# data[].attributes.description
Lumen Gentium, Vatican II's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, changed how the church thinks about the laity, holiness, baptism, and even the  nature and purpose of the church itself. In A Council That Will Never End,    the highly regarded ecclesiologist Paul Lakeland marks the fiftieth anniversary of   this document's promulgation by taking up three major themes of the constitution,    analyzing the text, and identifying some of the questions with which it leaves us.   These themes arethe role of the bishop in the church and the ways   Lumen Gentium's teaching relates to various tensions in today's churchthe laity and in particular the mixed blessing of describing them in  the category of "secularity"and the relationships between the church and    the  people of God and what they tell us about the ways in which all people are offered salvation.Lakeland is convinced that Lumen Gentium  leaves much unfinished business (as any historical document must), that attending    to it will take us beyond much of the now sterile ecclesial divisions, and that the  ecclesiology of humility it implies marks the way that theology must guide the  church in the years ahead.

# data[].attributes.subtitle
The Spirituality of the Letter to the Hebrews

# data[].attributes.description
While all of the New Testament writings offer windows into the personal religious experiences of their authors, says Kevin McCruden, the Letter to the Hebrews affords us a truly exquisite example of a particularly creative interpretation of such religious experience. It also supplies us with something all too rare in many of the documents of the New Testament: a glimpse into the personal experiences of the ancient persons who first heard this text. Partially obscured beneath the author's characteristic emphasis on the superiority of transcendent realities is the indelible imprint of the real-life experiences of early Christians who suffered emotionally and physically for the countercultural commitment that they placed in Jesus. For such persons, Hebrews vividly celebrates the unseen vindication of Jesus and, in this way, provides a hope-filled portrait of the victorious Son of God. At the same time, Hebrews is also very much concerned with what we might call the life of Christian discipleship-that is, what it means to journey this side of the age to come in a manner that is faithful to the countercultural character of God's kingdom embodied by Jesus. This brief study will help illumine for readers something of this creative balance between the transcendent and the concrete that Hebrews illustrates so well.

# data[].attributes.description
What does it mean to say that God offers salvation to humanity? What is this salvation, and how can we become more conscious of it in our lives? These are the questions that Robert Krieg faces in Treasure in the Field. While his intent is certainly to impart information and ideas found in Scripture, church teaching, and theology, it is also to illumine our own experiences.Krieg retrieves the Bible's teaching on salvation and expresses it in contemporary terms. Drawing deeply from Scripture, he defines salvation as God's gift of personal identity, of wholeness. In this perspective, God calls us not to invent ourselves but to discover ourselves as God intends us to be. Those who gradually make this discovery become grateful recipients who give themselves and their talents for the well-being of other people and creation. Robert A. Krieg is professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. He is the editor and translator of Romano Guardini: Spiritual Writings, as well as the author of Romano Guardini: A Precursor of Vatican II; Karl Adam: Catholicism in German Culture; and Story-Shaped Christology. His work has also appeared in America, Theological Studies, Worship, and many other journals.

# data[].attributes.description
Why does God have to be so exasperatingly silent? Why can't we see him at least long enough to allay doubt? How does one grow deeper in love with God against the cultural currents of disdain and antagonism?Chasing Mystery is an exploration into how the Bible negotiates the presence and absence of God in the hopes of forging a path in situations where absences often seem more pressing than presences. Amid the prevailing skepticism and restlessness, says Walsh, we must relearn the skill of trust in reading Scripture. The aim is to experience God through holy writing.Walsh offers a work in biblical theology that explores the liveliness of the God of the Bible. She insists that the pages of the Bible do not simply describe divine presence; they evoke it in the process of reading. Not all the time, certainly not predictably, but enough to warrant a trust. Her goal is to strengthen the heart's reading competency in order to facilitate our encounter with God.

# data[].attributes.description
If, as some scholars attest, Christianity has been complicit in the destruction of the environment, then Christianity can and must also have a role in changing human behavior in a way that helps to solve this massive problem. In Creation is Groaning, a set of highly regarded theologians and Scripture scholars offer a theology and spirituality of creation based on principles of eco-justice and environmental responsibility.Contributors to this volume are Denis Edwards, Antoinette Collins, Dermot Nestor, Laurie Woods, Mary Coloe, and Anthony Kelly. Key elements of their project include:tracing the development of Israel's view of creation through different historical situations and key writings, with a particular focus on what ethical responsibilities toward creation emerge from its theologyexamining Israel's theology of Sabbath" and its developing understanding of the end time, thus encompassing creation in its origins and its final destinyconsidering the cosmic impact of the Jesus event as Paul and John understood itTogether, the authors establish a firm foundation for a new ethic that promotes the flourishing of all planetary life and a just global community.

