In The Art of Being Human, Father McNamara has taken a new, vital approach to effective socially oriented Christian living in tune with the needs and demands of our times. He takes for his theme the basic traditional truth: grace builds upon rather than destroys human nature, and develops this theme with extraordinary understanding and eloquence. The first chapter-"Becoming Human"-sets the tone of the book. For Father McNamara the sanctifying process is the humanizing process and the way by which one can cultivate "the art of being human" within oneself. He then probes into the very roots of the conditioning processes which daily shape our lives, and poses for the reader some incisive questions that demand reflection and inner search. Discussions on faith, hope, love, religion, mental prayer, and spiritual growth follow. The final chapters on leisure and leadership are especially provocative since they direct the reader's attention to where the responsibility for the self-accomplishment of this "art" truly lies. Father McNamara has the knack of putting his finger directly on the problems of today's living. The Art of Being Human does not pretend to have all the answers but it goes a long way toward taking the reader in the right direction.
