Forward by Professor Jan Kerkhofs

Though we only met occasionally - Australia is not at my doorstep nor small Belgium at John Rosernan's - I have always been struck by John's dynamic witnessing and by his deep honesty. Again and again I felt he is a brother in the deepest sense, the one expressed by the Person who brought us together, the marginal Jew Jesus. John's approach corresponds completely with the one of a now very old friend, for many years teaching at my Louvain University. Monsignor Custave Thils is indeed a cleric, as well as a great lover of God's creation (including the trees!). He substantially inspired Vatican ll's Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World and its decree on ecumenism. Years ago he made a strong plea for a Theology of Earthly Things, the title of one of his books.

With this theology of my old teacher in mind I read John's book and I was struck by the coincidence of both. I felt the spirit of the great Council in his approach of the role of the laity in our beautiful world, often so full of human tragedies, large- and small-scale ones. Jesus also was a layman. His divine dream was the full transparency of the love of his Father in everything human. He was not a dualist, splitting redemption from creation. Everywhere in his words and his deeds he wanted fullness of life for everyone, the rich and the poor. Sharing was at the centre of his concern as is so strikingly expressed by Matthew in Chapter 25, where he said: "anything you did for one of my brothers here, however humble, you did for me."

During my thirty years as spiritual adviser of Uniapac I met all kinds of businessmen, many of them great Christians, concerned by their responsibility as co-creators of God. Outstanding among them is my friend John Roseman.

In this book, written by a successful businessman and a deeply convinced disciple of Jesus, I have been struck by the great honesty of the author, by his humor, by the many concrete examples taken from his own experience, by the dreams he offers (in the good company of Thomas More and Cardinal Basil Hume), and also by his humility. I do hope that many lay people will enjoy these short and very readable chapters and that also some clerics, even some bishops, will become con- verted to a new look at the divine presence in this earthly and very Christian spirituality.

Jan Kerkhofs S.J.

Emeritus Professor

Catholic University of Louvain