“Paperwork, cleaning the house, cooking the meals, dealing with innumerable visitors who come all through the day, answering the phone, keeping patience and acting intelligently, which is to find some meaning in all these encounters – – these things, too, are the works of peace, and often seem like a very little way.”

These words were written by Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker movement. In them she describes work at what she called a “house of hospitality” for the homeless poor in New York City. She also identifies these daily tasks as a unpretentious way of seeking God. The Catholic Church now calls this great-souled woman a “Servant of God,” the first step on the way toward official recognition as a saint.

This quotation comes from a little red book now given to incoming freshman at Boston College. Its formal title is “What Are We? An Introduction to Boston College and its Jesuit Traditions.” So popular has this pocket-sized volume become that the university has answered requests for it from many alums and interested others.

According to Father Joseph Appleyard, the Jesuit who serves as vice president for university mission and ministry, he and the others at Boston College’s Center for Ignatian Spirituality who conceived the book’s design simply said to themselves, “We want this to be unlike any other book that students will have.” That is how it turned out to have a plain red binding without any words or illustrations on the cover.

Thus the nickname “little red book” was not intended to remind people of the famous book of Chairman Mao referred to by that name. Almost inevitably, however, some readers will make that connection. Published in the 1960s, this collection of sayings by the Chinese Communist leader who revolutionized his country became faddish reading matter for many young people in revolt against the institutions of mainstream American society.

In fewer than 200 small pages, the Boston College “little red book” provides a wide range of passages from the great spiritual leaders of the world. In the first section, the readings come largely from the Jesuit founder St. Ignatius Loyola and other members of the order.

Other selections range from the Buddha to the 13th century Persian poet Rumi, from the Diamond Sutra to the Qu’ran, from the Dalai Lama to Anne Sexton.  Martin Luther King appears here along with Gandhi, St. Francis of Assisi, and the anonymous authors of  “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”

These writings and sayings from the spiritual masters are printed on the left-hand pages of the book. The right-hand pages contain, among other valuable information, a running account of the history of Boston College, the educational and spiritual ideals that animated the Jesuits who founded it in 1863 and built it into a university, and guidance on issues that face students in the contemporary world.

Though the book is intended primarily for young people, in fact, Father Appleyard tells me, “all the positive response to the book has come from people over thirty.” That does not mean a lack of response from the undergrads but simply that they have not yet been heard from. The Center is about to begin an evaluation by email designed to discover what students think of the book.

Speaking of email, Father Appleyard expects the little red book to be available on line in the near future. Readers will soon be able to find it at http://www.bc.edu with a link to the Center for Ignatian Spirituality.

Pondering a great variety of what is contained in the little red book, readers may feel better fortified for the struggles of the spiritual life and consoled by the examples of those who have entered into harmony with God.

One of the many passages that speak to me comes from Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a favorite guru of mine. “Prayer comes to pass,” he wrote, “ in a complete turning of the heart toward God, toward His goodness and power. It is the momentary disregard of one’s personal concerns, the absence of self-centered thoughts, which constitute the art of prayer. Feeling becomes prayer in the moment when one forgets oneself and becomes aware of God.”

With words like these I feel inspired toward the kind of disinterested turning to God that has long been an ideal for me but too seldom realized.

Richard Griffin