Luis Antonio TAGLE. The Risk of Hope: How to Talk about God in the World Today. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2018. pp. 137 $20.00 pb. ISBN 9781626982826. Reviewed by Richard SHIELDS, University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto, ON.

It is always refreshing and sometimes surprising to hear a bishop speak with theological depth and pastoral sensitivity. Both qualities are evident in The Risk of Hope, a collection of talks given by the bishop of Manila (Philippines) Luis Antonio Tagle. Six of the eight short chapters, adapted from lectures given over a decade ago at the Loyola School of Theology (Quezon City), are addressed to seminarians. These talks, homiletic in style, focus his listeners’ attention on the central meaning of mission and evangelization. The remaining two chapters, given at a meeting of the Federation of Asian Bishops in 2014, also address questions of seminary formation.

The subtitle of this book, “How to talk about God in the world today,” provide the key theme that unifies the separate chapters: no one will believe you when you talk about God, unless you speak from personal experience. The reality of the Incarnation of the Word of God is critical to realistic witness to the Gospel. The word of God must take on material form—be tangible and accessible—in the evangelizer’s life, in the people’s experiences, and in the practices of the Church. Although the tone of the talks is informal and in many places anecdotal it offers valuable material for meditation. It also raises serious questions that need to be part of the reflective practice of those responsible for seminaries and lay formation programs.