'Look
Up and Dream'
by
Robert Rietti
Published by Valentine Mitchell
An
appreciation of the book by the Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
"....That
is the recurring theme of Robert Rietti’s engaging
reminiscences "Look Up and Dream". Time and again
he tells us of occasions in which the hand of God seems
to have been directing the affairs of man. He calls them
‘small miracles’. Coincidence? Happenstance? Luck?
So they might seem to one for whom that is all there is,
for whom the universe circles endlessly in the void, blind
to our hopes, deaf to our prayers. But Rietti speaks to
us with the voice of faith, real faith, not the hectoring
variety convinced of its own righteousness, all too ready
to use the perfection of God as a rod to chastise the imperfections
of mankind. His, rather, is the faith of one who stands
always open to surprise, his ear carefully attuned to the
music of God beneath the noise and clamour of daily events.
Rietti knows what we too often forget, that God speaks to
us in the ‘still, small voice’, meaning the voice
that we only hear if we are listening. To one without faith,
life all too often confirms his or her lack of expectations.
But to one for whom the presence of God is a perpetual possibility,
Heaven discloses itself, often when we are least expecting
it. This is a lovely and a moving book, inviting us to look
at our lives again and recognise the moments at which we
were touched by the sheltering winds of Divine providence
and for a moment felt the whisper of eternity, signalling
a purpose beyond the winds of chance and a Presence behind
the rush of every day events."
Sir
Robert Rietti O.M.R.I.
40 Old Church Lane
London WN9 8TA
Tel: 020 8205 3024 Fax: 020 8200 4688
Email address: robert/rietti@ispc002.demon.co.uk
Website: www.ispc002.demon.co.uk
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