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A Turning to God

Author:	Cardinal Basil Hume, ed. Patricia Hardcastle Kelly
Published By:	Darton, Longman and Todd (London)
Pages:	96
Price:	£9.95
ISBN:	978 0 232 52701

Reviewed by Luke Penkett.

Patricia Hardcastle Kelly, a freelance editor and translator, has selected previously unpublished material by Basil Hume for this Lent book. For each day from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, there is a reading from the Common Lectionary, a passage from Cardinal Hume’s Lenten talks, homilies and addresses and a brief prayer based on the liturgical text.

There is always a danger in presenting to the public previously unpublished material. Although the archivists at Ampleforth Abbey, where Hume was abbot from 1963 to 1976, have brought together a wealth of readings, they are, regrettably, rather uneven and unpolished. The prayers, by the editor, tend to be gauche rather than inspiring.

Unfortunately, this compilation adds little to the already abundant number of books that can more beneficially accompany us throughout this season.