Religious Life
Catholic priests communicate the glory of heaven through the ministry of the Word and the sacraments, especially in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the source and summit of our Faith. By fulfilling this mission, these men truly become an alter Christus another Christ.
In this intriguing look at the awesome call to the priesthood, you will experience firsthand the joys, the struggles, and the extraordinary grace needed, and given by, these men we call Father.
In Called by Name you will meet:
Few today would contest that the priesthood is in a state of crisis. The nature and implications of that crisis, however, remain the subject of considerable discussion and debate. In The Changing Face of the Priesthood, Fr. Donald Cozzens offers insight into the crisis by reflecting on the issues, challenges, concerns, and realities of the priesthood today.
The same year that Pope John XXIII surprised the Catholic world with his call for an ecumenical council, Cozzens began his formal study of theology. As a seminarian he felt the shaking of the priesthood's foundations. The very face of the priesthood was evolving even as he arrived at his first parish assignment. A generation later, the face of the priesthood continues to reveal new contours, fascinating features, and sadly, some tragic blemishes.
In The Changing Face of the Priesthood, Cozzens takes a long, honest look at the present state of the priesthood. He provides this examination not merely from an empirical, scientific perspective but also from a personal, pastoral perspective. Drawing on clinical data, church documents, and his nearly forty years of pastoral experience, Cozzens gives shape and form to the changing face of the priesthood. Through his reflections he leads readers to both concern and hope for the priesthood of the twenty-first century.
Chapters are Discovering an Identity," *Guarding One's Integrity, - *Loving as a Celibate, - *Facing the Unconscious, - *Becoming a Man, - *Tending the Word, - *Considering Orientation, - *Betraying Our Young, - and *The Changing Face of the Priesthood. -
Donald Cozzens, PhD, a priest and writer, is author of two award-winning titles, Sacred Silence and The Changing Face of the Priesthood, and editor of The Spirituality of the Diocesan Priest, all published by Liturgical Press. He is writer in residence at John Carroll University where he teaches in the religious studies department.
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On July 16, 1983, in an abandoned house on an Italian hillside, Sister Rita Petrozzi, known today as Mother Elvira, opened Comunità Cenacolo. That dilapidated building quickly became God's hope-filled answer to the desperate cries of the many lost, lonely, drug-addicted young people who soon began knocking on its door, seeking to be reborn. A potent apostolate was born.
Today - barely thirty-six years later - Comunità Cenacolo consists of seventy houses stretched across the globe that welcome thousands of young people struggling with drug or alcohol addictions as they search for meaning in life. Mission houses in Africa, Central America, and South America shelter abandoned and orphaned street children, inviting them, too, on a journey of rebirth in love. Each house is imbued with God's mercy and forgiveness. There young people live in a simple Christian family environment, transformed by the healing powers of prayer, work, friendship, sacrifice, and l
Evolving Visions of the Priesthood traces the movement of the Church in the United States during the first forty years of the implementation of Vatican II. This research gives the U.S. Church a good picture of itself and its struggles during the post-conciliar period. These studies are important for what they tell us of priests who were already ministering the theology of the Council, at the time of the Council, and also consider those priests ordained more recently and their perspectives on Vatican II. How the different groups of priests perceive each other in their respective desires to be faithful to God offers the reader insight into today's presbyterate. By following what has been happening we get a glimpse of what the future holds. Given the struggles of the scandals recently confronting the Church, the studies also offer indications of why the particular problems arose so suddenly and why they were so related to a given time frame.
Chapters are The American Priesthood After the 1960s, *Characteristics of Priests in 2001, - *The Shifting Emphasis in Ecclesiology, - *The New Priests, - *Issues and Needs Felt by Priests, - *The Question of Homosexual Subcultures, - *Understanding the Changes, - and *Recommendations Made by the Priests. - Includes an epilogue, *Effects of the 2002 Sexual Misconduct Crisis. -
Dean R. Hoge is a professor in the department of sociology at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He has done sociological research serving American churches for 32 years and has authored several books and articles on American religion including The First Five Years of the Priesthood, published by Liturgical Press.
Jacqueline E. Wenger is a graduate student in sociology at The Catholic University of America and a licensed clinical social worker.
With the mind of a theologian and the heart of a pastor, Marc Cardinal Ouellet releases this timely book to help Catholics arrive at a deeper understanding of the Church's traditional teaching on the priesthood and the discipline of celibacy. As the Church rises to the duty of evangelization amid the challenges of secularism, Cardinal Ouellet sounds a clarion call to discover enduring solutions rooted in the basics of holiness.
Cardinal Ouellet deftly draws the tradition into the present, adding fresh insights that challenge us to think anew about the beauty and power of the priesthood. He shows the deep connection between the ministerial priesthood of the clergy and the royal priesthood of all believers--how they are united in Christ's priesthood, and how they work together to build up the Kingdom of God on earth.
