To Love this Earthly Life, reflections on the book of Ecclesiastes, is the latest work by Trappist monk Michael Casey, whose biblical studies bridge the divide between scholarly analysis and prayerful reflection. The title may surprise readers, who regard the author Qoheleth as a gloomy fellow. But as Fr. Casey notes, "His central point is, quite simply: Make the most of your life as it is, because it is the only one you will ever have. . . . If we cannot love the reality we see, any love we profess toward what is unseen must be considered delusional. . . . So, let's get on with it." Examining such themes as vanity, God, wisdom, time, and carpe diem, Fr. Casey shows how they all build to a constant message of hope by living in the present.

Michael Casey, OCSO, has been a Cistercian monk of Tarrawarra Abbey, Australia, since 1960. After ordination he received degrees in Scripture from Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven and completed his doctorate at Melbourne College of Divinity in 1980. Since then he has conducted formation programs, retreats, and workshops in every continent except Antarctica. His many books include The Promise of Deliverance: Reading Second Isaiah (Orbis Books).