Memoirs

Bouyer recounts the story of his life and learning-the people, places, events, and ideas that shaped his profoundly Catholic life. He tells of his relationships and encounters with such theological and Church notables as Yves Congar, Jean Danielou, Henri de Lubac, Joseph Ratzinger (later, Pope Benedict XVI), Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Karl Rahner. A disciple of the Lord and a man of great love for the Church, he often writes with parrhesia-pastoral frankness-and wit about the shortcomings of Catholic institutions and life, especially with respect to changes undertaken in the name of reform but which did not truly partake of the sources of the Church's life and mission.

About the writing of his memoir Bouyer said, "In the pages that follow, what I would like to recall is what, on final, or undoubtedly very nearly final, reflection, seems to me to have the most meaning. I hope that those who read them, and especially my friends, both known and unknown (for a writer, are not many of these latter often among the closest?), will also draw some profit from them, perhaps more than I do myself. I hasten to add that the entertainment that these pages could, at least I hope, provide them is an integral part in my eyes of that potential profit. For it is a too-little-known but to me unquestionable fact that Providence has a great and, of course, the best sense of humor!"