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Lukes gospel contains a number of passages about compassion. One of the most beloved of these is commonly known as the parable of the Prodigal Son. In The Prodigal Father, Angelo Scarano focuses on the distinctive role of the father in the parable, the example he provides of being transformed by a compassionate heart, and the joy in celebrating the return of what was loved and thought to be lost. Scarano suggests that this remarkable parable has two climaxesthe banquet for the younger son, and the conversation between the father and the elder sonand that it is in this second climax where the real intention of the evangelist is revealed. Scarano urges readers to accept Gods compassionate heart, to allow Gods Spirit to transform us and enable us to live like the prodigal father, opening our hearts to the weak and the strong, the broken and the bitter. Scaranos insightful work will be welcomed by preachers, teachers, and anyone engaged in prayer with or reflection upon the gospels.

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Initiation into the Monastic Tradition 6

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As novice master of the Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Kentucky, Thomas Merton presented weekly conferences to familiarize his charges with the meaning and purpose of the vows they aspired to undertake. In this setting, he offered a thorough exposition of the theological, canonical, and above all spiritual dimensions of the vows.Merton set the vows firmly in the context of the anthropological, moral, soteriological, and ecclesial dimensions of human, Christian, and monastic life. He addressed such classical themes of Christian morality as the nature of the human person and his acts; the importance of justice in relation to the Passion of Christ, to friendship and to love; and self-surrender as the key to grace, prayer and the vowed life. Merton's words on these topics clearly spring from a committed heart and often flow with the soaring intensity of style that we have come to expect in his more enthusiastic prose.The texts of these conferences represent the longest and most systematically organized of any of numerous series of conferences that Merton presented during the decade of his mastership. They may be the most directly pastoral work Merton ever wrote.

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Jesus' prayer on behalf of his of followers is "that all may be one. As you, Father are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in us" (John 17:21). No Turning Back illustrates significant developments in ecumenism during the thirty-plus years of ecumenical theologian Margaret O'Gara's own engagement in ecumenical dialogue. This collection of selected papers from the final fifteen years of O'Gara's work before her untimely death in 2012 aims     to illustrate the broad lines of ecumenism for general readers     to share concrete details of recent ecumenical developments with specialist readers     to encourage both groups of readers in their commitment to the pursuit of full communion among the Christian churches An invaluable resource for academic and ecclesial specialists in ecumenism, teachers and students of theology and religious studies, Christian ministers, and all educated Christian adults who take seriously Jesus' prayer "that all may be one."

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A Monastic Reading of Dionysius Areopagita

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Mystagogy: A Monastic Reading of Dionysius Areopagita proposes an interpretation of the Pseudo-Dionysian corpus   in light of the liturgical and ascetic tradition that defined the author and his audience. Characterized by both striking originality and remarkable fidelity to the  patristic and late neoplatonic traditions, the Dionysian corpus is a coherent and    unified structure, whose core and pivot is the treatise known as the  Ecclesiastical Hierarchy. Given Pseudo-Dionysius' fundamental continuity with earlier Christian theology and spirituality, it is not surprising that the church,   and in particular the ascetic community, recognized that this theological synthesis  articulated its own fundamental experience and aspirations.Alexander Golitzin is professor emeritus of patristics at Marquette University and a bishop in the Orthodox Church. He specializes in the origins of Eastern   Christian ascetical and mystical tradition. He is the author of `Et introibo ad  altare Dei': The Mystagogy of Dionysius Areopagita (Patriarchal Institute);  St. Symeon the New Theologian on the Mystical Life: The Ethical Discourses, 3 vols. (St Vladimir's Seminary Press); and New Light from the Holy Mountain (St. Tikhon's Seminary Press), as well as several studies collected in   The Theophaneia School: Jewish Roots of Christian Mysticism, ed. AndreiOrlov and Basil Lurie (Gorgias).