# data[].attributes.description
Since Charles Puskas first published The Letters of Paul, it has proven   to be a reliable text and reference tool. It is an exemplary guide to the basic issues    surrounding the Pauline letters-who really wrote each letter; when it was written;   the letter's social context, audience, and literary characteristics-and also includes discussion of the worlds of Paul, the letter genre, and the rhetorical arrangement   of each letter. Working with noted Pauline scholar Mark Reasoner on this new, second   edition-with more than 40 percent new and revised material-the authors have taken account of a host of diverse cultural, historical, sociorhetorical, literary, and   contextual studies of recent years and critically reexamined several issues of authorship, date, historical situation, literary form,  and rhetorical structure. They have addressed new and pressing issues, filled   certain lacunae, and generally updated the book for a new generation of    readers.

# data[].attributes.description
What if we began our study of Christian ethics not with an examination of our moral duties but with an exploration of the call of beauty? For like justice, beauty generates a call to a larger, more generous self. God's Beauty offers a fresh, positive approach to moral arguments calling us to work for social justice. It focuses on the calling of divine beauty summoning us to work for justice, protect human rights, overcome alienation and hostility, and be tenders and creators of beauty.

# data[].attributes.subtitle
Rutilio Grande, SJ, and the Church of El Salvador; An Ecclesiology in Context

# data[].attributes.description
The Salvadoran priest Rutilio Grande, SJ, was killed in a hall of bullets on March 12, 1977, along with two passengers in the car he drove. The impact of this killing transformed his friend and archbishop, Oscar Romero, as well as the church in Latin America and throughout the world.How could powerful forces within the overwhelmingly Catholic country of El Salvador execute a Roman Catholic priest and two innocent people in broad daylight in front of witnesses? Why would this same government go to the extreme of murdering thousands of lay Catholic ministers, dozens of priests, and even the nation's archbishop? Why would the government, and the oligarchy that supported it, believe it necessary to repress the church in such a brutal manner?Thomas Kelly finds answers to these questions by exploring the church's identity and mission during the colonial period (1500 - 1820) and the transformative impact of Vatican II (1962 - 65) on the Latin American bishops. He considers Grande's life, formation, ministry, and death and his impact on Archbishop Romero. Finally, Kelly explains what Grande and the church of El Salvador can teach North American Catholics today.

# data[].attributes.subtitle
The Dialogical Theology of Joseph Ratzinger / Benedict XVI

# data[].attributes.description
From scholarly monographs to papal homilies, Joseph Ratzinger has insisted consistently over decades that Christianity is not a set of ideas to believe or, even less, moral laws to follow. Rather, Christianity is about a person and our encounter with that person.In The Word Made Love, Christopher Collins identifies in the structure of Ratzinger's thought the presentation of God as one who speaks and who ultimately speaks Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Humanity's posture before God is one of hearing and responding. For Ratzinger, then, dialogue is the basic structure of all reality, and the Christian Vision articulates the radical transformation that happens when we enter into this divine dialogue. Collins argues that this dialogical, communicative structure is a distinctive aspect of Ratzinger's thought and a unique contribution to the renewal of theology in our day.

# data[].attributes.subtitle
Essays on the Resurrection of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel

# data[].attributes.description
Jesus Risen in Our Midst mines the Resurrection Narrative of John's   gospel as a rich resource for understanding and developing Christian spirituality. In this series of essays, which can be read independently of one another, Scripture scholar Sandra Schneiders draws out especially fascinating insights   on the place of the Resurrection in the overall structure of the Gospel  of Johnthe important structure of John 20, which presents a series of  episodes that are internally related to each other and constitute a distinctive synthesis of Christian spiritualitywhat the Resurrection story reveals about the New Covenant promised by Jeremiah and Ezekielthe anthropology and eschatology that is operative in John's account of the  Resurrectionthe distinction in John between the Glorification and the Resurrection of Jesus

# data[].attributes.description
Who was Jesus? A prophet? There have been many of those. A miracle-worker? A radical revolutionary? A wise teacher? There have been many of these, too. In his latest book, renowned Scripture scholar Gerhard Lohfink asks, What is unique about Jesus of Nazareth, and what did he really want?Lohfink engages the perceptions of the first witnesses of his life and ministry and those who handed on their testimony. His approach is altogether historical and critical, but he agrees with Karl Barth's statement that "historical criticism has to be more critical."Lohfink takes seriously the fact that Jesus was a Jew and lived entirely in and out of Israel's faith experiences but at the same time brought those experiences to their goal and fulfillment. The result is a convincing and profound picture of Jesus.

