Dear Editor: I read with interest George Weigel’s column on “Lessons from Dietrich von Hildebrand” in The Tablet (Nov. 29).

Dr. Weigel astutely notes that phenomenology often requires patience to work through somewhat opaque texts. Unfortunately, he did not have the advantage of having Dr. William A. Marra, long-time philosophy professor at Fordham University and founder of the Dietrich von Hildebrand Institute, as a teacher and mentor. Dr. Marra died suddenly on Dec. 12, 1998 but while he lived he was von Hildebrand’s most faithful disciple.

Dr. Marra had the advantage and gift of “speaking our language” something his students appreciated wholeheartedly.  He made phenomenology accessible to us from Husserl to William James. Sadly, his memory seems to linger only in the hearts and minds of his grateful students. Having been one of them, I feel it imperative to pay homage to his memory.

CLARA SARROCCA

Glendale