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I first came to The Hawk and the Dove on the recommendation of a priest friend, and I have now read it twice in the past two months. It is a book that lives on in the heart long after the reading is done. Penelope Wilcock, a Methodist minister as well as a school and hospice chaplain, has written one of the most moving stories I have encountered about Catholic religious life—remarkable, since she herself is not Catholic.
It is a curious truth that some of the most compelling stories about the Catholic faith are written by those outside the Church, and this novel is an excellent example. While there are a few small inaccuracies, the storytelling is otherwise so well-grounded in Catholic tradition that a room full of Catholic readers in my bookclub were stunned by the discovery that Wilcock was writing as a guest of our tradition.
The novel is framed as a series of bedtime stories told by a modern mother to her teenage daughter. At the heart of these tales is Father Peregrine, an abbot who begins as many of us do: well-intentioned, but somewhat prideful. His life changes after a brutal attack leaves him scarred and crippled. From this place of brokenness, Peregrine begins to see the depth of love and care his brothers are capable of as they strive to save him. Humbled, he grows into a gentler, stronger leader and a true peacemaker in his community.
What stays with me most are the vignettes of daily abbey life. Wilcock makes the abbey both interesting and human. Each story offers a lesson that is as applicable to Peregrine’s community as it is to our own lives. When an Irish novice and the Scotch father in charge of the kitchen clash, Abbot Peregrine humbles himself and works alongside them, despite his crippled hands and back, modeling the behavior that should exist. His love for them keeps him returning to the kitchen every morning until they learn to love each other. This, my favorite story from the novel, will always be a reminder to me to do whatever is necessary to have proper peace in my own community – no matter how painful it may be for me to work to achieve it.
When the religious brothers behave as ordinary brothers do, it is beautiful to see how Abbot Peregrine’s tender love for them and his humble service can work to bring out the best in his community. He routine seeks to unite himself with Christ on the Cross, and in that place he finds wisdom rooted in love.
An excellent book for anyone, my husband and I are convinced that this would be particularly well-suited to a high school religion class. As tender and gentle as the text is, however, I would not give it to a younger reader as one of the vignettes reveals that one of the key characters has a child born out of a summer romance before he entered into religious life eighteen years before the story opens. That child becomes a small character in the rest of the story.