# data[].attributes.description
The idea and ideal of "beauty" has been used to oppress women of different ages, body types, skin color, and physical ability. The theoretical discussion of aesthetics has also been conditioned by these same dynamics of power and oppression. In She Who Imagines, a diverse set of scholars challenges the exclusion and false definitions while constructing capacious ideas that discover beauty in unexpected places.In these essays, the authors draw on a variety of arts media-painting, photography, portraiture, craftwork, poetry, and hip-hop music-thereby joining beauty to truth and, in a richly defining way, to the practice of justice. In a variety of ways all the essays link women's definitions of beauty with experiences of suffering and hence with the yearning for justice. All clearly prize resistance to degradation as an essential element of thought.

# data[].attributes.author
Elizabeth A. Johnson, Laurie  Cassidy, Maureen H. O'Connell

# data[].attributes.description
When the basic conceptions of the world held by whole generations in the West are formed by popular culture, and in particular by the music that serves as its soundtrack, can theology remain unchanged? The authors of the essays in this important volume insist that the answer is no.These gifted theologians help readers make sense of what happens to religious experience in a world heavily influenced by popular media culture, a world in which songs, musicians, and celebrities influence our individual and collective imaginations about how we might live. Readers will consider the theological relationship between music and the creative process, investigate ways that music helps create communities of heightened moral consciousness, and explore the theological significance of songs.Contributors to this fascinating collection include:  David Dalt Maeve Heaney Daniel White Hodge Michael J. Iafrate Jeffrey F. Keuss Mary McDonough Gina Messina-Dysert Christian Scharen Myles Werntz  Tom Beaudoin is associate professor of theology at Fordham University, specializing inpractical theology. His books include Witness to Dispossession: The Vocation of a Postmodern Theologian; Consuming Faith: Integrating Who We Are with What We Buy; and Virtual Faith: The Irreverent Spiritual Faith of Generation X. He has given nearly 200 papers, lectures, or presentations on religion and culture over the last thirteen years. He has been playing bass in rock bands since 1986 and directs the Rock and Theology Project for Liturgical Press (www.rockandtheology.com)."

# data[].attributes.description
In the course of a teaching and writing career cut too short, Mark Searle    (1941-1992) provided a worthy contribution to the study of liturgy. The breadth of   his liturgical interests and his desire to integrate a wide range of academic areas  with the study of liturgy mark this scholar as a gifted thinker and author, arguably a    pioneer. In Rehearsing God's Just Kingdom, Stephen S. Wilbricht explores Searle's basic conviction that liturgy represents, rehearses, and forms in its  participants the essential commitments of the Christian community.Searle called for the church's liturgy to be embraced as a rehearsal that is performed over and over, again and again, until it is practiced perfectly in the kingdom of heaven. In an age when so much depends on instant gratification and  in which institutional commitment is often held in contempt, Searle's thinking  provides an avenue for liturgical renewal that hinges upon a respect for and trust   in ritual forms and behavior.

# data[].attributes.subtitle
Mennonites and Catholics in Conversation

# data[].attributes.description
Sharing Peace brings together leading Mennonite and Catholic theologians and ecclesial leaders to reflect on the recent, first-ever international dialogue between the Mennonite World Conference and the Vatican. The search for a shared reading of history, theology of the church and its sacraments or ordinances, and understandings of Christ's call to be peacemakers are its most prominent themes.Contributors include:   Scott Appleby (Kroc Institute, Notre Dame) Alan Kreider (Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary) Helmut Harder (Mennonite co-chair of the international dialogue) Drew Christiansen, SJ (Georgetown University, Catholic delegate to the international dialogue) John Roth (Goshen College) John Cavadini (University of Notre Dame) C. Arnold Snyder (University of Waterloo) Mary Doak(University of San Diego) Elizabeth Groppe (Xavier University) Thomas Finger (author of A Contemporary Anabaptist Theology) Bishop Gabino Zavala (past president of Pax Christi USA) Duane Friesen (Bethel College, Kansas) Gerald Schlabach (University of St. Thomas) Mary Schertz (Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary) Abbot John Klassen, OSB (Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota; co-chair of Bridgefolk) Margaret R. Pfeil is assistant professor of moral theology at the University of Notre Dame and a Faculty Fellow of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. She specializes in Catholic social thought. She is also a cofounder and resident of St. Peter Claver Catholic Worker House in South Bend, Indiana, and is on the board of Bridgefolk, a movement of Mennonites and Roman Catholics who come together to celebrate each other's practices and honor each other's contributions to the mission of Christ's church.Gerald W. Schlabach is professor of theology and director of the Justice and Peace Studies program at the University of St. Thomas in St.Paul, Minnesota. He is cofounder and executive director of Bridgefolk. His books include Just Policing, Not War: An Alternative Response to World Violence (Liturgical Press, 2007) and Unlearning Protestantism: Sustaining Christian Community in an Unstable Age.

