Catherine Doherty, long known for her ability to combine her Catholic faith with her Russian heritage in a meaningful way, takes on the rich yet disturbing topic of yurodstvo, or holy foolishness. Although holy fools, such as St. Francis of Assisi and Basil the Blessed, are not strictly a Russian phenomenon, Russia is especially famous for the endeavours of those who rejected all social conventions and sometimes radically shocked others for the sake of leading people to Christ. Doherty adapts the concept of holy folly to our modern world and invites us to love God passionately, to take risks in serving Him, to overcome our fear of rejection, to let go of our need for security, and to share what we have with others.

anyone who is struggling with the demons (my word, not Doherty's) of need for security and desire for approval. The book is written from a Catholic perspective, but it is quite possible for people from other Christian (and even non-Christian) traditions to appreciate the profound freedom of action that comes with the cultivation of holy foolishness in everyday life.

Doherty's courage and the depth of her faith. Her faith is like the faith of St. Dismas, the Good Thief, who believed that God will listen to our prayers, even to our last breath. Doherty's encouragment to develop holy foolishenss in one's present condition is important, because it is easy to mistake holy foolishness for something that requires a complete change in one's surroundings and activities, which is not necessarily true. Doherty's challenge to us to reconsider how we treat the elderly is very powerful, as are her images of poverty in our midst.

the fact that Doherty discusses our need to stop being angry with God but does not explore the positive fruits that can arise out of such anger when it is approached through faith. Sure, it would be better not to be angry with God, but when one finds oneself in such a state of anger it can be an opportunity to wrestle with God, as Jacob did with the angel, and to know Him better in the end. Also, Doherty makes frequent references to the power of priests and bishops to do God's work, but devotes only a few lines to the grace to love God and others the layperson receives through baptism. As the Catholic Church becomes more aware of the importance of the laity, it is this latter perspective which needs to come to the forefront.

security-seeking and a need to please others are crushing our capacity to share and build a better world. It is essential for parents and teachers to become acqainted with the value of holy foolishness, as it is such people who often damage the emergence of holy foolishness in the young, steering children toward the safe and easy rather than precarious but life-affirming ways of being that avoid excess.

This book is older, having been originally published in 1983, and so it contains much imagery relating to issues of that period, such as the Cold War. This does not detract from its overall message, however. Those who are interested in exploring further the issues of social justice Doherty raises with respect to Marxism and capitalism would do well to read Pope John Paul's encyclical Centesimus Annus. Erwin McManus's The Barbarian Way would be a useful companion to Urodivoi, as it deals with core issues surrounding holy foolishness but delves into topics Doherty does not approach, such as the danger of community becoming a social club in which everyone sinks to the lowest common denominator rather than a source of mutual spiritual challenge.

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Created Mar 05, 2006 at 10:42pm • Submit your own review...