Morning Light: The Spiritual Journal of Jean Sulivan

Jean Sulivan's Morning Light is high on my list of books to be read and re-read.His insights into the institutional church and what has driven it in its pomp and circumstance throughout the centuries, makes one wonder, just how far we have gotten away from the Jesus of the Gospels, while still calling ourselves His Church.As we know the early Christians were called The People of The Way.After reading Sulivan's Morning Light, one is left to wonder just how far off we've gotten from the path of Jesus. I have always considered the Church my spiritual home but have frequently wondered like Boenhoffer, if we aren't headed toward some form of religionless Christianity.Sulivan without stating it appears to be headed in the same direction.One only can call to mind his disillusioned cardinal in "IL Y A LE MER-What has my life meant as a churchman wielding so much ,power, authority,and riches now that I'm old ,lonely and in retirement? Sulivan's books are replete with tremendous pearls of Church history brought out in his characters-who certainly as in my case,have left me asking-"Who do you say I am "I don't always have the answer to that question ,but find it filled with tremendous possibilities .Morning Light by Jean Sulivan should go down as one of the great Spiritual books of our time.We need to get the word out here in the U.S.A.-Mike McCormick

It is rare for theological works to be both intellectually uncompromising and spiritually uplifting. Generally, one or the other is compromised. Sullivan, an earnest Catholic priest and teacher, is amazing in this spiritual autobiography precisely because he does both. This book is a book of reflections. Sullivan elaborates on his spiritual development and the logic and emotion that forced him to change his prior conceptions of God and the biblical texts. He is uncompromising about condemning the Church for "using" the Gospel to support it and its practices, but he is never bitter; he recognizes that it is the Church who has sown his spiritual life - even if that spiritual life ends up rejecting some of the Church's actions. To write a long review about Morning Light is to dilute its power. This is an amazing book, and has helped my spiritual life like no other.

Jean Sulivan, a Catholic priest, offers a challenging and penetrating reflection on his his vocation as a priest in secular France. Escaping all standard classifications, Sulivan collides with the orthodox and heterodox as he struggles to convey the message of Jesus Christ to people alienated, scandalized, or simply perplexed by the example and preaching of the established churches. This is a haunting and very moving work. Sulivan's honesty shines forth.