Waiting for God;: [letters and essays] (Capricorn books, CAP 17) by Simone Weil (PDF)

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⭐I came across Simone Weil thirty years ago and was struck by her insight and wisdom. Now, having experienced both life on life’s terms and the church universal as it is, I find myself deeply moved by this French mystic. Yes, the translated version of her writing is sometimes difficult to follow, but a careful, patient reading is greatly rewarding. Her deep spirituality is apparent at every turn and makes clear the difference between the constrictions of religion and the infinite possibilities of spirituality. I highly recommend this for others who find the limitations of conventional religious experience disappointing.

⭐Twenty-five years ago, I would have called this book one of the great religious volumes of the twentieth century. Now, instad of profound, I find it precious and peculiar.Weil’s attempted life of sacrifice, coupled with her willingness to be rescued by her rich parents each time the sacrifices seem to go too far, seem like the stuff of spiritual soap opera, not great religious vision. Her solidarity with the poor and the working class, while well-meaing, is ultimately a failure, and her attempt to teach the Upanishads to factory workers seems like comedy of the absurd.Her religious writing is not much different. Full of extremes, and paradoxes, and sometimes unnecessary verbosity, she strives for solidarity with a world of which, as she clearly states, she can never be fully a part. This, to me, now seems a peculiar act of self-loathing, and her anorexia is only further confirmation of this point.Perhaps she is pointing the way of how not to be a saint. Anyhow, the reading is engaging. Leslie Fiedler’s introduction, now 50 years old, shows its age, and as a religious commentator, he was frankly unqualified to begin with.So read it for the peculiar period piece that it is, and for the example of a flawed, yet highly dedicated life.

⭐This is indeed a classic, but like many classics, it demands your full attention. The letters contained in the book make for fascinating reading, especially the Spiritual Autobiography. This is indeed the “easier reading” part of the book, but it gives you the sense of a person who values total obedience to God even if it marks her as an outsider. She is not afraid to be unconventional, as far as it concerns the institutional Church. The essays are a little more challenging, especially the lengthy essay “Forms of the Implicit Love of God,” where I had difficulty along the way grasping all that she was saying. However, at the end, she pulls it all together brilliantly in the story of Electra and Orestes, where the importance of waiting on God rather than seeking is brought home forcefully. The final essay, “Concerning the Our Father” is classic, especially the last three paragraphs that point out the structure and the flow of this prayer and the effect it has on one’s soul. The only reason I give this book 4 stars instead of 5 are for the places it seems to bog down, but that may be more a fault of mine than the author’s.

⭐wanted to read some lives of some famous christian saints but didnt really exactly more thumb thru but it just wasnt there too devotional could be now whats her name she was different not a saint saintly however out on the fringes never wanting to become part of any organized church firmly christian and yet It is not up to us to believe in God, but only to not grant our love to false gods things like that are way off the wall she said lots of things like this universe we live in, of which we are a part, is this distance put by divine Love between God and God odd the true definition of science is that it is the study of the beauty of the world dream on dreamer human wretchedness is irreducible it is as great in the totally sinless person as in the sinner which makes me wonder at what point afflictions cause us to reject all the things we thought we believed in hardly been there yet my continued confusion frustration loneliness dead ends am absolutely certain there is no God, in the sense that you are absolutely certain there is nothing real that resembles what you can conceive when you pronounce that name absolutely certain there is no Good, in the sense that you are absolutely certain there is nothing real that resembles what you can conceive when you pronounce that certain there is no Happiness, in the sense that you are absolutely certain there is nothing real that resembles what you can conceive when there is no Certainty, in the sense that an atheist may be simply one whose faith and love are concentrated on the impersonal aspects of God ringing in my ears does not want me in the Church ringing in my when a contradiction is impossible to resolve except by a lie, in my then we know that it is really a door my every perfect life is a parable invented by God ears

⭐No one writes of the ancient conundrum of why a loving God allows suffering more profoudly than Simone Weil. Indeed, “profound” is the word I would use to describe this book. You do not read this book, you experience it; and come to a state of awe and yes, even love for this extraordinary saint of our times. The paradox of Weil is that in her severe view of life, great solace is to be found–the solace of truth and wisdom when you know, indeed, feel you have encountered it. In conclusion, let me paraphrase the author: it is impossible to think about Simone Weil without thinking about God. Amen.

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