introductory sample via Amazon before accepting the review offer, it seemed to have something to say to the thoughtful Christian.

Flipping through the book itself upon receipt, I saw vignettes which piqued my interest and so it is going on my "to read" stack. With the understanding that the reading will come slowly and require This is a dense book With the understanding that the reading will come slowly and require thought.

UPDATE I thought I wasn't going to read this for a while, yet somehow I picked it up a couple of days ago and have been dipping in for a few pages at a time. Rich and deep, with somehow simple ideas. Just when the author says something that I have a knee-jerk reaction of "that's not how faith works" he goes further and deeper so that I understand the reasons behind the surface statement This is thoughtful and though provoking writing which I am letting sink in.

And it is enriching my internal life. Tomas Halik's observations about "Christianity in an Age of Uncertainty" hit the mark time after time. In one sense, one must simply sit back and take in the view, letting his writing wash over you until the point is reached; at which point, I dive in. Occasionally I may disagree with him, but that is fairly rare and even when I do disagree it is because we have a different perspective. I can always see his point of view and it is not a non-Catholic one but just is different from my own.

Which is also valid, as I believe Halik himself would say. I am going to begin sharing nibbles of this over at Happy Catholic. Oct 01, Stuart rated it liked it. Today, I am reviewing the book Night of the Confessor: This is the first book that I received as part of the Blogging for Books program. It's a pretty sweet deal. They send you a free book, and all you have to do is give it an honest review. Tomas Halik is a Czech priest, who was clandestinely ordained a priest due to Communism being rampant at the time. So it seems like this priest would know his stuff, and would be a good read.

Unfortunately, the book is near impossible to read. I'm not sure if it is because the book was translated from Czech to English, and there was something to be desired in the translation or if Msgr. Halik is just too smart and scholarly for writing, but this book was dense, dry, and tough to read.

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Perhaps, it that each chapter is its own essay, and it's hard to get the full effect of an essay reading it. I do however agree with and like the overall message of the book, and that is that Christianity is a paradox. We must die to live, loving those who persecute you, and decreasing to let the Father increase.

These paradoxes and others are the underlying themes in the book, which Msgr. Halik echoed in every chapter and which he also believes are the only way worth living in our culture. I would like to recommend this book to the average reader, but I simply cannot. My review and ultimate rating is not meant to reflect negatively on the book, because I think the advanced reader might get more out of this book than I did. So while I am giving this book 3 out of 5 stars, I feel like I am more giving myself 3 out of 5 stars. Check out my other reviews at stuartsstudy. Feb 05, Maria Longley rated it really liked it Shelves: That's a nice thing to do!

Luckily I was interested so very happy to read these essays. He writes a lot about living with paradoxes, the hiddenness of God Augustine's 'Si comprehendis, non est Deus' if you can grasp it it most certainly won't be God , and about the signs of the times from his view point of a confessor and Catholic Priest. During the Communist era in Czechoslovakia he worked as a psychotherapist as well as being active as a priest in the underground church and there are some really interesting points about that and Pope John Paul II from his experience.

There's a long list of people mentioned in this book that I have meant to read at some point and has just made the case stronger for that: The Christian messages are full of paradoxes, the kingdom of impossible, so the acceptance of paradox is the only really way to move with it and these essays have interesting and helpful things to say. Jul 12, Erin Cataldi rated it liked it Shelves: I've been reading so much Christian romance these days that I thought I could honestly handle a heavy duty guide to Christian living and boy I proved myself wrong.

This book is definitely intended for the educated reader not just your average joe shmoe. I haven't read anything of this magnitude since my philosophy of religion class in my undergrad. That being said it wasn't I've been reading so much Christian romance these days that I thought I could honestly handle a heavy duty guide to Christian living and boy I proved myself wrong. That being said it wasn't a bad read, it was very insightful and well-written, just very heavy on the intellectual side which isn't a bad thing!

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Halik addresses the challenges of being a good Christian in this day and age having lived through political oppression in communist Czechoslavakia he is, shall we say, an expert in overcoming challenges and what it takes to have your faith grow. By regularly partaking on confession and living by the two paradoxical statements from the New Testament "For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible" and "for when I am weak, then I am strong" we can begin to cultivate a loving relationship with God and try to uphold our faith in this trying era.

Overall, a very good, thoughtful, inspirational book. Just not a light read, will definitely take more than one sitting. Dec 25, John rated it it was amazing. Halik's pointed reflection on the state of our world wrestles with a variety of issues from a perspective deeply influenced by his Christian faith. Always interesting, regularly profound, Halik understands that the life of faith is not about splashy displays and religious enthusiasm, but about the more mundane and quiet ways in which faith works itself out in everyday life.

His words are thoroughly grounded in an appreciation for the centrality of Jesus as worked out in those three cardinal Chri Halik's pointed reflection on the state of our world wrestles with a variety of issues from a perspective deeply influenced by his Christian faith. His words are thoroughly grounded in an appreciation for the centrality of Jesus as worked out in those three cardinal Christian virtues--faith, hope, and love. Most of all, though, I appreciate Halik's understanding of Christian faith as paradox, and the inevitable mystery that sits at the very heart of Christian faith.

Halik also rightly critiques the tendency in some Christian quarters to over explain difficult issues and land on banal solutions, to assume that the way to the cross is through rationalistic argumentation, and to keep faith shallow for the "benefit" of the people.

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Halik's are words to wrestle with Jan 09, Stephen rated it it was amazing. Got a major buzz from this book. A really fascinating perspective on "post-Christian" Europe and the possibilities that Christians have there. Also full of deep spiritual insight from a mature thinker with no axe to grind, and who doesn't fight the fact that "old" European Christianity is gone. Refreshingly, he doesn't get caught up some of the cultural trappings of religion and mistake them for the heart of Christianity itself.

He doesn't write specificall Got a major buzz from this book. He doesn't write specifically for Americans, and even gently rips the color-by-number trends in American Christianity, but this book is enormously humane, sharp, open-minded as they come, and relevant to any discussion of culture and faith. Don't come here looking for easy answers, a witch hunt, or a quick shot of sentimental Jesus-juice. DO come here if you need a genuine intellectual and spiritual adrenaline rush and something absolutely provocative.

Dec 28, Ben rated it did not like it Shelves: I received this book thanks to goodreads first reads, so I might have liked it more than if I had paid for it. It started off interesting enough, but about a quarter of the way through the book, I started to get irritated by the author, and felt like one minute he'd say one thing, and the next minute It seems like he contradicted himself. I admit I'm new to theology, and perhaps I'm not not the kind of person the author wrote the book for, but for what ever reason I ended up giving up on i I received this book thanks to goodreads first reads, so I might have liked it more than if I had paid for it.

I ended up giving up on it and it was a few days before I started reading again.

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