April 9, 2018
In this intellectually and spiritually demanding sampler, philosopher and Christian mystic Weil (1909–1943) addresses love, beauty, suffering, and idolatry. Weil studied and taught philosophy in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, where she was also politically active, writing for union movements and the anarchists during the Spanish Civil War. Gagne’s introduction explains the context of the pieces, but she largely refrains from analyzing Weil’s often inscrutable prose: “She leaves us with no simple answers, but her encounter with God’s love can leave us filled with wonder and hope.” Though Weil’s writing can be hard to parse and harder to fathom, palatable sound bites dot her work: “The intelligence only grows and bears fruit in joy”; “Christ does not call his benefactors loving or charitable. He calls them just.” Weil combines aphorisms and perceptive observations to lead readers into “the void,” “the dark night,” where suffering, writes Weil, “puts a little seed in us” and inspires questions about the afterlife. This beguiling book is a fine introduction to Weil’s work.