John FitzGerald was the long serving Catholic chaplain of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, the prior of a small community of Carmelites, a well-known pastor with a talent for ecumenism, philosophy lecturer, poet, and polyglot. His approach to imparting wisdom was to sit and chew over ideas, listen, comment, veer off at an apparent tangent, circle his subject, invoke the Fathers and then -when you least expected it - return to the initial point and sum up with an impish peek over the top of his spectacles.
Backwards into the Future is the next best thing to taking tea with Fr John. His gentle commentary returns repeatedly to the text in question, dissects it, compares it with other scriptural passages; brings in Augustine, Aquinas, Simone Weil - all old favourites, and then returns to the passage to see what else emerges. Throughout the book he follows the principles of lectio divina, so ably described by Carlos Mesters at the close of the book, applying critical thought, wisdom, relevance to one's own life and prayer.
Throughout the meditations Fr John is a gentle presence, a companion on the journey into understanding, into the literal, allegorical and anagogical truths of each passage. Ultimately this is an anagogical journey - a drawing on the insights of the past, the timeless wisdom of the eternal in order to have faith in the destiny awaiting us.
At only 138 pages, the book is never cumbersome and is always accessible. An excellent companion for those seeking to open up the treasures of the Letter to the Hebrews.