Book Reviews
The Hidden Power of
Kindness
A Practical Handbook for Souls
Who Dare to Transform the World
One Deed at a Time
by Lawrence G. Lovasik
reviewed by Helen M. Valois
Sophia Institute Press, 1999. At
first glance, the topic of Fr.
Lovasik’s old book (newly reprinted by Sophia Institute Press) seems
a bit insipid. It brings to mind bouquets of daisies and slow-motion
commercials. One wonders if it is a
long version of the type of homily
that equates Christianity with smiling at checkout persons. Maybe it
was okay to “try a little kindness”
back in the early 60s when Father
originally penned this work, but in
these post-Columbine days, is this
sort of thing really relevant any
more?
Anyone who takes the time to
read The Hidden Power of Kindness
will tell you: Yes, it is relevant, now
more than ever. This virtue, related
to charity and dependent on hope, is
especially under attack in these
times and is especially necessary as
a remedy for them. “Kindness stops
the torrent of angry passion, takes
the sting from failure, and kindles
courageous ambition,” Father
explains (p. 12). “It lifts the unfortunate, leads back the wayward, and
walks in the steps of our Savior. . . .
Kindness is the grand cause of God
in the world.”
Father’s sound, insightful analysis will draw the reader into a deeper
understanding of the workings (or
lack thereof) of kindness in the individual soul, with its profound ramifications for individual sanctity, famil46
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ial happiness, and social stability as
a whole. Without even trying to do
so, it will explain why the currently
popular style of “conservative”
social and political commentary, in
which the presentation of clear
truth is mixed with sarcasm,
destructiveness, and impurity, is
impotent for effecting good and
stunted in its potential for growth.
Hopefully, the book will draw readers into the “apostolate of kindness,” in which there are no dues or
meetings, just a commitment to
daily recitation and implementation
of the “Kindness Pledge”:
I resolve to speak kindly of
someone at least once a day,
think kindly about someone at
least once a day, act kindly
towards someone at least once
a day, avoid speaking unkindly of anyone, avoid speaking
unkindly to anyone, avoid acting unkindly towards anyone.
The adoption and spreading of
this apostolate of kindness is important because, in Fr. Lovasik’s own
words: “Kindness is
too often left uncultivated because people
do not sufficiently
understand its value.
Men may be charitable, merciful, and
self-sacrificing, yet
not kind. Kindness,
as a grace, is not
always sufficiently
cultivated even
among devout people. Many devout
people are unkind. There is sometimes a sort of spiritual selfishness in
their devotion, which may interfere
with kindness. This calls for great
vigilance” (p. 12).
Keeping this little pledge, in
other words, involves more than it
seems. In fact, it involves a reconstruction and redirection of the
soul’s dispositions in many areas.
In the Sophia Institute edition,
T h e Hidden Power of Kindness
approaches this daunting task in a
simple, direct way. The subject matter is divided into three parts:
“Develop a Kind Attitude,” “Learn to
Speak Kindly,” and “Show Your
Love in Kind Deeds.” What thinking, speaking, and acting kindly
mean in practice are investigated
individually, with interesting
results. While being charitable in
speech (p. 159) strikes one as relevant to the topic at hand, being
punctual (p. 17) does not. Father’s
investigation is far-reaching, delving
diligently into the details and
expanding graciously to embrace the
generalities. It exhorts us to practice
kindness in the (seemingly) most
trivial of ways (like interesting ourselves in the conversation of others,
p. 19) as well as the most serious
(like avoiding violence in all its
forms, p. 90). Kindness, it turns out,
both depends upon and fosters a
whole host of Christ-like attitudes
and behaviors in which nothing less
than the entire personality is caught
up. Kindness, in short, is a function
of sanctification.
The most gripping aspect of
Lovasik’s analysis is his thoroughgoing insistence that the practice of
kindness depends upon honoring
the truth (pp. 137-57).
According to the popular
mindset, these two things
are diametrically opposed.
Being kind to someone, it
is alleged, means wearing
rose-colored glasses in
their regard. In its worst
incarnation, this assumption fosters denial and
enabling, thus leading to
the toleration and covert
encouragement of sin. Its
flip side is the attitude
alluded to above, wherein the proclamation of truth is taken as a license
to be unkind.
Father explodes this myth about
kindness once and for all. He
explains that truth and kindness, far
from being mutually exclusive, are
mutually dependent. In fact, while
not judging them, appropriately confronting others about their sin is presented as an act of kindness that we
are morally bound to extend. Making
an effort to prevent the sins of a
spouse, correcting those who have
failed, and reporting to authorities
the sins of a dangerous neighbor (p.
240) are among the duties that the
kind person must assume.
Still, kindness in our viewpoint
toward others is difficult to acquire,
since their faults (like our own) truly
exist. “Of course, it would be unreal
to grow blind to evil,” Father admits
(p. 55), “but you must grow to something higher and truer than just a
quickness in detecting evil.” That
“something” is kindness in judgment—an emulation of the perspective of God Himself. Like Him, we
should forgive the sins of others
(never simply excuse them), but at
the same time see beyond the sins,
not allowing failures to confound our
love for the person who has fallen.
