austraLasia #3233
Seed among the vines
A spirituality of the Sunday Gospels
YEAR C
Fr Peter Varengo
SDB
MELBOURNE:
14 June 2013 -- 'Seed
among the Vines' might well have been a description
of the
author himself, coming as he does from the heart of the
Piedmontese
Monferrato region, San Desiderio di Calliano to be precise,
tucked in
amongst the vines and the mountains. But no, it is the title
of Fr
Peter Varengo's well-received reflections for the Sunday
Gospels, Year
C. With years of experience in Australian parishes, and
writing
in what one reviewer has called an 'educated Australian'
(minus the
slang), and simple enough (minus the theological jargon that
might need
extensive study to interpret), Peter has come up with a winner
- not
just reflections, but capable of drawing out and encouraging a
real
'spirituality' of the Sunday Gospels. Year A is due to be
published
shortly, and then Year B - well, there's time yet for that but
he is
working on it!
It is interesting to note how this series came into being.
While Parish
priest of an inner city Melbourne parish, Peter would jot a
few notes
down for the Sunday homily, and inevitably somone would ask
for the
notes. Then an enterprising parishioner saw that the notes
were written
up and photocopied in sufficient quantity for whoever might
want to
take them after Mass - until in due course a 'practising
publisher' (the faith, that is, as well as publishing) asked
him could
he prepare things for a properly published version. So
there you
have it - the seed took root.
The book is divided into 52 weekly reflections on the
liturgical gospel
readings for year C of the standard commonly used
readings. Each
starts with just the location of the text, that way you read
in your
preferred translation, or multiple translations, and more
importantly
read just before and after to get the reading in
context. Each
has a reflection of about four pages. It was written so
the
congregation could get more out
of the weekly sermons with greater understanding and depth.
The book (and those to follow) is currently only available
from Australia.
Publisher: Mosaic Press, Victoria, 2012 (https://mosaicresources.com.au/titles/9781743240908
if you
were trying to locate a copy)
RRP: AU$ 34.95
That's around 75 cents a week for good Gospel food for a year,
garnished
with a healthy spirituality. You can't do much better than
that.