Dies irae. Szkice nienowoczesne

This is a reflection that emerges from delight and astonishment at the world. It contains meditations both on the order and harmony of the reality that surrounds us, and its threatening unpredictability. The current of writing in which it is embedded, which alludes to metaphysical sensitivity, constitutes the foundation of the modest little book by Bartosz Jastrzębski entitled Dies Irae. Its subtitle, “Nonmodern Sketches”, is no coincidence, as it describes the contemporary existential challenges, dilemmas and doubts that stand before us today from a perspective that is beyond time, appealing to universals such as are not subject to the categories of the passage of time.

The stamp of modernity seems to be an anthropological reductionism, that is, a limited view of man, in which there is room for the body and the psyche, but none for the soul and spirit, which evaporate. This is an optics in which spirituality is narrowed to diverse cultural epiphenomena, while the essence of the same remains entirely forgotten. In this sense, Jastrzębski’s essays are “nonmodern”, because the spiritual dimension appears in them as the constitutive element of our being. It is in this dimension, exactly, that the most important events in the history of man and mankind take place.

The author’s reflection circles about final matters, those that touch upon God, man and the relation between them; in other words, it touches upon questions of the destiny, vocation, essence and aim of our life. He is frequently led through these meditations by masters of spiritual life, somewhat forgotten, but discovered anew by the essayist – such as Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, William of Saint-Thierry and Ramon Llull. It is they who help us to reflect upon the order of the cosmos, and to discover the balance between the active and contemplative life; to stand before the mystery of evil and suffering, or to dare assume moral choices. This is an inspiring and invigorating read, something like a breath of fresh air in a musty enclosure.