Waiting for God (Perennial Classics)

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Summary: the Gospel message loved and lived!
Review: Everything that Simone Weil teaches is taught in the Christian gospels. If you think the Gospel message goes to extremes, is too precious in its tenderness, too self-sacrificing, too far over on the side of the poor, the imprisoned, and the broken-hearted, then you will surely think the same of Simone's life and writing. If you know, follow, and love the beatitudes, if you understand the way of the cross, the vision of the saints, you will treasure every chapter of WAITING FOR GOD. It is the best of Weil's books, and therefore the best place to begin reading her essays -- even among the writings of the saints, this book is unique in its overwhelming love and faithfulness to the Gospel teaching of unconditional love.

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Summary: To read this book is to be in touch with reality.
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: A moving and powerful book that will change you
Review: Simone Weil was the quintessential outsider, perhaps that is what allowed her to have such an incredible relationship with God. Through Weil's writings, the reader learns about a woman who knew the true meaning of God's Love, and of Life. Weil was God's servant, she never forgot that. She lived her life in the service of others, doing God's work. She loved completely, gave everything she had and asked nothing in return. Weil understood what it meant to be loved by God, what an incredible burden it is to be loved by One who is perfect when you yourself are flawed. She wrote about never truly achieving goodness, about how even the purest heart is imperfect, even the kindest soul does wrong, and it humbles you. To read Weil is to be humbled. It is a moving experience and an incredible journey of the soul. Weil speaks to us as a modern saint, the outsider we can relate to, yet one who remains so enigmatic. Her life and her words will touch you. Her example will inspire you.

Rating:
Summary: Important spiritual classic
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: A life lived for others
Review: This remarkable story of Simone Weil, a well-schooled, well-bred woman, who left all this behind to live an ordinary life. The road she followed is similar to St.Francis of Asissi, Mother Teresa and Gandhi. Simone Weil chose to live a dull, hardworking, life of poverty. In sickness unto death, she never remised from her choice of being where she believed she could do the most with her life. One realizes that Simone must have had something missing in her life to go searching in this manner, to leave her well ordered, social life behind and go into the depths of humanity. She literally allowed herself to be Christ to all she met, to bring God's heart to His people. Simone knew the true meaning of love and compassion, sometimes maybe to extremes. She gave with her whole heart, soul and body, not asking for anything in return. That is the true test of love. To love one another as He loved us.

Rating:
Summary: Showing Its Age, and Mine!
Review: 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.