A Spiritual Book for All Ages and Walks of Life
“I have committed myself to supporting a home
run by the Dominican Sisters for homeless children.”
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
VANCOUVER - Father Vincent Travers, the highly popular Dominican priest and prolific author, recently returned to Vancouver to promote his fifth and newest book, In Touch With God. Father Travers was the former pastor at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Vancouver before returning to his native Ireland.
Before coming to Canada, Father Vincent worked in New York in a residential crisis centre for street kids under 21. Many were into crime and drugs, surviving on the streets, and many had been to prison. His next transfer was to Mountjoy Prison in Dublin where he worked as the prison chaplain for six years. There he conducted at least one funeral a week in which the death was drugs or AIDS related.
Father Vincent’s books can be described as a series of short stories, easy to read and thought- provoking, with a message that can hit you right between the eyes. “I think this is the best book I have written to date,” he said, “and it is the first book which I have had printed in three different countries – Ireland, the West Indies and Canada.”
Father Travers served as a pastor in the West Indies for nine years. All the proceeds from his books goes to the Third World. He said, “I have committed myself to supporting a home run by the Dominican Sisters for homeless children. These children come to the Sisters as infants, and they rear them to the age of 14 or 15 or so when they have to leave the home. Many of the girls were going into a street life and even more so with the boys into crime.
“There was no transitional program until a few years ago when they got a program going for the girls. It has had a transforming effect on them, but they had no money for the boys even though they have a program.
“By way of a casual inquiry, I asked the Sisters how soon did they hope to get this program running and how much would it cost to get it off the ground for the first year. They thought maybe it would take two or three years at a cost of $36,000.
“So, there and then, without them knowing about this book money, I committed it and gave them a cheque for $36,000 to get the program off the ground beginning next September. have also committed myself to sponsoring the program for the next two years, because I wouldn’t have the money after that. So, all the proceeds from this book goes to the Third World.”
Speaking about the book, Father Travers said In Touch With God is a spiritual book for all age groups and walks of life. He said, “there are 52 chapters and my hope is that the reader will read at least one chapter a week. I have buried a few unsuspecting land mines here and there, and I hope that the reader will stand on them and it will blow open their mind and give a sense of what Christianity is. That real Christianity is demanding, messy, erratic and gloriously liberating.”
In Touch With God has gone into its third printing in Ireland, having sold 4,000 in three months. In the West Indies, 2,500 have been sold and it has gone into its second printing there. In Vancouver, Father Travers has just started to promote the book at the various parishes where he says mass. H said, “after one mass at St. Mary’s, we sold 500 books.” He is already planning his next book which he said will be daily spiritual readings for each day of the year.
The cost of In Touch With God is $15 each or two for $25, plus postage (Canadian funds). Books are available in Vancouver by calling Sister Katherine Nickerson, (604) 437-3487 or Pauline Rugge, (604) 291-1527, or by writing to St. Martin de Porres, 42 Parnell Square, Dublin 1, Ireland.
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