Friends of the Bridegroom is a book not just about the priesthood but for priests, and should therefore find a welcome home in rectories and sem
The recent Year for Priests focused considerable attention on the priesthood, resulting in many books, articles, retreats, conferences, and symposia. In Gold Tested in Fire, Ronald D. Witherup, SS, makes an important new contribution. Intersecting scriptural and theological context with lived pastoral insight, Witherup explores both classic and contemporary understandings of the priesthood, offers insights into the four pillars" suggested for priestly formation, and looks at the charism of priests, and the need for ongoing formation across a life-span.
Having engaged in priestly formation in seminaries for a number of years, Witherup moves beyond overly idealized or pietistic approaches to the presbyteral life to offer key insights on the challenges and rewards inherent in contemporary priestly ministry. Underlying his approach is the firm conviction that the present testing in the priesthood is a profound summons to a new Pentecost, inopportunity for the priesthood to be cleansed and remade, and ultimately stronger.
His work on earth, is captured so profoundly by Father Machado. The stories of the wonders accomplished through the hands of this priest in this book clears any doubt why they carry so much love for souls around the world.
Monastic life and its counter-cultural wisdom come alive in the stories and lessons of Br. Paul Quenon, O.C.S.O., during his more than five decades as a Trappist at the Abbey of Gethsemani. He served as a novice under Thomas Merton and he also welcomed some of the monastery's more well-known visitors, including Sr. Helen Prejean and Seamus Heaney, to Merton's hermitage. In Praise of the Useless Life includes Quenon's quiet reflections on what it means to live each day with careful attentiveness. The humble peace and simplicity of the monastery and of Quenon's daily life are beautifully portrayed in this memoir. Whether it be through the daily routine of the monastery, his love of the outdoors no matter the season, or his lively and interesting conversations with visitors (reciting Emily Dickinson with Pico Iyer, discussing Merton and poetry with Czeslaw Milosz), Quenon's gentle musings display his love for the beauty in his vocation and the people he's encountered along the way. Inspired by his novice master Merton, the poet and photographer's stories remind us that the beauty of life can best be seen in the "uselessness" of daily life--having a quiet chat with a friend, spending time in contemplation--in our vocations, and in the memories we make along the way.
In A Life of Daring Simplicity: Daily Meditations on the Priesthood Michael Becker helps priests provide that example. Monsignor Becker has gathered a powerful collection of reflections drawn from an impressively wide array of great spiritual guides. Pope Saint John Paul II is well-represented here and so is Karl Rahner. We also hear from Catherine de Hueck Doherty and Adrian Von Speyr, Pedro Arrupe and Columba Marmion, and many more. Each passage challenges priests to reflect on their own vocation. Every page is filled with holy wisdom that will nourish priestly ministry and invite readers to embrace "a life of daring simplicity"--words used by Pope Saint John XXIII to describe his own life.
Each day includes a Scripture verse, an inspiring insight on the priestly life, and a closing prayer or question to prompt deeper reflection. Spend a few minutes every day with these meditations and you will deepen your own commitment to your ministry and find ever more zeal to serve those entrusted to your care.
Lively, insightful, and engaging, Many Are Called will serve as an inspiration to students and seminarians considering a vocation, to clergy renewing their call, to Catholic readers looking to deepen their faith, and to seekers curious about one of Catholicism's defining but least understood elements. With a foreword by the Most Reverend Timothy M. Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, this is a truly special book, one that speaks to the restless heart of humanity and reveals that our pleas for a spiritual father have already been answered.
Brideship, writes Mother Mary Francis, p.c.c., is “not a popular word” in the context of the consecrated life—thanks to the saccharine, pseudo-mystical treatment it has often received in the past. Yet this treatment and the adverse reactions to it flow from a lamentable misunderstanding of Divine Revelation. In the Church, as Pope St. John Paul II describes in Vita consecrata, vowed women religious are “a special eschatological image of the Heavenly Bride and of the life to come.” Identifying the four elements of brideship as presence, focus, service, and surrender, and their roots in Scripture and manifestation in religious life, Mother Mary Francis echoes these profound words: “We are the spouses of Christ. We are covenanted people called to do this for Christ and his Church.”
Describing with poignant and heartfelt conviction the beauty of brideship in the covenant of religious profession, My Beloved Is Mine and I Am His is a beautiful treatment of the wondrous height, depth, and breadth of God’s love for the soul he chooses as his own.
Rich with anecdotes, irreverence, and wisdom, Once In Love, Always in Love is a vulnerable story of a spiritual leader who sought to right the wrongs in the world through the power of inclusivity and love. Driven by a deep sense of rejection and a personal, insatiable thirst for love, Fr. Mauthe transformed what was broken within himself by bettering the lives of others. He does not hold back in expressing his fears, his failings, and his doubts as a way of demonstrating what is possible with an unshakable vision, unequivocal faith, and unrelenting hard work.
