VIRGIN TIME by Patricia Hampl (Ballantine:...

VIRGIN TIME by Patricia Hampl (Ballantine: $10; 242 pp.). In her gracefully written meditation on the role of Catholicism in contemporary life, Hampl attempts to separate Christianity from modern Christendom and its attendant wealth and politics. Dissatisfied with conventional religiosity, she follows the paths St. Francis of Assisi walked in Umbria; visits Lourdes, which has become an overcrowded, overpriced tourist trap for the pious; and meditates at retreats in Italy and California. Hampl’s lively, self-mocking humor prevents her search for spirituality in an extremely secular world from seeming pompous or holier-than-thou.