Books published by Liturgical Press

The Ecclesiology of Communion

The Gospels are not only the foundation of the New Testament, they are also integral to the celebration of the Eucharist. Because the Gospels embody the whole Christian tradition, every Christian seeking to be a student of Christ should be a student of the Gospels.This work provides that opportunity for all Christians, whether in classrooms, study groups, prayer groups, or in individual study, to come to know Christ by coming to know the Gospels. The first three chapters address the literary, structural, and rhetorical principles underlying the Synoptic Gospels. The remaining chapters encourage readers to dialogue with the Gospels in three ways: 1) by explaining the structure and theology of each Synoptic Gospel, 2) by devoting attention to the four outstanding features of the Gospels parables, miracles, the passion narratives, and the resurrection accounts, and 3) by introducing the readers to the special features of John's Gospel. This flexible textbook's approach allows beginning students to encounter the Jesus of the Gospels on their own terms, to make their new knowledge personal and practical.

This examination of the Eucharist is divided into two parts. The first seeks to uncover the origins of the Eucharist and to trace developments in the earliest eucharistic practice and understanding. The second part studies the eucharistic theology of the New Testament writers.

This volume demonstrates that Israel drew its resources for overcoming social injustice from Near-Eastern thought on the subject. By combining its own ideas of social justice with those of its neighbours, Israel's people fought injustice with what was "new" and what was "old".

The author reminds us that our Christian stories are at the heart of the faith. Without these stories, formulated doctrines and theological systems would be bereft of meaning and substance. With the breadth of bright vision, he explains what story theology is all about; and he tells us why it is gripping the minds and hearts of so many.

New Testament Message, Volume 22: A Biblical-Theological Commentary "Those who continue to look for some help in deciphering the Apocalypse will welcome this clear and competent commentary." --The Bible Today "(Adela Yarbro Collins) can only be thanked for offering to a wide public a lucid, well-informed and profound commentary on a book which continues to cause considerable confusion." --The Catholic Biblical Quarterly

"John Meier is widely recognized as an authority, and one welcomes his commentary . . .Meier's book is especially rich in showing how Matthew reinterprets the Gospel in the context of his own church and its problems."America

Combining the theological methods of Juan Luis Segundo and James H. Cone, Harry Singleton sheds new light on the impact of race on the origin and development of theology in America.In Black Theology and Ideology Singleton appropriates Segundo's method of deideologization to argue that relevant theological reflection must expose religio-political ideologies that justify human oppression in the name of God as a distortion of the gospel and counter them with new theological presuppositions rooted in liberation. Singleton then contextualizes Segundo's method by offering the theology of James Cone as the most viable example of such a theological perspective in America.

Includes ten essays that explore facets of ordained ministry and the ministerial priesthood.

Sunday Reflections for Year C

Ministry impairment seems to be increasingly problematic for the Church today. While the minister's personality or character are typically the focus of media attention, impairment is also influenced by organizational dynamics such as the recruitment and promotion policies of the religious organization as well as its culture and structure. Ministry and Community highlights the interplay of personality dynamics and organizational dynamics for eight of the most common forms of ministry impairment and shows how they can be recognized, treated, and prevented.In Ministry and Community Len Sperry looks at the dynamics underlying and supporting narcissistic behavior, sexual abusing behavior, psychopathic behavior, borderline behavior, depressive behavior, obsessive-compulsive behavior, manic-depressive behavior, and passive-aggressive behavior in ministry personnel. He then describes a number of effective strategies that can modify these individual and organizational dynamics.Rather than affix blame on ministers or the Church, this book offers a series of observations on concerns faced by the Church and provides suggestions for addressing these concerns.Ministry and Community also offers a measure of hopefulness about the prospects for professional ministry in the Church. These suggestions include specific criterion for determining fitness for ministry, guidelines for realistically appraising ministry performance, and specific indications and contraindications for psychotherapy and other psychiatric interventions.