Fr. Richard Mauthe (1929-2017) was a Catholic priest who spent his life fighting for the underdog, building bridges, and serving those in need. He is credited with establishing the Ecumenical Center (now Mauthe Center) at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, and helping find a home for more than 6,500 orphans in over twenty countries. In life, he was recognized by the first John Cardinal Newman Award for Campus Ministry and was selected as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People of the Twentieth Century in Wisconsin. Dick Mauthe was a lion of a man, who spoke truth to power to defend those most vulnerable in our society. This book is his last sermon.
Adi Redzic is a writer, entrepreneur, business and life strategist, and a professional speaker whose experiences during the civil wars in the former Yugoslavia imbued him with a zeal to help others, through word and example. His friendship with Fr. Mauthe culminated in this book, which is meant to educate, inspire, and enthrall.
All proceeds from the sales of this book benefit the Richard Mauthe Center for Faith, Spirituality, and Social Justice, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
After heroic service in World War II, Moore entered the ministry, and his subsequent life shows the ways deep faith and strong social commitment can influence each other. In a ghetto parish in Jersey City, Moore pioneered a new form of urban ministry; as Auxiliary Bishop of Washington, D.C., he had the ear of the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. And as Bishop of New York, Moore led protests against the Vietnam War and opened the Episcopal clergy to women and gay people -- acts that are still controversial today -- while campaigning for human rights in Africa, the Soviet Union, East Timor, and American inner cities. Moore writes movingly of the presence of God in his life and stresses the importance of the Church's witness against poverty and injustice. A bishop and a father of nine, a war hero and a peace activist, Moore is a singular American character; his colorful, personable, affecting memoirs tell of a notable twentieth-century life.
A bestselling author and leading expert on the Catholic priesthood, Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti forges a renewed theology of priestly blessing, encouraging his brother priests to embrace the habit of blessing people, objects, and events. In this provocative and inspirational book he shows how the blessing is integral to the identity of priests and crucial to the spiritual wellbeing of all the faithful.
Msgr. Stephen Rossetti fears that many priests shy away from blessing people and objects because of a lack of awareness of the rich tradition of Church blessings and a deficit in training for this important pastoral practice. In The Priestly Blessing, Rossetti urges priests to boldly and frequently embrace this ancient practice because of their unique calling.
Rossetti traces the history of blessing in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. He also explores the various types of blessing, such as praise of God, the invocation of special benefit from God, and being consecrated to God.
The Priestly Blessing also helps priests reflect on what saints and mystics have taught about blessing as a vital activity of the Church, and outlines connections between Catholic sacramental theology, the practice of priestly blessing, and the Catholic understanding of creation that helps make sense of priests blessing objects and animals.
Recognizing the strong and gentle fatherhood which our Heavenly Father bestows on us lovingly and daily indefinitely changes the scope of our spiritual lives. Amidst the crisis of fatherhood in today's society, it is imperative, more than ever, that all men—especially priests—be images of this unfalteringly generous fatherhood of God. What does true fatherhood consist of? How can true fatherhood help a person gain access to the freedom found through the knowledge of his or her identity as a child of God? While answering these questions, Fr. Jacques also presents the spiritual path which allows a priest to guard himself against possible shortcomings and ambiguities as he strives to live out his priestly fatherhood, the gift received by him in ordination. This book will not only be of interest to priests, but will also help all those who are called to exercise a certain paternity in the Church or in society: fathers of families, spiritual fathers, educators, and leaders.
"Rekindle the gift of God that is within you", Saint Paul urges Timothy years after his ordination (2 Tim 1:6).
Drawing on sixty years of experience as a Catholic priest, Cistercian Fr. Roch Kereszty provides realistic spiritual, psychological, and pastoral guidance to priests and seminarians--from preaching and sacramental ministry, to parish life and spiritual direction, to chastity and poverty.
Countless priests struggle to understand their role and identity in the post-conciliar Church, where laypeople have taken on many responsibilities once considered priestly. With the sexual abuse crisis kicking up a cloud of confusion and discouragement, many young men are wondering, "Why join a system in which everyone is suspect?" Meanwhile, without the right guidance, those already ordained can find themselves slipping into boredom--or even cynicism.
But Fr. Kereszty knows the fire of a true vocation. With insights and examples from St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and many others, Rekindle the Gift of God helps priests and seminarians discover or rediscover their mission as shepherds, prophets, and teachers. A happy priest is one who lays down his life not only for his flock, but for his Lord. Father Kereszty gives patient, down-to-earth counsel on putting this ideal into practice, and he offers a glimpse of his own immense joy and gratitude for the gift of serving Jesus Christ.
