Thomas G. Casey – författare

Better Than Babylon invites us to break free of our prisons. It urges us to reject the subtle enslavement that blinds us to what's important, the superficial images that prevent us from touching the soul of things. By engaging with key issues in our culture - women, family, education, work, the environment, war and peace.

The approach of this book—which was de Mello’s approach—is to offer the reader freedom from both the daily grind of the workday world and to be deeply at peace with ourselves. Through the stories and prayers of Tony de Mello (and others), we realize that the scramble of life is already over: The serenity we claim that we so desperately crave is already ours to have. Thus the urgency and compulsion we impress on our quotidian realities wind up seeming foolish in light of the awareness experience Tony de Mello preached and practiced: there is no “journey;" rather, the scales fall from our eyes and we “see” for the very first time. The guideposts to awareness are simple prayers and breathing exercises with memorable key phrases to hold in front of the mind’s eye of readers. The ultimate result is that readers winds up feeling as though they’ve spent a week in the mountains or gazing at the sea or the feet of a dear, wise old friend—which is exactly who Anthony de Mello was to the Church. †

Catholicism in the Western world has moved from a situation where Mary and Marian devotion were simply taken for granted to a new situation where it now demands real effort to turn to Our Lady in any meaningful way. The Rosary used to play a big part in the lives of many Catholics. Now, they are more likely to carry iPods instead of Rosary beads, and to sport a tattoo instead of wearing the Miraculous Medal. The trouble is not simply that we have stopped thinking about Mary in the way our ancestors did, but that we no longer feel about her in the same way they did either. How can we learn to see Mary in a new way? The author explores the insights of other faiths – Protestantism, Orthodoxy, Islam, and Judaism; and also the insights of the `other’ within the Catholic tradition – the Eastern-rite Catholics who, despite their full communion with Rome, have a distinct approach to Mary based on their unique liturgical and spiritual tradition.Perhaps the novelty of their viewpoints on Mary can bring us to the joy of surprise about her once again. If we can learn to wonder anew about this woman from Nazareth, maybe we’ll be brought to enjoy the even greater wonder of her son, Jesus.

The Lord’s Prayer is a simple prayer that goes back to Jesus. But even though it has been around for a long time, we no longer know how to pray it as it should be prayed. We grow up saying this prayer in a hurried way, we continue to recite it in a rush, and we risk dying without ever waking up to its richness. This book slows things down, in order to help us recognize something of the richness of this great prayer. There is a real need to reflect and meditate on each phrase of the Our Father, to ‘chew’ on the words as a cow would chew on the cud, to find the marrow of meaning, and so discover true nourishment. It is like digging for hidden treasure. Each chapter approaches a particular phrase of the Our Father from multiple perspectives, in order to facilitate a deepening level of engagement with its richness. By going through the Lord’s Prayer phrase by phrase, it is possible to taste something of the unique flavour of each line. Every chapter includes moving stories which throw a new spotlight on the marvellous riches concealed in this familiar prayer. Each chapter also includes short prayers based on the Lord’s Prayer, prayers that get us in touch with the depth and breadth of this foundational prayer. Once we translate the spiritual wisdom of the Lord’s Prayer into the personal language of our experience, we shall be led to a unique encounter with the God who yearns for us more than we could ever yearn for him.