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3. We have read two other books recently regarding the dire straits in which our society finds itself and addressing how Christians may respond. How do you compare Strangers in a Strange Land: Living the Catholic Faith in a Post-Christian World with The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation and The Restoration of Christian Culture? Are there significant differences in their diagnosis? In their prescriptions?

Speaking about other book that it was chosen by our group in my opinion Archbishop Chaput refutates in this book the Benedict Option by Rod Droher. Droher has an argue with my admired Juan Manuel de Prada, certainly with his comments Chaput gives the reason to Juan Manuel de Prada. The catholic must colaborate to regenerate the society.

Gentlemen, I certainly find myself in agreement with Chaput’s thesis. Catholic spirituality has something extraordinarily valuable to offer the world: a holistic, deeply human approach to life and spirituality that can go a long way toward healing the anxiety-ridden, alienated fragmentation of the Western world. The world could move toward healing if it HEARD us Catholics, as well as merely LISTENING to our words!

So true, Fergus! This is also Bishop Barron's defense in his Word on Fire productions. Even when I was young, I recognized that the Catholic Church fought harder against sin and evil than any other faith I had any knowledge of.

Fonch wrote: "Speaking about other book that it was chosen by our group in my opinion Archbishop Chaput refutates in this book the Benedict Option by Rod Droher. Droher has an argue with my admired Juan Manuel d..."

I think Chaput would agree with you, and he refers to Dreher without naming him in one place in which he rebukes the idea of "withdrawing to a cave." But I think that is a misunderstanding of what Dreher is saying. And in another place Archbishop Chaput quotes Dreher approvingly. I think the difference is on emphasis.

Chaput emphasizes the need to evangelize the broken society around us through living out our Christian life and Dreher emphasizes that there is little chance we will succeed in that unless we form strong Christian communities. Dreher does lionize those communities that do so by forming themselves largely apart from the larger society, but separate from his book he is also quite clear that he doesn't think there will be any refuge from progressive ideology when it gets back in power.

I think recently i have Read the City of God and Saint Augustine says that the City of Good and the temporary City must be together It is the parable of Tare and Thorn. The Catholic must calaborate in to improve the society. He can not live in close societies. Everybody are worried for the descend of religious and the low practice but i do not believe that Droher has the solution. I must admit that my criterion is biased firtsly i do not like that Droher give Up being Catholic. This is an apostasy and second he has an argue with my friend Juan Manuel de Prada and i totally agree with Juan Manuel de Prada that he is One of my masters. It is true that Chaput quoted Dennen that he is a good friend of Droher but i have the impression that Chaput rejected the idea of Benedict Society he says in the text and i do not remember if he quoted otherwise to Rod Droher i am Closer to Juan Manuel de Prada's friend José Miguel Gambra "The traditional society and his Friends" however i must admit that the Gambra's solution only would be for Spain. It is a small solution unfortunatelly the view of England and United States is hostile. Gambra did not realize that without the Jacobites rebellions there would not be Traditionalism except in the topic of fueros the idea is the same. His idea It is not different that Joseph Pearce's and Charles Coulombe' s Bilbo Journey's the hidden meaning of Hobbit when he spoke about Thorin. In other countries a part of Spain there are movements in favor of monarchies some Closer to the Traditionalism. Gambra Will insist an Aristotle model especially a Saint Thomas Aquinas, however in United States there was an important Traditional thinker Frederick D. Wilhelmson and he has the support of Miguel Ayuso other friend of Juan Manuel de Prada. The difference between Juan Manuel de Prada and Droher is that the First is traditional and the other conservative and the conservadurism is One of the Family that my friend rejects because It follows the illustration way Locke and the french enciclopedism.

Wonderful comments, Fonch, and your thoughts seem to echo my own!

Thanks, Madeleine! And wasn’t it Flannery O’Connor who said that without the Church in her youth standing up for traditional values she couldn’t have made it? Same with me!

And again, Fonch, I have now ordered The Benedict Option. Your tips are marvellous!

When This book was chosen I remember that i said to the group or It was to my friend Alfonseca that the idea reminded me to Ernst Wiechert and Berdiaeff. Although you try. You do not escape of the world you live in there. I liked really much The Louis de Wohl's novel about Saint Benedict "Citadels of God" It is the novel of Saint Benedict, Casiodorus and Boethius i loved It.

Wow, thanks so much for these comments. I will look for de Wohl’s book. And I now have The Tempest by de Prada - is that one you liked also?