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Perhaps the least studied of Hildegard of Bingens writings, Solutions to Thirty-Eight Questions is translated in this volume into English for the first time from the original Latin. In this work of exegesis, Hildegard (10981179) resolves thorny passages of Scripture, theological questions, and two issues in hagiographic texts. Solutions to Thirty-Eight Questions joins Hildegards Homilies on the Gospels, which were directed to her nuns, as evidence of the seers exegetical writing as well as her authority as an exegete. The twelfth-century saint wrote in standard genres of exegesishomilies and solutionesand her interpretations of Scripture were widely sought, including by male audiences.

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Hildegard of Bingen, Jenny C. Bledsoe, Stephen H. Behnke, Beverly Mayne Kienzle

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Cardinal Walter Kasper's contributions to theology, ecumenism, Jewish-Christian relations, and the pastoral life of the church have shaped Catholicism in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Acknowledging this, Pope Francis has praised Kasper's profound and serene theology. In The Theology of Cardinal Walter Kasper: Speaking Truth in Love, leading theologians from across the United States and Canada explore the full scope of Kaspers thought on topics such as the character of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, Christology, theological method, and the nature of the church-world relationship. Kasper himself presents four previously unpublished texts: on the interpretation of Vatican II, on forgiveness, on Christian hope, and on the approach to theology today. This volume originated at a conference, at which Kasper was an active participant, in honor of his eightieth birthday. It provides an introduction to Kasper's thought and also an overview of major issues in contemporary Catholic theology.  

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Walter  Kasper, Kristin M Colberg, Robert A. Krieg

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The Song That I Am: On the Mystery of Music is a short but full-to-the-brim essay on the decisive role that great music (whether Bach, Tavener, or Gregorian chant) ought to play in the spiritual life. With admirable restraint Elisabeth-Paule Labat  shares her interior experience of music and thus continually opens up fresh vistas through worlds of sound and spirit.  With her uncanny gift of language, Labat precisely describes soundings and yearnings of the soul that many of us glimpse fleetingly. Because "only the lover sings" (St. Augustine), her final illumination is that the experience of profound music ought to transform us into the beauty that we hear.

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Monastic Experience of the Christian Mystery

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The Sun at Midnight offers a splendid, easily accessible summary of mystical theology in the Cistercian school. Bernardo Olivera, a master of both the theology and the practice of the spiritual life, analyzes this tradition first in its rich human, biblical, and doctrinal connotations, and then according to its most typical expressions as they are lived among Cistercian mystics, with reference also to other Christian men and women. Olivera explores the rich testimony of the monks of the twelfth century as well as the lesser-known nuns and holy women of the thirteenth century.Throughout the book, we discover Olivera's fundamental thesis: Personal mystical experience is not only the key to an adequate renewal of monastic life today but also-and above all-the foundation, the originating point, of any and all religion or religious tradition. Mystical experience is, in particular, the origin of Christianity and its rich spiritual tradition.

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Sacraments speak a language and disclose their power through symbols. Beyond representing another reality, sacramental symbols are intimately connected with the reality they express and sources of joy, solace, confrontation, peace, healing, strength, and life-giving sustenance to the initiated.In its Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the Council the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) urged that sacramental symbols be more transparent to their sacred reality to disclose the reality of the Christ event the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christso that mystery, and not confusion, could flourish.The seven sacraments  Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Marriage, Orders and the Anointing of the Sick - reveal a link to social justice. The contributors to this book are theologians with pastoral sensitivitiesincluding marrieds, parents, pastors and priests. This present work the social implications of worship, the history of each sacrament, and but also an integrated understanding of the transformation that is inextricably linked to each sacrament, as well as the active presence of Christ who lives in expectation of our response to participate in the urgent response to unjust policies and systems that affect the most vulnerable in our global family.  

