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Caryll Houselander

December 15, 2023

Caryll Houselander (29 September 1901 – 12 October 1954) was a British lay Roman Catholic ecclesiastical artist, mystic, popular religious writer and poet.

Early life edit

Born in Bath, England, Houselander was the second of two daughters of Wilmott and Gertrude Provis Houselander who were English Anglicans.[1]

Several authors, including Maisie Ward in her 1962 biography Caryll Houselander: That Divine Eccentric, incorrectly state that Houselander was born on 29 October 1901 when, in fact, she was born on 29 September 1901 according to her birth certificate.[2] In her remark in A Rocking-Horse Catholic (cited below, p. 41), she took the Confirmation name of Michael "after the Archangel on whose feast day I was born."[This quote needs a citation]

When Houselander was six, her mother converted to Roman Catholicism and she in turn was also baptised. Shortly after her ninth birthday, her parents separated and her mother opened a boarding house to support the family; Houselander was sent to a boarding school, the Convent of the Holy Child.[1]

In her teens, she returned home to help her mother in the running of the boarding house. Her mother had allowed a priest to stay and this became a source of scandal. Houselander and her mother were ostracised by the community. This may have partly influenced her decision to leave the Catholic Church as a teenager, and may have contributed to a sense of isolation she would feel at times. This latter problem was reflected in panic attacks when entering rooms and meeting strangers, so much so that she was considered neurotic.

In July 1918, Houselander was sent by her mother on an errand. On her way to the street vendor, she looked up and saw what she later described as a huge Russian-style icon spread across the sky. Shortly after, she read in a newspaper an article about the assassination of Russian Tsar Nicholas II. She said the face she saw in the newspaper photograph was the face in her vision of the crucified Christ.

Later life and works edit

The mystical experiences she claimed to have experienced convinced her that Christ is to be found in all people, even those whom the world shunned because they did not conform to certain standards of piety. She wrote that if people looked for Christ only in the "saints" then they would not find him. She herself smoked, drank, and had a sharp tongue.

Houselander returned to the Catholic Church in 1925, but her spiritual reading was founded almost entirely on the Gospels, rather than the writings of the Church Fathers or official church documents. She met and fell in love with Sidney Reilly, a famous spy, but he left her broken-hearted when he married another woman. She would never marry.

Houselander was a prolific writer and contributed many pieces to religious magazines, such as the Messenger of the Sacred Heart and The Children's Messenger. Her first book, This War is the Passion, was published in 1941 and in it she placed the suffering of the individual and its meaning within the mystical Body of Christ. For a time, she became publisher Sheed & Ward's best selling writer, drawing praise from people such as Ronald Knox:

"she seemed to see everything for the first time, and the driest of doctrinal considerations shone out like a restored picture when she had finished with it. And her writing was always natural; she seemed to find no difficulty in getting the right word; no, not merely the right word, the telling word, that left you gasping."[3]

During the Second World War, doctors began sending patients to Houselander for counselling and therapy. Even though she lacked formal education in this area, she seemed to have a natural empathy for people in mental anguish and the talent for helping them to rebuild their world. A visitor once found her alone on the floor, apparently in great pain, which she attributed to her willingness to take on herself a great trial and temptation that was overwhelming another person. A psychiatrist, Eric Strauss, later president of the British Psychological Society, said of Houslander: "she loved them back to life... .she was a divine eccentric."[4]

Houselander titled her autobiography A Rocking-Horse Catholic to differentiate herself from those termed "Cradle Catholics". She died of breast cancer on 12 October 1954, at the age of 53.[1]

See also edit

Selected works edit

Sheed & Ward books:

  • This War is the Passion (1941); republished by Ave Maria Press (2008)
  • The Reed of God (1944); republished by Ave Maria Press (2008)
  • The Splendor of the Rosary by Maisie Ward, prayers by Caryll Houselander (1945)
    • Houselander's prayers reprinted in The Essential Rosary published by Sophia Institute Press (1996)
  • The Flowering Tree (1945)
  • The Dry Wood (1947)
  • The Passion of the Infant Christ (1949); republished as Wood of the Cradle, Wood of the Cross: The Little Way of the Infant Jesus by Sophia Institute Press (1995)
    • The Passion of the Infant Christ, critical edition edited by Kerry Walters (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2017)
  • Guilt (1951)
  • The Comforting of Christ (1954)
  • A Rocking-Horse Catholic (1955); republished by Aeterna Press (2015)
  • The Stations of the Cross (1955), illustrated with fourteen wood engravings by Houselander
    • The Way of the Cross, retitled and revised edition (inclusive language changes and use of a different Biblical translation for scriptural quotations) published by Liguori Publications (2002)
  • Inside the Ark (1956)
  • Terrible Farmer Timson and Other Stories (1957); republished as Catholic Tales for Boys and Girls by Sophia Institute Press (2002)
  • The Risen Christ (1959); republished by Scepter Publications (2007)
  • The Letters of Caryll Houselander: Her Spiritual Legacy (1965), edited by Maisie Ward
  • Reproachfully yours; with a foreword by Caryll Houselander by Lucile Halsey

References edit

  1. ^ a b c FioRito, Mary Hallan (23 September 2019). "Who was Caryll Houselander, and why was she called 'a divine eccentric'?". Simply Catholic. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  2. ^ Andrew Cook, Ace of Spies: The True Story of Sidney Reilly, rev. ed., 2004, p. 319, n. 27
  3. ^ Miss Caryll Houslander 2 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine, obituary notice in The Tablet, 23 October 1954, p. 20. Accessed 20 December 2015.
  4. ^ Maisie Ward, Caryll Houselander: That Divine Eccentric, London: Sheed & Ward, 1962.

External links edit

 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Caryll Houselander.
  • "Seeing Christ in All People" by Karen Lynn Krugh
  • Caryll Houselander: Essential Writings, reviewed by Francis Philips 21 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine

