The Roman Catacombsby Fr James Spencer Northcote, Sophia Institute Press, £12
This book, first published in 1877 by an early member of the Oratorians, has now been republished with minor revisions. It is well worth reading, as it throws light on “the history of the Christian city beneath pagan Rome”.
Apparently there are at least 40 or 50 catacombs in the hills around Rome. Some, like the catacomb of St Callixtus on the Via Appia, are well known. We learn that digging beneath the city for the burial of Christians, martyrs and others lasted 300 years, until the reign of Constantine, and that there was a designated group of diggers known as fossors, whose task it was to make the long, narrow galleries and small chambers comprising the catacombs.
The author explains that the “Roman government did not interfere with the catacombs before the middle of the 3rd century and not even then as places of burial – but only when they were used as places of worship and assembly”.
One moving passage relates that the Emperor Numerian buried Christians alive in a catacomb on the Via Salara after they had entered to celebrate Mass. Their skeletons were only discovered in AD 370 during the pontificate of Pope Damasus (who also relates the martyrdom of the boy saint, Tarcisius.)
St Cecilia’s tomb was discovered in the 9th century. A great 19th-century scholar, Giovanni de Rossi, worked on cataloguing the excavations and explaining the symbols, such as the fish, anchor, dove and Good Shepherd.
Dementia: Hope on a Difficult Journeyby Dr Adrian Treloar, Redemptorist Publications, £9.95
Dr Treloar, a consultant and senior lecturer in old-age psychiatry, has written an important book on how we should treat those with dementia. The condition is growing as our population ages, with the inevitable pressure to allow euthanasia for a condition that is, at present, incurable.
Treloar argues, both as a Catholic and a medical practitioner, that there are effective ways both to support and to mitigate the consequences of this diagnosis for sufferers and their families. As well as medication to counter particular problems, he believes that we must always recognise the intrinsic dignity of patients – it is “not just a medical illness” but also “a social and spiritual illness”.
To those who think that with the impairment of our mental faculties we become less than human, he says: “Dementia can help us to see that we are more than the abilities we have. Even in severe disability we are fully human.”
The author reminds us that “the parable of the Good Samaritan does not get much closer to reality than it does with dementia”. His book offers hope and practical guidelines for professionals as well as relatives and deserves a wide readership.
St Mary Magdalene: Prophetess of Eucharistic Loveby Fr Sean Davidson, Ignatius / Gracewing, £13.20
This book taught me two things, apart from a renewed understanding of the meaning and importance of Eucharistic Adoration. The first is that centuries-old Catholic tradition believed that St Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom seven devils were expelled, is one and the same as the sinful woman of St Luke’s Gospel and Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. It is only since the 20th century that the theory of three separate women has been commonly held.
The second is that the story of Mary Magdalene fleeing persecution in Palestine in AD 41, after the death of Christ, and arriving in France (Gaul), along with members of her family, is not simply pious legend (like Joseph of Arimathea coming to Glastonbury) but part of an ancient oral tradition. Indeed, in the village of Saint Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume in Provence, there is a basilica dedicated to St Mary Magdalene, as well as a grotto half-way up a nearby mountainside where she is supposed to have ended her days.
Although I am still inclined to believe in the “three separate women” thesis, especially as the Gospels don’t make it clear, Fr Davidson, who spent two years at this famous pilgrimage site, is very persuasive on the subject – though he does emphasise that readers can make up their own minds.
He paints a powerful and convincing picture of the sinner from the town of Magdala encountering Jesus preaching to the crowds in Galilee and, overcome with remorse for her past life, anointing his head in the account described by St Luke. Then, after being counselled by Jesus, becoming reconciled to her own family in Bethany, joining the other women who supported Jesus’s public ministry, such as Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward, and following him all the way to his Passion and Resurrection. In essence, after her conversion she lived a life of perpetual adoration.
Davidson’s description of Mary Magdalene’s inner torment could refer to anyone living in spiritual darkness: “Every soul is made for infinite love, and when that love is sought outside of God, before long the soul finds itself in a state of sad frustration, especially when it has been created with a special capacity to love intensely.”
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.