Words of Common Sense

September 23, 2002
Thomas Paine might have approved of this inspirational gift book, which heralds common sense in the sayings of Jesus and in world folklore. Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk in western N.Y., maintains that common sense can actually effect "healing on any level—mind, body, soul, spirit." A consummate collector of world proverbs, Steindl-Rast arranges the aphorisms around loose themes—giving, troubles, riches, truth—and comments on them on facing pages. He calls common sense "the ultimate authority" and claims that organized religion must stand up to the rigors of common sense or it will crumble. He even proposes that "each time we see 'Holy Spirit' printed on a page or hear it said aloud, we might replace it with 'Common Sense' to get the full impact." Some readers will not be willing to trust that liberally in the all-too-uncommon phenomenon that Steindl-Rast calls common sense, but they will appreciate his proverbial wisdom nonetheless.