Things Seen and Unseen: A Theologian's Notebook - Hardcover

For most of his professional life, University of Notre Dame professor Lawrence Cunningham has kept notebooks filled with memories, ideas, and reflections on the things that captured his attention in a given day. Now, for the first time, Cunningham has selected and compiled notes from his many volumes to create this book. This window into the mind and heart of an exceptional theologian reveals insightful, spirited, and often wickedly funny commentary on the messy, comic, tragic, and ultimately beautiful realities of the diverse landscape of contemporary Catholicism. Scholarly, popular, and personal in equal amounts, "Things Seen and Unseen" considers the legacy of such spiritual figures as Simone Weil, the interplay between religion and pop culture where Christmas and Easter are concerned, and the always-difficult balance between family and work. Cunningham also addresses difficult issues like the quality of Church leadership, the commercialization of spirituality, and the sad contrast between the ideal of Christian charity and the pettiness that can pervade everyday church life. In all things, Cunningham inspires readers with his deep love for and steadfast devotion to the Church.

Lawrence S. Cunningham is John A. O'Brien Professor of Theology (Emeritus) at the University of Notre Dame. The author or editor of over 25 books and hundreds of essays and reviews, his books reflect his interest in the history of Christian spirituality, hagiography, the intersection of theology and culture, as well as the relationship of contemplation and action. Cunningham is the recipient of three honorary doctorates and the winner of Notre Dame's Presidential Award for service to academy and church (2002) and the Christus Magister award from the University of Portland in 2011 for distinguished scholarship and teaching. He has served as a visiting lecturer in this country and in Europe, Asia, and South Africa. His most recent academic book is INTRODUCTION TO CATHOLICISM (Cambridge University Press, 2010) and is currently serving as the Christianity editor for the forthcoming NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF WORLD RELIGIONS.