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Christian Spirituality in a Suffering World

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The sacramental and prophetic traditions of Christian spirituality, suggests Matthew Eggemeier, possess critical resources for responding to the contemporary social crises of widespread ecological degradation and the innocent suffering of the crucified poor.In A Sacramental-Prophetic Vision, Eggemeier maintains that the vital key for cultivating these traditions in the present is to situate these spiritualities in the context of spiritual exercises or ascetical practices that enable Christians to live more deeply in the presence of God (coram Deo) and in turn to make this presence visible in a suffering world.

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Four Perspectives on Dei Verbum's "One Table of the Word of God and the Body of Christ"

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Fifty years ago, Dei Verbum called Catholics to reflect on the inherent unity of the "one table of the word of God and the body of Christ." Drawing from a variety of ancient and modern insights, the author proposes a fresh view of word and sacrament as interrelated facets of God's one enduring revelation. Like a table with four sides, the unity of the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist can be seen from the viewpoints of prophecy, pneumatology, language, and sacramentality.Grounded in Catholic systematic theology, the author extends the conversation to ecumenical reflection and implications for communities of faith.

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Functional Dimensions of Christian Worship

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This study considers what Christian worship has meant to its contemporaries across the centuries. It treats different episodes in the history of the Christian Church and applies to each episode the questions:Why did Christians go to church?Why worship?What happened to Christians there, substantively and otherwise, and how did they respond?With these particular queries as well as passages from contemporary theological and liturgical texts as a starting-point, Cheung Salisbury carefully explores the evidence for the functions of Christian worship. He argues that the purpose and function of worship in Christian life has never been static and the particular approach of different periods to the liturgy has been moderated by wider cultural influences, by theological developments and changes, and by the particular circumstances in which the worship was carried out.Cheung Salisbury proposes that the various forms of worship through the centuries and the understanding of liturgy and worship among and upon Christians demonstrates the variety of ways that Christian living operates in service of God.

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What is chrismation? Nicholas Denysenko breaks open chrismation as sacrament of belonging by exploring its history and liturgical theology. This study offers a sacramental theology of chrismation by examining its relationship with baptism and the Eucharist and its function as the ritual for receiving converts into the Orthodox Church. Drawing from a rich array of liturgical and theological sources, Denysenko explains how chrismation initiates the participant into the life of the triune God, beginning a process of theosis, becoming like God. The book includes a chapter comparing and contrasting chrismation and confirmation, along with pastoral suggestions for renewing the potential of this sacrament to transform the lives of participants.

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Todays parish leaders are expected to be holy and prayerful spiritual guides, great preachers and compassionate confessors, but also to make important decisions in key areas like finance, budgeting, hiring and firing, fundraising, risk management, relationship-building, and moreoften with virtually no transition or training. And with all the requisite education in philosophy and theology they must provide future pastors, in addition to formation in priestly spirituality and pastoral care, seminaries can do little to prepare priests to deal with the difficult temporal issues pastors face.            A Pastors Toolbox is designed to help fill that void. It is loaded with valuable information, insights, and practical tools that pastors need in order to begin handling the complexities of parish management in the twenty-first century.The book is an outgrowth of The Toolbox for Pastoral Management, a nationally recognized joint project of The National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management and Seton Hall University. The Leadership Roundtable is a nonprofit organization of Catholic lay leaders, religious, and clergy working together to promote excellence and best practices in the management, finances, communications, and human resources development of the Catholic Church in the U.S. through the greater incorporation of the expertise of the laity. Learn more at www.TheLeadershipRoundtable.org.

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Prayers for Ordinary and Extraordinary Moments of Grace

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A prayer book for one and for all, for personal prayer and family blessing, The Work of Your Hands gives voice to the prayers of the heart. Diana Macalintal lifts up the extraordinary and the ordinary moments of life in humble yet beautifully wrought prayers that evoke our longings, confess our fears, and sing of our joys. Offering praise and asking for blessing, she helps us recognize the presence and grace of God in the work and play, the up and down of daily life. 

