From the desk of the Tar Heel disciple:
January 2026 (#65)
Perhaps some of our readers made the good intention to read and study more decidedly the Sacred Scriptures in the year ahead. - Excellent!
Perhaps some of the same readers and/or others committed themselves to reading more biographies and solid history books. - Very good!
And anyone serious about the spiritual life should always be looking ahead for the next good read that would strengthen it. The writings of Church Fathers, spiritual masters, saints, and many helpful modern authors provide a wide field of possibilities. With the beginning of Lent less than six weeks away, it's not too soon to consider this matter. But good fiction can also contribute to our human and spiritual growth!
Good fiction can open doors. We might explore topics and places that are entirely new to us and thus put the book down intellectually enriched. We can learn about situations and processes with which we were not familiar and see new possibilities in our own lives. Unexpected emotional responses to fiction can be self-revelatory in numerous ways. And good fiction can certainly contribute to the enrichment of our spiritual lives, sometimes by the attraction to virtue and sometimes by the repugnance of vice. And reading good fiction with others can open the door to good conversation and, sometimes, deepened friendships.
Ignatius Press has provided excellent reading material, both fiction and nonfiction, since its founding by Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., in 1978. One of their recently published books of fiction is a good example of some of the assertions presented here. Earth Dragon Run: A Spiritual Enrichment, by David Pinault (Ignatius Press, 2025) brings the reader into various worlds: a faculty meeting in California, a wild animal refuge in South Africa, the streets (and sewar system!) of Hong Kong, a gambling den in Cambodia, and other locales, reflecting the contemporary realities of these places, as sometimes reflected in current events and news reporting. The five-page “Author’s Afterward” explains Pinault’s personal history which made him so familiar with these varying paces and circumstances.
The characters, sometimes a bit odd, are interesting, and inhabit the various locales convincingly. By no means are they all saints. The novel opens the door to a deeper understanding of contemporary geo-politics, especially the inimical nature of Chinese Communism. Pinault is not subtle in his prose. But his dense style does enable the attentive reader to imagine the spaces and people about whom he writes. The book would be accessible to high school age readers and above. By the conclusion of the work, the reader would certainly have a deeper understanding of the plight of endangered species, the refuges that exist to protect them, the nature and activities of Chinese Communist operatives throughout the world, among other relevant modern realities. Once again, let it be observed that the “heroes” of the story are not all saints. (But neither are they/we in our non-fiction lives.)
If you have not read enough fiction which could contribute to your intellectual, emotional and spiritual life, you might do well to begin here.
This book is available at:
