Book review: Light, Happiness & Peace — Journeying Through Traditional Catholic Spirituality, by Fr. John Pasquini

I get a lot of books to review, and I must confess that very few make it off my “review” shelf to my reference shelf. Light, Happiness and Peace is one of the rare ones, though, that I know I’ll be going back to in the future.

Fr. Pasquini’s goal in writing this book is to provide a “road map” for spirituality, a kind of overview of the key steps along the journey. The major strength of the book is its scholarly thoroughness. In other words, this is not just Fr. Pasquini talking off the top of his head: he regularly backs up his statements with quotes from saints and great theologians. As a reference text, it is just amazing.

On the other hand, I have to say that this same scholarly nature can be the book’s undoing. His first chapter, on “foundational points”, is basically a catalogue of spiritual terminology — very theoretical, and (to be honest) rather dry. I also got the impression that at certain points Fr. Pasquini was simply repeating — rather than re-presenting — some of the themes found in the old manuals of theology. In itself that isn’t bad: in fact, it shows a certain humility on his part. Nevertheless, it can tend to present the spiritual journey as some sort of exercise regimen, rather than the growth in relationship that it truly represents.

I think this book will actually be most useful for spiritual directors, to help them help others by giving them a solid introduction and/or reminder of basic foundational concepts. Those a bit more spiritually advanced would likely also benefit. That being said, even a beginner could get a lot out of the book — there is certainly nothing poisonous in it, just a lot of “meat” that may be a bit tough for some to chew. My rating: A