2016 CPA Book Awards Winner! 3rd Place, Biography category
The moving story of a simple parish priest from Oklahoma who would not abandon his Guatamalan parish and was martyred during the Guatamalan Civil War at the age of 46.
A priest restores faith and trust in his vocation at a critical time for the Catholic Church.
In Still Called by Name, Father Dominic Grassi, an urban priest, natural storyteller, and author of the popular Bumping into God books, reflects on his vocation and recalls the reasons he became a priest. Through poignanat and often humorous recollections from his thirty years as a priest, Grassi celecbrates the special moments of grace he has witnessed and the special people who have touch his life.
Grassi pulls aside the veil of mystery shrouding the priesthood and breaks down barriers between priests and lay people. Grassi shares simple stories that reveal the incredible joy, profound awe, and overwheming peace he finds in his life as a priest. Still Called by Name restores faith and trust in priests at a critical time for the Catholic Church.
"The openness to God's presence according to God's terms motivates this terrific priest and so many people find him to be an amazing pastor and spiritual guide. This book ought to be a "must read" for those of us who are priests and may have forgotten what might have led to that decision." -- The Most Reverend Wilton D. Gregory, Bishop of Belleville.
Fr. Dominic Grassi is a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Born and raised in Chicago, Fr. Grassi has served as an educator, counselor, athletic coach, retreat and vocation director, inspirational speaker, editor, and writer. He is the author of the best-selling Bumping into God books.
An Ignatius Press Reprint
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In this masterful and classic study, renowned Jesuit theologian Jean Galot explains the nature of the priesthood. He examines how the Jewish priesthood, the perfect priestly ministry of Jesus, and the role of the Twelve in the early Church helps us understand the ministerial priesthood in the Catholic Church today. The book also explores the spiritual life of priests, including the role of celibacy. It concludes with a discussion demonstrating that the male character of the ministerial priesthood is based on the will of Jesus and that it is not contrary to the dignity of women or their role in the Church.
Behind monastery walls, men of God spend their lives preparing for the passage of death. Best-selling French author Nicolas Diat set out to find what their deaths can reveal about the greatest mystery faced by everyone--the end of life.
How to die? How to respond to our fear of death? To answer these and other questions, Diat travelled to eight European monasteries including Solesmes Abbey and the Grande Chartreuse. Through extraordinary interviews with monks, he learned that their death experiences are varied and unique, with elements of peace, pain, humility, sorrow, and joy.
These monks have the same fears, torments, and sorrows as everyone else, Diat discovered. What is exemplary about them is their humility and simplicity. When death approaches, and its hand reveals its strength, they are like happy and naïve children who wait with impatience to open a gift. They have complete confidence in the mercy of God.
German Cardinal Gerhard Müller is a voice contemporary Catholic priests need to hear. You Shall Be a Blessing is an affirmation of priestly life and ministry presented in twelve letters. Müller offers personal encouragement through finely honed theological and spiritual insight on the meaning, history, and importance of the priesthood to today's Catholic Church.
Vocational identity is an enduring concern among Catholic priests, bishops, teachers, and many lay Catholics around the world, particularly because of the challenges wrought by a changing Church and rapidly shifting culture. The struggle to navigate the personal and sacramental meanings of a priest's place in the Church is made more difficult by the disheartening loss of the Church's credibility in recent years and by seismic shifts away from the practice of religion by believers across the western world. Yet most priests continue to serve and lead the people in their care with great compassion, conviction, and desire to serve.
In You Shall Be a Blessing, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, writes as a spiritual father and careful teacher in twelve letters to priests, offering clear picture of their role in the life and work of the Church. He also addresses the theological tasks and spiritual disciplines needed by priests as they give witness to the Word, serve, and sanctify the Church.
German Cardinal Gerhard Müller is a voice contemporary Catholic priests need to hear. You Shall Be a Blessing is an affirmation of priestly life and ministry presented in twelve letters. Müller offers personal encouragement through finely honed theological and spiritual insight on the meaning, history, and importance of the priesthood to today’s Catholic Church.
Vocational identity is an enduring concern among Catholic priests, bishops, teachers, and many lay Catholics around the world, particularly because of the challenges wrought by a changing Church and rapidly shifting culture. The struggle to navigate the personal and sacramental meanings of a priest’s place in the Church is made more difficult by the disheartening loss of the Church’s credibility in recent years and by seismic shifts away from the practice of religion by believers across the western world. Yet most priests continue to serve and lead the people in their care with great compassion, conviction, and desire to serve.
In You Shall Be a Blessing, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, writes as a spiritual father and careful teacher in twelve letters to priests, offering clear picture of their role in the life and work of the Church. He also addresses the theological tasks and spiritual disciplines needed by priests as they give witness to the Word, serve, and sanctify the Church.