I have found Citadels of God in a Canadian bookstore. Thank you so much.

One warning De Prada considered the Tempest a teen novel of adventures juvenil was the spanish Word that he employed for his novel. It is the story of a University Student Who traveled to Venice (This novel was very influenced by Henry James's One of the favorite Juan Manuel de Prada's writer with Miguel de Cervantes, Edgar Allan Poe, Dostoyevski, Flannery O'Connor, G.K. Chesterton, León Bloy and Leonardo Castellani that he try to publish in Spain unfortunatelly without success) the novel the Tempest saving a lot of distances he reminded me to the Iain Pears mystery novels about art was played by Jonathan Argyll and the italian police Woman Flavia. As i commented to Fergus in a message i think that the novel is out of print or sold out. Translate to Juan Manuel de Prada's writings into english is really complicate because even reading It in spanish is really difficult because of he employed a baroques expressions and archaisms that currently they are not employed neither he does not like very much United States It is useful for you he hate the communism and the socialism for him the liberalism fruit of the protestantism and the illustration is the Father of socialism and Communism in This his opinion follows the Dostoyevski's thesis in Demons his system with some differences is Closer to G.K. Chesterton with the spanish element of Carlism. He is not the Devil my friend Alfonseca was with him in his TV programme and he is with us to prove that my words are right. I am going to ask to the administrator of his facebook's Page if he has something translated to English but i do not believe It.

Hello at finally the administrators of the Juan Manuel de Prada's Page (he does not like the social networks but he has a Page in Facebook with administrators).
They said to me that only has in English The Tempest i send greetings of part of Manuel Alfonseca and all members the Catholic book Club :-).

It’s really too bad, but I understand. Thanks very much for taking the time to reply at length, Fonch!

I regret because you are losing a very good author but at least we have The Tempest for This novel Juan Manuel de Prada won the Planeta Award It is Closer to the Iaian Pears novels of Jonathan Argyll and It is influenced by the Papers of Club Aspern by Henry James.

Yes! I’ll bear that in mind. And at least I will now order the St Benedict book you recommended!

Louis de Wohl is a wonderful writer all his books about Saints where he told the history of Catholic Church are worth of being Read them :-).

Fonch wrote: "i do not remember if he quoted otherwise to Rod Droher."

You have to read the footnotes to find it. In chapter 11, page 220 in the Kindle version, he quotes "an Eastern Orthodox writer." If you look at footnote 14, you discover that he is quoting Dreher approvingly for the proposition that to survive we must create "countercultural places . . . with some degree of intentional separation."

This is why I say that there is not as much difference between the two books as may at first appear.

The spanish edition has not footnotes.

Personally i remain with my idea that the Catholic must not be isolated and he must colaborate to regenerate the society.

What a beautiful sentiment, Fonch. My hat’s off to you!

Fonch, have you read A.J. Cronin’s great Masterpiece, Keys of the Kingdom? It’s my FAVORITE of his novels!

Oh It is curious you are the second person Fergus that you ask me This question. My friend The romantic writer Marta Lujan i take the chance to recomend her and her trilogy Argmenon. The pity is that she was not translated to English and she is Self publish her own novels into spanish. Her novels reminds me to C.S. Lewis and George Macdonald. She asked me a few days ago if i had read the Keys of Kingdom. I take the chance to speak about my favorite A.J. Cronin's novel "The Citadel" i also spoke with her about other novel Shanon's way he wrote a autobiography and his son Vincent Cronin was a famous biography. He wrote a biography of the Jesuit Mathew Ricci and Napoleon.
I think that you know but there was a movie of Keys of the Kingdom were played by Gregory Peck and Thomas and This movie want to be directed by Alfred Hitchcock although at finally was directed by other director.
It is a pity Fergus if you like Cronin you would have enjoyed with my favorite novel Bodies and Souls by the french writer Maxence van der Meersch. The problem is that i do not know that This novel is English i wish somebody translated into English his original title is Corps et Aimes. I am very interested in novels about doctors because my Father was a emeritus or retired Professor of Pharmacology of the University of Valladolid. Perhaps you enjoyed with Frank G. Slaughter.
I wanted to apologize in case that in some moment of the discussion i was unpleasent with you. I asked for to my friend Alfonseca that he told everything about your Next discussion deliver us and the Jane Lebak's novel. I felt a Big fond for Mss. Lebak equal that my friend Alfonseca.

Wow. ANOTHER great tip. I will find With Two Eyes on Gehenna for sure! TYSM, Fonch...