# data[].attributes.author
John A. Radano, Margaret R. Pfeil, Gerald W. Schlabach

# data[].attributes.description
Since its initial publication in 2006, Paul Turner'sLet Us Pray has become a valuable resource for understanding, planning, and celebrating the Eucharist.This new edition, thoroughly updated by the author to be in full continuity with the Revised English Translation of The Roman Missal, will be one that priests, liturgical ministers, planners, and students will want to keep close at hand.Turner offers helpful explanations for the principal rubrics for a typical Sunday Mass. He reflects on the place of ritual within the context of Catholic piety and then explores the regulations governing the furnishings, vestments, and ministers. Hecarefully walks readers through the entire Mass from the entrance procession to the dismissal. The book is cross-referenced to answer most questions about the Sunday ritual.

# data[].attributes.subtitle
Conflicting Interpretations of the Liturgical Reform

# data[].attributes.description
The reform of the liturgy is at risk, says Andrea Grillo. Recent developments have sown doubts and confusion within the church.  While many authorities pay   lip service to the importance of the liturgical reform that followed Vatican II and  cite all the right documents, what they offer is "out of tune" with the fundamental  reasons for the reform.Grillo argues that the church today must refresh its   collective memory of the essential meaning of the liturgical reform. For Grillo, this means understanding * the meaning and significance of Vatican II in the history of the church in the twentieth century * the key concept of "active    participation" * the core ideas of the original liturgical movement and the role    they played during and after the reform of the liturgy * what the reform has   accomplished and what remains to be done Beyond Pius V is    not simply a set of pastoral observations. It is a strongly argued theological essay on the true meaning and purpose of liturgy and liturgical reform. That reform, Grillo says, must continue to challenge and provoke us, never to be reduced to the precious past of our ancestors; rather, like children who honor the legacy of their  parents, we are called to carry on and nurture the life of the reform.

# data[].attributes.subtitle
A Study of Summorum Pontificum and the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite

# data[].attributes.description
In July 2007, Pope Benedict XVI issued Summorum Pontificum, designating two "uses" or "forms" of the Roman Rite, declaring the Missal of Paul VI to be the "ordinary form" and the 1962 Missal of John XXIII to be its "extraordinary form." On the same day, the pope also published a letter to bishops, Con Grande Fiducia, to accompany and offer commentary on this motu proprio.In Care for the Church and Its Liturgy, William H. Johnston offers analysis and commentary on both documents, exploring their meaning, context, purposes, implementation, and implications. Johnston carefully attends to the multiple purposes of the documents themselves and to the various questions related to their implementation, as well as to the complex postconciliar dynamics in the Catholic Church. His approach throughout is appreciative, critical, and constructive.Johnstons study embodies respect for dialogue, unity, and charity. It will provide much food for thought and discussion among both academics and pastoral leaders in the years ahead as the church discerns its liturgical way forward, and all those with educational or pastoral responsibility for the liturgy will find it an informative resource and valuable guide for understanding and assessing this still constitutive feature of the Roman Rite.

# data[].attributes.subtitle
Comparing the Seasons in the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms of the Roman Rite

# data[].attributes.description
Since 2007, use of the Roman Missal of 1962 has been broadly permitted within the church. This creates, in effect, two liturgical years running concurrently. In Advent to Pentecost, Abbot Patrick Regan compares the prayers and prefaces, readings and rubrics, calendar and chants of the 1962 Missal with those of the Missal as it was revised following the Second Vatican Council, now in its third edition. The result is a striking demonstration of the splendor and superiority of the reformed Missal over its predecessor, at least as far as the liturgical year is concerned. Regan's chapters on Advent, Lent, and the Easter Season are particularly informative because these seasons are so different in the two missals. Perhaps less obvious are the differences between Holy Week and the Triduum. Regan not only describes external modifications in the services as restored by Pius XII in 1956 but explores deeper theological currents, especially in the relationship between the passion and resurrection of the Lord in the one paschal mystery, to show how advances in this area find expression in the current Triduum celebrations and throughout the fifty days of Easter. The originality of the book lies mainly here. The most urgent liturgical challenge today, the author contends, is to raise the ars celebrandi to the same level of excellence as the Missal itself.

# data[].attributes.subtitle
Lay Women in the Liturgical Movement in the United States, 1926-59

# data[].attributes.description
Where are the women in liturgical history? In considering the influential liturgical movement in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century, Katharine E. Harmon reveals that the reality is analogous to Matthew's account of the crucifixion of Jesus: "there were also many women there" (Matt. 27:55).In this groundbreaking study, Harmon considers women's involvement in the movement. Here, readers explore the contributions of Maisie Ward, Dorothy Day, Catherine deHueck Doherty, Ade Bethune, Therese Mueller, and many others. Harmon shows how movements and institutions such as progressivism, Catholic women's organizations, Catholic Action, the American Grail Movement, and daily Catholic family life played a prominent role in the liturgical renewal. The historical record is clear that women were there, they ministered to the Mystical Body, and their important work must be recognized.