Books in Brief: Acts of Faith: A Memoir

Acts of Faith: A Memoir, by Faith Abbott (Ignatius, 274 pp., $14.95)

AS THE author concedes, not many Americans under sixty can identify “MRA,” a movement (Moral Re-Armament) widely popular for over a generation. It sought no less than the reconsecration, by its votaries, of the world we live in, in exchange for a better world. Thoroughly Christian in its orientation, it nevertheless lacked dogmatical structure, which finally led the author to abandon it and to welcome, indeed revel in, the formal Christianity of the Catholic Church. Miss Abbott recounts the poignant aspects of her departure from a movement that was also a culture. Followers of MRA are not to be compared with the widely advertised cultists who, e.g., follow the strictures of the Reverend Moon. Especially by current standards, they were self-disciplined disciples—of an extra-secular movement that attracted the attention of fastidious thinkers such as Arnold Lunn. Miss Abbott even as a young girl was given to chronicling her thoughts and experiences, and her work is familiar to readers of the Human Life Review, published by her husband. Her Acts of Faith radiates a special warmth and concern, and reminds us, alas more vividly than frequently happens these days, of the electrical exhilaration in yesteryear of discovering the real thing, as Faith Abbott is confident she did.—Wm. F. Buckley Jr.

About the Author

William F. Buckley Jr.

William F. Buckley Jr. founded National Review magazine in 1955.

Featured Tags

Acts of Faith: A Memoir, by Faith Abbott (Ignatius, 274 pp., $14.95)

AS THE author concedes, not many Americans under sixty can identify “MRA,” a movement (Moral Re-Armament) widely popular for over a generation. It sought no less than the reconsecration, by its votaries, of the world we live in, in exchange for a better world. Thoroughly Christian in its orientation, it nevertheless lacked dogmatical structure, which finally led the author to abandon it and to welcome, indeed revel in, the formal Christianity of the Catholic Church. Miss Abbott recounts the poignant aspects of her departure from a movement that was also a culture. Followers of MRA are not to be compared with the widely advertised cultists who, e.g., follow the strictures of the Reverend Moon. Especially by current standards, they were self-disciplined disciples—of an extra-secular movement that attracted the attention of fastidious thinkers such as Arnold Lunn. Miss Abbott even as a young girl was given to chronicling her thoughts and experiences, and her work is familiar to readers of the Human Life Review, published by her husband. Her Acts of Faith radiates a special warmth and concern, and reminds us, alas more vividly than frequently happens these days, of the electrical exhilaration in yesteryear of discovering the real thing, as Faith Abbott is confident she did.—Wm. F. Buckley Jr.