The Bookshelf

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

A while back, a person came to speak with me and graciously gave me a gift in gratitude. It was a book entitled, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. It was written by Charlie Mackesy. It is an illustrated book, written in cursive. At first blush, you could quickly pass it off as a children’s book, but considering the source, I knew that there was much more to it. I spent two months reading just one page at a time, spending some time contemplating the few words spoken between the boy, the mole, the fox, and the horse. Here is what one special page holds. “What is the bravest thing you ever said?” asked the boy. “Help.” said the horse. When was the last time you asked for help, for anything?

Can an entire state of mind be echoed in a single word? Can we be brave enough to ask the God of the great universe for help? Can we ask each other for help? Can the help we offer when asked be a prayer, a connection between two hearts which is authentic love? A lot of questions that come from this one quote, “What is the bravest thing you have ever said?” 

This book has many more thoughts to contemplate in the simple words spoken between the boy, the mole, the fox, and the horse.

Following Christ in a Consumer Society

In his book, "Following Christ in a Consumer Society," Fr. John Kavanaugh elaborates on what he refers to as “The Commodity Form” wherein he examines the extremes that our society has been drawn into without slaking our thirst for products and services of every conceivable type.

Then he focuses on “The Personal Form” which concentrates on the Gospel message of Jesus requiring Christians to love and help each other vs. loving “things.”

Fr. Kavanaugh (1941 - 2012) was an acclaimed professor of philosophy at St. Louis University.  The depth of his intellect makes reading some pages of the book a definite challenge. But there are many sections that shine with facts and smooth logic encouraging the reader to live the Gospel message with stepped up commitment and more enthusiasm.

This Jesuit’s knowledge of the virtual overwhelming lure of our culture is made clear with the 27 page bibliography at the end of the book. That section is entitled, “Reading About Culture and Faith.”

His comments related to the many books that he has studied on our culture is a worthy reading all by itself.