Path to Freedom: Christian Experiences and the Bible, by Fr. Jean Corbon

[Crumpy]

This 1969 book is a primary recommendation from Scott Hahn’s St. Paul Center in Biblical Theology and Spirituality.

I was attracted to the book, on the basis of the St. Paul website recommendation of this book as a ‘spiritual’ exegesis of the Bible.

I’m taking this book slowly, because I’m not an avid reader. The text invites the reader to pull out the Bible and follow along in parts, to expand on the spiritual exposition.

The main theme revolves around gratuitousness. Yup. Gratuitousness - the giving of something not deserved, especially by the circumstances. The first great sign of God’s gratuitousness is creation. The second is the covenant.

The gratuitousness of God culminates in Jesus Christ.

We reflect the image of God when we reflect the gratuitousness of God in our lives.

There are many quotable lines in the book – insights that sharpen our view of God’s gratuitousness.

**“The Bible is more than a book; it is alive with the presence of God. It is a melody that echoes in our hearts, a poem that our daily lives re-create.”

The first chapter of Genesis is a poem, the second a love story, and the third a drama."

“We only really know someone’s love when we have been forgiven.”

“The resistance and pettiness we meet in other should stimulate gratuitousness in us.”

“The Good News of Christ crucified is precisely that [sins] become paths to a new and greater love.”**

This is a great book about the meaning of the Bible. Corbon offers explanations of the different purposes of the Egyptian exile and the Babylonian exile.

Fr. Jean Corbon is also the author of the fourth section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, on Christian Prayer.

 

[Fidelis]

Gratuitousness - How I like that word!

It’s such a foriegn concept to us because we so easily fall into the habit of doing just enough to get by – you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours: do unto others what they do for you, etc. When I first came across the concept of God’s love as gratuitous, it amazed me – love that’s over and above what we expect, deserve, or even think we desire, like an overflowing pool or a glass of beer poured too quickly.

Sounds like a great book–when my nightstand becomes somewhat cleared, I’ll look it up. Another St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and Spirituality recommendation that I enjoyed was “Pathways In Scripture” by Fr. Damasus Somebody-or-other. Not so much a study but a meditation on salvation history, book by book through the Bible.

 

[Crumpy]

Fidelis:

Gratuitousness - How I like that word!

It’s such a foriegn concept to us because we so easily fall into the habit of doing just enough to get by – you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours: do unto others what they do for you, etc. When I first came across the concept of God’s love as gratuitous, it amazed me – love that’s over and above what we expect, deserve, or even think we desire, like an overflowing pool or a glass of beer poured too quickly.

Sounds like a great book–when my nightstand becomes somewhat cleared, I’ll look it up. Another St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and Spirituality recommendation that I enjoyed was “Pathways In Scripture” by Fr. Damasus Somebody-or-other. Not so much a study but a meditation on salvation history, book by book through the Bible.

We must have both been shopping at Amazon. I picked up that book, but I read this one first.

I’ve put a couple brief book reports as new threads. Now hear this – you do the report on that book!