The practice of kindness builds,
however, upon the truth about ourselves first and foremost. While one
of the elements of kindness is a
“proper love of self” (p. 20), the
honest assessment of our faults and
the willingness to fervently root
them out is the work upon which all
else depends. In this task, Fr.
Lovasik gives us a great deal of incisive assistance. His second-person
voice and heavy-handed pastoral
style, though, are unusual in this
day and age. It is refreshing to hear
a priest say something like, “If you
permit anger to lead to unreasonable violence, you reveal yourself
to be immature and spoiled. If you
really want to reform, you must do
so by adopting a program of selfdenial that will discipline your
childish nature” (p. 90). This sort of
thing is not evocative of the “be
nice to checkout persons, and you
will prove yourself worthy of
Christ” homily at all. What could
be better medicine for this postColumbine age?
One of the most helpful features
of The Hidden Power of Kindness is
its Appendix, which provides an
examination of conscience on the
question of kindness in thought,
word, and deed. This practical list is
suitable for regular reviewing, for
instance, “Have I cast a gloom over
my surroundings by giving way to
morose and sullen moods?” (p.
239); “Have I hurt others by my
flare-ups of anger and impatience?”
(p. 243). It will help the reader to
grow steadily in the practice of this
vital virtue.
Let me say for the record that I
did not review The Hidden Power of
Kindness. It reviewed me. I encourage you to let Fr. Lovasik (posthumously, through his writing) perform this great act of kindness for
you as well.
The Hidden Power of Kindness
may be ordered by calling
Benedictus Books toll-free at (888)
316-2640. CUF members receive a
10% discount.
Literary Converts
by Joseph Pearce
reviewed by David E. Utsler
Ignatius Press, 1999. Today we
are witnessing what seems to be an
unprecedented wave of converts to
the Catholic Church. Some come
from one of the Christian communities separated from Catholic unity or
from the non-Christian religions.
Still others with no religious background at all find
their way to the
Catholic Church.
The influx of converts is so vast that
it even requires
organizations like
The Coming Home
Network and others
like it to assist them
in the journey.
However, we
would not do justice
to history, especially
very recent history,
if we were to think that this is a
phenomenon unique to our own
generation. Every age has its own
group of converts, those men and
women who struggle deeply to
know the truth and find it in the
Church. Joseph Pearce has recorded
the accounts of one particular group
of converts who lived mostly in the
earlier part of the 20th century, a
group he aptly calls “literary” converts. Among these are some of the
brightest minds and personalities in
the history of the English-speaking
world. This group of individuals has
given us a vast body of literature,
fiction and non-fiction alike, with
which every Catholic should at least
be acquainted, lest we deprive ourselves of some true gems of the
English language.
Joseph Pearce has related, in a
very personal fashion, the pilgrimages of these men and women, the
“literary” converts. The fascinating
footnotes indicate that the author has
thoroughly steeped himself in the
lives and literature of those about
whom he writes. Among them we
discover poets, writers of prose and
fiction, defenders of the faith, and
even skeptics who were skeptical in
the service of truth.
Some of the names are no doubt
more familiar to us. Gilbert Keith
Chesterton, Evelyn Waugh, T.S.
Eliot, Ronald Knox, and Malcolm
Muggeridge, to name a few, and
there is even a chapter on the contemporary actor and filmmaker Alec
Guinness. Names most likely (and
sadly) not as familiar to most of us
today are Baring, Benson, or
Graham Greene, among others. Each
of the stories in these 446
pages is truly inspirational.
Despite the rampant falsehoods that are circulated in
intellectual and secular circles today, bright minds do
embrace faith. Literary
Converts testifies to this
fact. And though from a
previous, albeit recent,
generation, the wit, wisdom, and insight of these
converts speak to the unbelief and irrationality of our
world today.
I hope that this book will spark a
revival of interest in these writers
among a more general audience.
Many contemporary readers will
benefit from both their journeys of
faith as well as the great treasury of
Catholic literature they produced
throughout their lifetime and after
their conversions. With few notable
exceptions, their work stands head
and shoulders above what is being
produced today.
Nowadays there is a host of
books that lack insight, beauty, and
continued...
July/August 2000
47
wit. Our generation is graced with only a
few top-notch Catholic authors, like
Thomas Howard or Peter Kreeft, who are
truly gifts to us. But the quality of literature being written today, even by
Christians—if not especially by
Christians—is a vast desert in comparison
with what came from minds and hearts of
those Mr. Pearce writes about.
We find ourselves today in a technologically “advanced” and “visit-our-website”
culture reared mostly on prime-time
television, poor newspapers, and fast
food. It would do us good to rediscover
the very human joy of a relaxing evening
with a good book of poetry, fiction, or
the common sense and wit of a G.K.
Chesterton. These “literary” converts are
a good place to start. While being
inspired by the stories of faith of those in
Mr. Pearce’s fine book, even more may
the book inspire us to rediscover the
wealth of fine literature they left to us.
Literary Converts may be ordered by
calling Benedictus Books toll-free at
(888) 316-2640. CUF members receive a
10% discount on all orders.
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4-C
Reprint
from page 47 of June LW
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