The Water and the Fire

By Gerald Vann, O.P. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Never one to mince his words, Gerald Vann, O.P., confirms this warning from the Book of Proverbs. The people are perishing and the preacher’s task is of the utmost urgency: to restore vision before the darkness is absolute. The deep evil underlying the common misery and discontent of the post-war world is a psychological crisis. This crisis of the human soul threatens to destroy humanity more completely than anything material, replacing the redeemable messiness of reality with the irredeemable void of unreality. It is this impoverishment of spirit which dictates the defects of technocratic society: the frenzied tempo, the severance of natural and domestic roots, the loss of symbols, of the vocation of woman, of organic community life, the disintegration of education, and the degradation of matter. To both these characteristics and their cause, Vann offers remedy, resolving the modern dilemma in the strong light of Christian charity. Water and fire deride The sacrifice that we denied. (T. S. Eliot) Originally published in 1954, The Water and the Fire is a sober acknowledgment that all things pass away and staunchly hopeful avowal that truth forever endures. With faith both in God and in those made in His image and likeness, Vann issues a call to repentance and renewal, so that men and women can rekindle the fire in the hearth and restore to hearts the warmth and tenderness of love.   Gerald Vann, O.P. (1906–1963) was an English Dominican priest and author of numerous bestselling works of philosophy, spirituality, and theology. A gifted preacher and scholar, he was in great demand as a lecturer and retreat-master, and appeared frequently in the United States on the National Council of Catholic Men’s weekly radio program, “The Catholic Hour.” * * * Paperback: 220pp. ISBN: 978-1685954604