title: The Heart Hath Its Reasons (Ordered and Otherwise)
author: Scott, Bernard
description: This distinctly Catholic novella comprises a set of free standing pieces that nevertheless make up a whole story. From a sundry cast of characters we see emerge an uncommonly attractive woman, Monica, in a series of corrosive affairs until, finding herself at a moral dead end, she attempts (we learn) to take her life, mercifully without success. Recovering physically, but with a still unsettled conscience, she comes to the attention of a young curate who tries to help her. This young priest has unresolved needs of his own, disclosed when he finds himself inordinately drawn to her, troubling the priest's own conscience. What happens next reveals the action of grace in the most ordinary of circumstances. This is a tale, then, of a grace that mysteriously enters into, and heals, disordered affections of the heart. Interestingly, this healing does not come about by slamming the door on human love just because it is disordered. As we see, there is a blessed lesson to be learned regarding these matters of the heart, one involving an act of holy trust. The author, Bernard Scott, is an award-winning short story writer, anthologized essayist, and published poet. His short adventure/mystery novel, Secret of Lost Mountain, was a finalist in the 2012 Tuscany Prize for Catholic Fiction. He is happily married and knows whereof he speaks.