I Cover God

Eddie Doherty, reporter, looks at life in Combermere during the early years of Madonna House.

"As a newspaperman I looked on the writing of these letters as a special assignment. Some reporters have jobs like mine; but not so unlimited. Some cover the city hall. Some cover Washington or New York or London. Some cover Europe or Latin America or the Far East. I cover God! And I hope to keep on covering Him until the earth shall cover me."

Mr. Doherty says the idea for I Cover God came to him recently in a kind of dream-like experience during a stay in a hospital. So vivid and deep was the impression it made that he began work at once on this collection of "Love Letters to the Most High."

The letter-essays cover a wide variety of subjects: the fascinating world of nature; the world of men and the world of the Church; and the author's own personal experiences in each. Through all runs the shining thread of his love and gratitude for all God's graces, manifested in such a multitude of ways. He praises God and thanks Him for everything in the universe and appeals to Him for His continued love and for the grace to love Him more. Here is the seeming paradox of a man matured by age and worldly experience and at the same time filled completely with childlike wonder and joy of simple faith discovered after years of neglect.

Mr. Doherty reveals himself to be a keen observer of nature in this book filled with delightful descriptions of the out-of-doors, especially of the march of the seasons through the vicinity of Combermere, Ontario, the author's home. He has the gifted reporter's flair for words, as well as a lively imagination with the result that charming and original word pictures seem to flow effortlessly from his pen. Dashes of wit and humor season his work--especially when he takes wry pokes at himself and his spiritual and physical shortcomings.

A refreshingly different spiritual reading. The letters will surely make God seem unusually real and close.