Towards Dawn: Essays in Hopefulness

By Erik Varden

Do we live in "post-Christian" times? Or has secularization run its course, the sun of a new day breaking on both the Church and the world?

In Towards Dawn: Essays in Hopefulness, Bishop Erik Varden--a Trappist monk and the bishop of Trondheim in Norway--reflects on recent crises of the past and signs of hope for the future. Featuring essays on some of the most pressing subjects of the day for Catholics--evangelization, synodality, liturgy, blessings, the sexual abuse crisis, DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), and more--Bishop Varden unfurls "a blessed contagion" of hope rooted in authentic spirituality, the universal call to holiness, and the revelation of Christ, who makes all things new.

A compelling collection from one of the most impressive young voices of the episcopacy, Towards Dawn offers neither a bland optimism nor a bitter pessimism but a realistic, clear-eyed confidence that everything--even suffering, disappointment, and injustice--can be purposeful. We can move out of the meaninglessness and despair that surrounds us toward the Light that shines in the darkness. Here and now, hope glimmers.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1685782744
• ISBN13: 9781685782740
• Release Date: November 2025
• Publisher: Word on Fire
• Length: 160 Pages