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In June of 2012, an astounding 360 people gathered at the University of Notre Dame for a major conference on Catholic preaching. With contributions by  a wide variety of theologians and practitioners, We Preach Christ  Crucified gathers the fruits of those days spent reflecting on the importance of the preaching ministry. Its release is timely, given the US bishops' promulgation of a new document on preaching, Preaching the Mystery of Faith: The Sunday Homily (January, 2013), and the renewed emphasis on preaching by both  Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.   The challenges facing Christian preachers in our time are many and formidable   ones. The authors in this collection take a fresh look at the task, the resources at hand, the contemporary context, and the preacher. The result is a refreshing and stunningly hopeful reconsideration of an ancient ministry.We Preach Christ Crucified includes essays by:    Robert Barron   Archbishop Robert J. Carlson   John C. CavadiniArchbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, MSpS Mary Catherine Hilkert, OPJan Michael Joncas   Barbara E. Reid, OP  Michael E. Connors, CSC, ThD, is a pastoral theologian and teacher of   homiletics on the faculty of the Theology Department at the University of Notre Dame, where he also directs the John S. Marten Program in Homiletics and   Liturgics. He is the author of Inculturated Pastoral Planning: The U.S.Hispanic Experience (Gregorian University Press, 2001).

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The natural world around us is in crisis. We know it has a dynamic, evolutionary character. How might we understand this world in relationship to God?Partaking of God builds on the foundations of the dynamic trinitarian theology of Athanasius. It develops into a theology of the Word as the divine Attractor and the Spirit as the Energy of Love in evolutionary emergence. Then it explores Gods suffering with creatures, the humility of God in creation, church teaching on the human soul in relation to neuroscience, and grace and original sin in relationship to evolution. It culminates in a Christian theology of ecological conversion.

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The last chapters of the book of Isaiah offer a vision of new hope at the dawn of the postexilic period. The dense and complex imagery of light, espousal, and victory gives expression to the joyful reality of a return to Jerusalem and to the as-yet-unrealized dreams of rebuilding and repopulating what has been laid to waste. Trito-Isaiah's proclamation of God's salvation or victory appears both as a brilliant light and a terrible darkness in these chapters. For while Yahweh's triumph means rejoicing for his righteous servants, it portends unspeakable horror for those who rebel against him. Far from a remotely related appendix tacked on to the prophetic text, Niskanen examines Isaiah 5666 within the broader context of the entire book of Isaiah, revealing the stylistic and thematic connections between these and earlier chapters and the significance of the poetical structures and imagery employed in Isaiah 5666.

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Critical Metaphysics and Contemporary Sacramental Theology

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This study moves beyond postmodern trends in Catholic eucharistic theology by exploring the works of Bernard Lonergan and Louis-Marie Chauvet: Having learned from both Chauvets critique of metaphysics and Lonergans development of a critical metaphysics, we hope to offer a fruitful understanding of traditional eucharistic doctrines that is able to respond to some contemporary problems and shed some light on the great mystery that stands at the center of Christian worship (from the introduction).Postmodern theologians have been critical of using metaphysics to interpret the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, liturgical sacrifice, and sacramental causality, preferring instead a symbolic approach. Lonergans critical metaphysics, however, offers an account of knowing and being that resists attempts to pit metaphysics against the symbolic and moves sacramental theology into the real world of meaning. The result is a theology of the Eucharist grounded in tradition that speaks to todays believers. 

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The Church and Social Communication in the Digital Age

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We are living in a cultural shift: digital communication has reshaped the way we interact with one another, form and maintain relationships, and gain knowledge and understanding. How might we go about communicating the Good News of Jesus Christ in the midst of these changes to an emerging culture shaped by digital media? This question addresses the whole church, from the baptized faithful to pastoral ministers and the institutional structures that serve the church locally and globally.    In Connected toward Communion, Daniella Zsupan-Jerome traces the Roman Catholic Churchs contemporary thought and practice of social communication, from Inter Mirifica of the Second Vatican Council to the church's approach to communicating faith through social networking today. Throughout, a key question forms a common thread: how might we form pastoral ministers today for serving the church in the digital age and beyond? 