Images of Pilgrimage

Author R D Crouse
Publisher DLT £14.99
Format hbk
ISBN 9781915412249

Father Robert Crouse was a scholarly teacher, preacher and contemplative who lived most of his life in Nova Scotia, dying in 2011. He was in great demand as a lecturer and this book presents six addresses on the theme of pilgrimage, exploring imagery of paradise and wilderness in classical writings, the scriptures, in Augustine and Dante. He concludes that all people have a fundamental desire to attain their true home; but only in Christianity do we discover that ‘paradise is here, in the wilderness’. Crouse’s writing is fluid and easy to read, but also intellectually challenging. He often quotes the original language of his texts and draws readily on classical, early Christian and medieval writers which may be unfamiliar to some. I found his section on Dante’s Divine Comedy (not a work I know well) absorbing, stirring a desire to read and know more. Images of Pilgrimage is like marmite – some will have no time for it, others will treasure it. Perhaps it should be read in small doses, prayerfully, with plenty of time to contemplate both meaning and application.

Reviewed by APRIL McINTYRE

Pilgrimage