Book Review

 “The World’s First Love” by Fulton J. Sheen.

(Presented in Khrist Premalaya Theologate)

Introduction

A book lover would like to read any book given to him, but when s/he is asked to choose one particular book and read it, it’s a hard task indeed. The book I selected for my book review is titled as ‘The World’s First Love.’ It may sound a very romantic title, unless one is familiar with its author namely, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. This is a romantic book indeed. Before proceeding to tell about the book itself, I would like to say a little bit about the author.

The Author: Fulton John Sheen (May 8, 1895 – Dec 9, 1979) was an American Archbishop of Roman Catholic Church known for his preaching and especially for his work on television and radio. His cause for canonization for sainthood was officially opened in 2002, and so he is now referred as a “Servant of God.” He was ordained a priest for the diocese of Peoria in 1979, and then he soon became a renowned theologian and in 1923 earned the Cardinal Mercier Prize for International Philosophy. He went on to teach theology and philosophy as well as acting as a parish priest before being appointed Auxiliary Bishop pf the Archdiocese of New York in 1951. He held this position until 1966 when he was made the bishop of Rochester. After three years he resigned from this position and was made the Archbishop of the Titular See, of Newport, Wales. He hosted the night time radio program ‘The Catholic Hour’ for twenty years. He then moved to television, presenting “Life is worth Living” (1951-1957). He won an Emmy Award for most outstanding Television Personality. Because of his contribution to televised preaching he is often referred to as one of the first televangelists.

The Book: Of all the books written about Our Lady, Fulton Sheen's The World's First Love is one of the most beautiful ever written. So popular was it when first released in 1952, it was soon republished by various other world known publishers. Its author, Archbishop Fulton Sheen, one of the greatest apologists of the English-speaking Catholic world, a pioneer and leader in Catholic broadcasting, first on radio and later TV, wrote this work at the height of his career. This book is divided into two parts spread over 238 pages, each part consisting of 11 chapters. The first part is titled as “The woman the world loves” in which he explains about the role of Mary in the salvation history from the very beginning till its fulfillment that is till her assumption. In the second part, that is “The World the woman loves” in this part of the book he describes the love Mary has for the world even after her assumption into heaven. Though she has completed the task assigned to her that is to bring forth the Saviour of the world yet she is with the world, she doesn’t abandon the world, she is with the world and this she makes known through various apparitions and unexplained miracles.

The author begins by stating that, when we love somebody or something, it is because we first had its idea and desire and when that is presented before us, we fall in love with it. For example, in a big group of strangers we choose only those people as our friends, who match our expectation and dream of a friend. Our likes and dislikes are also decided based on this same principle. So to say in a nutshell, when we love somebody or something, we already have a prior blueprint of that person or thing. When that blueprint is presented before us in reality, we start loving it. No painter does make a picture without having a blueprint of it in mind.

            Even God, before creating this world, had a blueprint of everything and when everything is ‘good’ and according to the blueprint, He loves it. For every created thing, He has one blueprint and they are created accordingly. But this is not the case with human beings, for human beings, God has two blueprints – one as somebody is created and the other as that person should become. The more we move from what we are to what we should be, the more God loves us. But this is not the case with Virgin Mary. She is the only one person in all humility of whom god has one picture, and in whom there is a perfect conformity between what He wanted her to be and what she is, and that is, she is His own mother!

Critical Appraisal: Now some reflections on the work: The work is structured largely chronologically; thus, the author moves from the fall in the Garden of Eden, to the annunciation and visitation and ends with an analysis of Mary's role as intercessor in a world living with the then threat of a nuclear holocaust. The author brings out his extensive knowledge of theology, Scripture and philosophy throughout his reflection, in such a way as to make complex ideas that theologians and thinkers have struggled with for centuries accessible to the average reader. While some of his writing reflects the concerns and assumptions of the 1950s, the vast bulk of the book's content remains relevant for contemporary readers. Indeed, it could be argued that many of his reflections have more relevance for today than the 1950s. For example, in his discussion of Mary as the model of authentic freedom, he distinguishes between false freedom, that is the ability to do whatever one wants to do without any responsibility, and authentic freedom, that is the ability to make the responsible choice that enables us to grow as persons in our relationship with God, the annunciation being the archetypical example of authentic freedom. This book also looks at apologetics type questions, most notably the question as to when belief in the Virgin Birth emerged. The author demonstrates, contrary to liberal theological positions that argue that belief in the Virgin Birth emerged only centuries later, that the evangelists firmly believed in this doctrine. This work's chief strength is that it contains something for everyone on Our Lady: apologetics on the Virgin Birth, analysis of philosophical and theological concepts, devotional chapters dealing with the rosary and the seven sorrows, and discussions of apparitions, particularly Fatima. After reading this book one would discover that this book is written not only for Catholics to deepen their faith, but for non-Catholics wanting to gain more of an insight into what the Catholic Church actually believes and teaches about Mary and her role.

                                                                                                                       - B. Johnson Maria