Catholic Book Club

This is the newest installment in the publisher rsquo s ldquo Engaging Theology Catholic Perspectives rdquo series acclaimed teaching resources on theological and doctrinal subjects Paul Lakeland the Aloysius P Kelley Professor of Catholic Studies at Fairfield University and director of the

This engaging book establishes a new framework for meeting the challenges facing the church in a changing world. John Allen is the Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, a Vatican analyst for CNN and NPR and has a weekly Internet column called “All Things Catholic.”  He has drawn from thousands of hours of interviews with church hierarchy, priests, theologians, political activists, social workers, ecumenists and liturgists among others to survey—and provide context for—the most important currents shaping the Catholic Church today, “and to look down the line at how they might play out during the rest of the 21st century.”

Scholar, eco-theologian, priest, teacher, Thomas Berry established the History of Religions Program at Fordham University and, with Wm. Theodore de Bary, founded the Oriental Thought and Religion Seminar at Columbia University. Before his death this year he spent the better part of five decades studying, writing about and lecturing on the intersection of the spiritual and natural worlds, specifically humans’ engagement with the earth. The Sacred Universe brings together 13 of his essays—published between 1972 and 2001—and represent the evolution in Berry’s thinking and his call for dialogue with the world’s religions, with science and with the modern world in general. He talks, often prophetically, of religion in the global human community, “the cosmology of religions,” and “the sacred universe.” Thought-provoking, passionate and filled with wisdom, Berry’s writing is a gift to everyone on the planet who seek “to create a new story of the universe” and locate “a spiritual vision that  helps humans reclaim their place in the natural world.”

As a bonus this month, we also recommend a second collection of Berry’s writings: The Christian Future and the Fate of Earth, published by Orbis Books and edited by Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim. Part of the publisher’s Ecology and Justice Series, The Christian Future is a series of (brief) essays written over past decades that distills Berry’s thoughts on—among other subjects—“Women Religious: Voices of Earth,” the role of the church in the 21st century and “The Universe as Cosmic Liturgy.” Drawing heavily on the insights of both Thomas Aquinas and Jesuit paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Berry sought to lift the Christian tradition toward care for all of creation. This volume is a worthy companion to the compendium described above.

Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim are founders of the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale University and co-directers of the Thomas Berry Foundation and the American Teilhard Association.

Purchase The Sacred Universe: Earth, Spirituality, and Religion in the Twenty-first Century from amazon.com.

Purchase The Christian Future and the Fate of Earth (Ecology & Justice) from amazon.com.

From professor and scholar to the Vatican rsquo s enforcer of the faith and finally to the throne of St Peter Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger Pope Benedict XVI has become for the world the public face of the Roman Catholic Church Rev Thomas P Rausch S J mdash the T Marie Chilton Professor of Ca

Our book club members surely remember the wonderful books of this cloistered artist-nun some of which have been club offerings in past years We are happy then to call your attention to her latest A nun who has spent her life in prayer living close to God shares the power of beautiful icons

This is the fourth of five volumes—an undertaking of massive proportions and impeccable scholarship. The first volume in the series, The Roots of the Problem and the Person, set Jesus within his times and cultural context, reconstructed what can be surmised about his “hidden life” and concluded with Jesus approaching adulthood. The second volume, Mentor, Message and Miracle, focused on John the Baptist, the meaning of Jesus’ message of the coming kingdom of God, and God’s kingly power already manifest in Jesus’ exorcisms, healings and miracles. The third volume, Companions and Competitors, explored the relations of Jesus with those around him and provides inspiration for those involved in the ministry of the word.   

The Rev. John P. Meier—who is William K. Warren Chair Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, and past president of the Catholic Biblical Association—continues his quest for the historical Jesus in this new volume, which deals with the Mosaic Law, parables, Jesus’ self-designation and his crucifixion. Written with the same rigor, attention to detail, thoroughness and grounded argumentation, Law and Love is written for a broad readership. Meier speaks of the enigma in Jesus’ teaching as follows:

Throughout history Mary has inspired, perplexed and fascinated people the world over—of every culture and tradition. In this magisterial work, medieval historian Miri Rubin traces Mary’s rise to global prominence from the time of the early Christian empire to the 16th century. Rubin, who has spent years working on the book, sees the figure of Mary as “one of contradiction, a creative state that challenged poets and theologians and composers who tried to express this quality.”

This is a well-researched thorough and eminently readable account of the history of an institution that has survived for nearly two thousand years worthy to stand along with Eamon Duffy rsquo s critically acclaimed history of the papacy Saints and Sinners Roger Collins a distinguished religion s

The author of 18 previous books—notably the “Joshua” series—Rev. Joseph E. Girzone is a highly regarded spiritual writer and guide. We’ve chosen his brand new book as February’s pick because it is ideally suited for Lenten reading. It consists of 44 chapter-meditations on a particular Scriptural passage, including many familiar parables, following the life (and ministry) of Jesus chronologically.

Girzone is a graceful writer whose words seem to flow effortlessly from his pen. That is likely due to his having spent many years speaking about, contemplating and writing about a Jesus to whom people easily gravitate, a “partner” who is with us throughout all life’s events. His book brings the teachings of Jesus into our world today: the boardroom, the classroom, the courtroom and so on. It covers a wide range of themes: compassion, forgiveness, humility, love, authority, success and failure, and pride, among them. And the chapter titles are enticing. Here is a sampling: “A Young Jesus Comes of Age”; “Want to Please God? Be a Child”; “Would You Hug a Leper?”; “The Excommunicated Holy Man”; “Violence…Breeds Nightmares”; “Seeing Is not Believing.” What is constant about Jesus’ love for his creatures, as the author’s reflections make abundantly clear (to anyone in need of reminding), is an unfailing concern, a reaching out to all in pain. He never gives up on the sinner; he wants to heal. The Wisdom of His Compassion is an insightful, engaging and provocative book. Girzone writes:

Based on the author rsquo s extensive interviews with hundreds of Catholics of every stripe from various parishes in the San Francisco Bay area this book paints a clear and sometimes complex portrait of what it is like to be Catholic in America today Baggett an associate professor of religion an