December 15, 2023
caryll, houselander, this, article, written, like, personal, reflection, personal, essay, argumentative, essay, that, states, wikipedia, editor, personal, feelings, presents, original, argument, about, topic, please, help, improve, rewriting, encyclopedic, sty. This article is written like a personal reflection personal essay or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor s personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style February 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Caryll Houselander 29 September 1901 12 October 1954 was a British lay Roman Catholic ecclesiastical artist mystic popular religious writer and poet Contents 1 Early life 2 Later life and works 3 See also 4 Selected works 5 References 6 External linksEarly life editBorn in Bath England Houselander was the second of two daughters of Wilmott and Gertrude Provis Houselander who were English Anglicans 1 Several authors including Maisie Ward in her 1962 biography Caryll Houselander That Divine Eccentric incorrectly state that Houselander was born on 29 October 1901 when in fact she was born on 29 September 1901 according to her birth certificate 2 In her remark in A Rocking Horse Catholic cited below p 41 she took the Confirmation name of Michael after the Archangel on whose feast day I was born This quote needs a citation When Houselander was six her mother converted to Roman Catholicism and she in turn was also baptised Shortly after her ninth birthday her parents separated and her mother opened a boarding house to support the family Houselander was sent to a boarding school the Convent of the Holy Child 1 In her teens she returned home to help her mother in the running of the boarding house Her mother had allowed a priest to stay and this became a source of scandal Houselander and her mother were ostracised by the community This may have partly influenced her decision to leave the Catholic Church as a teenager and may have contributed to a sense of isolation she would feel at times This latter problem was reflected in panic attacks when entering rooms and meeting strangers so much so that she was considered neurotic In July 1918 Houselander was sent by her mother on an errand On her way to the street vendor she looked up and saw what she later described as a huge Russian style icon spread across the sky Shortly after she read in a newspaper an article about the assassination of Russian Tsar Nicholas II She said the face she saw in the newspaper photograph was the face in her vision of the crucified Christ Later life and works editThe mystical experiences she claimed to have experienced convinced her that Christ is to be found in all people even those whom the world shunned because they did not conform to certain standards of piety She wrote that if people looked for Christ only in the saints then they would not find him She herself smoked drank and had a sharp tongue Houselander returned to the Catholic Church in 1925 but her spiritual reading was founded almost entirely on the Gospels rather than the writings of the Church Fathers or official church documents She met and fell in love with Sidney Reilly a famous spy but he left her broken hearted when he married another woman She would never marry Houselander was a prolific writer and contributed many pieces to religious magazines such as the Messenger of the Sacred Heart and The Children s Messenger Her first book This War is the Passion was published in 1941 and in it she placed the suffering of the individual and its meaning within the mystical Body of Christ For a time she became publisher Sheed amp Ward s best selling writer drawing praise from people such as Ronald Knox she seemed to see everything for the first time and the driest of doctrinal considerations shone out like a restored picture when she had finished with it And her writing was always natural she seemed to find no difficulty in getting the right word no not merely the right word the telling word that left you gasping 3 During the Second World War doctors began sending patients to Houselander for counselling and therapy Even though she lacked formal education in this area she seemed to have a natural empathy for people in mental anguish and the talent for helping them to rebuild their world A visitor once found her alone on the floor apparently in great pain which she attributed to her willingness to take on herself a great trial and temptation that was overwhelming another person A psychiatrist Eric Strauss later president of the British Psychological Society said of Houslander she loved them back to life she was a divine eccentric 4 Houselander titled her autobiography A Rocking Horse Catholic to differentiate herself from those termed Cradle Catholics She died of breast cancer on 12 October 1954 at the age of 53 1 See also edit nbsp Poetry portal nbsp Children s literature portalChristian mysticism Mysticism CatholicismSelected works editSheed amp Ward books This War is the Passion 1941 republished by Ave Maria Press 2008 The Reed of God 1944 republished by Ave Maria Press 2008 The Splendor of the Rosary by Maisie Ward prayers by Caryll Houselander 1945 Houselander s prayers reprinted in The Essential Rosary published by Sophia Institute Press 1996 The Flowering Tree 1945 The Dry Wood 1947 The Passion of the Infant Christ 1949 republished as Wood of the Cradle Wood of the Cross The Little Way of the Infant Jesus by Sophia Institute Press 1995 The Passion of the Infant Christ critical edition edited by Kerry Walters Eugene OR Cascade Books 2017 Guilt 1951 The Comforting of Christ 1954 A Rocking Horse Catholic 1955 republished by Aeterna Press 2015 The Stations of the Cross 1955 illustrated with fourteen wood engravings by Houselander The Way of the Cross retitled and revised edition inclusive language changes and use of a different Biblical translation for scriptural quotations published by Liguori Publications 2002 Inside the Ark 1956 Terrible Farmer Timson and Other Stories 1957 republished as Catholic Tales for Boys and Girls by Sophia Institute Press 2002 The Risen Christ 1959 republished by Scepter Publications 2007 The Letters of Caryll Houselander Her Spiritual Legacy 1965 edited by Maisie Ward Reproachfully yours with a foreword by Caryll Houselander by Lucile HalseyReferences edit a b c FioRito Mary Hallan 23 September 2019 Who was Caryll Houselander and why was she called a divine eccentric Simply Catholic Retrieved 15 February 2021 Andrew Cook Ace of Spies The True Story of Sidney Reilly rev ed 2004 p 319 n 27 Miss Caryll Houslander Archived 2 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine obituary notice in The Tablet 23 October 1954 p 20 Accessed 20 December 2015 Maisie Ward Caryll Houselander That Divine Eccentric London Sheed amp Ward 1962 External links edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Caryll Houselander Caryll Houselander 1901 1954 by Margot H King Seeing Christ in All People by Karen Lynn Krugh Caryll Houselander Essential Writings reviewed by Francis Philips Archived 21 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Caryll Houselander amp oldid 1168296938, 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