Mark was a proclaimer calling people to repentance. At a time nearly everyone felt was the end of the world, he boldly told the story of the beginning. When so many were overwhelmed by what seemed to be bad news, Mark proclaimed the story of the good news in his Gospel. Using rhetorical and literary analysis, Father LaVerdiere introduces Mark's story in The Beginning of the Gospel: Introducing the Gospel According to Mark. To aid those who prepare homilies, he shares Mark's sense of Christ's mission, the Christian calling, the universal Church, and the Church's mission in a language that everyone can understand.Who was Mark? Where and when did he write, and for whom? What were his sources? What was his guiding intention? Instead of dealing with these introductory questions separately, Father LaVerdiere answers them while commenting on the Gospel. He explains that for Mark the gospel was not a mere record of past events, but a new act of proclamation. In content, Mark's Gospel was a story of the gospel of Jesus and his disciples. In form, however, Mark's Gospel was an act of proclamation. It made Jesus, the one who was crucified but had been raised from the dead, present to Mark's readers and listeners. Through Mark's Gospel, the Gospel proclaimed by Jesus and the Church became the Gospel that was Jesus.In Volume 2 Father LaVerdiere continues his discussion of Mark's Gospel by focusing on part two: "Jesus and the Coming of the Kingdom of God." Within these chapters he deals with the answers to questions that were raised in part one about the identity and mission of Jesus. Father LaVerdiere examines Mark's emphases on the implications of the Gospel, the passion and resurrection of Jesus, and the coming of the Kingdom of God. Father LaVerdiere also discusses the major symbols of the second part of Mark's Gospel: the way (he hodos) and the cup (ho poterion).

For many people Paul is seen as anti-woman and male-dominating, mired in images and concepts from ancient worlds people cannot relate to. Yet why have his letters endured? Why do women in Guatemala, Nigeria, or Korea find a resonance in their experience today? Why has Paul continued to be a major resource for people wanting to live a deeply Christian life? Loretta Dornisch explores these questions by examining Paul's letters in Paul and Third World Women Theologians.In Paul and Third World Women Theologians Dornisch explores the themes of liberation and justice against a background of oppressing and oppressed people, whether in the first century or in the twenty-first. She pays particular attention to Third World women theologians who are emerging as voices calling for a new consciousness. These women speak for the many voiceless Third World women who are often treated as less than human and whose oppression can no longer be tolerated.To make these texts woman-, user-, and liberation-friendly, Dornisch examines Pauls letters from different perspectives. First, she explores these texts as if they were written by a woman, Paula, instead of Paul. Dornisch hypothesizes Paula as a co-worker, co-writer, co-thinker with Paul. She stresses that this idea is not contradictory to the texts since Paul refers to at least three women as "co-workers" (Rom 16:3; Phil 4:3). The second point of view introduced by Dornisch is that of various women named by Paul whether as co-worker or heads of households, or even as deacon or apostle. Dornischs third perspective is that of imagined women of the first century with various cultural and traditional world views. Her fourth perspective is that of women today, from whatever continent, who are struggling to create life for themselves and others. Dornisch invites readers to interact with each of these perspectives in order to renew life for Christians today.Paul and Third World Women Theologians is divided into four sections. Part one covers the people of Thessalonica in northern Greece. Part two explores developments associated with the people of Corinth, a major city for the growth of Christianity. Part three contains themes connected with the people of Philippi and Galatia, now known as Asia Minor. Part four looks at major theological developments associated with a letter to the people of Rome.

Lay preaching-preaching rendered by a baptized Christian who has not been ordained a deacon, priest, or bishop-has been a growing issue of concern since the mid-1980s. Along with this concern, a new emphasis on the important role of the laity in spreading the Gospel has emerged. This emphasis has seen lay preaching develop into a common practice in many parts of the country. But if the needs of God's people to hear the Word are to be met, a systematic approach must be taken to this timely and urgent issue. In Lay Preaching Patricia Parachini provides that approach.Preaching is a broad category (or genus) which includes different types (or species) of preaching including pre-evangelistic preaching, evangelization, catechetical preaching or catechesis, preaching in church, and liturgical preaching. Although Parachini briefly discusses lay preaching in general, her primary focus in Lay Preaching is the most frequently debated type of preaching and the only type from which laity are regularly excluded: liturgical preaching.In the past ten years there has been a growing interest in the ministry of liturgical preaching among Roman Catholic men and women that are not ordained but minister in the Church. In Lay Preaching Parachini pays attention to that growing interest, while maintaining that people need to hear the Word preached to them well and effectively. She begins by highlighting significant moments in the history of lay preaching and addressing some of the major theological and liturgical concerns that are key to a discussion of preaching. Then, Parachini explains the pertinent canons on preaching from the 1983 revised Code of Canon Law. Finally, she describes current practices throughout the U.S. regarding lay preaching and raises fundamental questions that provide direction for the future.Chapters are "A Historical Survey," "Mapping the Theological Terrain," "Perspectives of the 1983 Code of Canon Law," and "Present Realities, Future Possibilities."

Explorations in Theory and Practice

LET JUSTICE SING begins with a survey that shows how justice is an urgent concern of recent hymn writers. To discover if twentieth-century Christians are the first to sing about justice, past hymnic repertoires from the psalms to African-American hymns are analyzed along with a couple related excursions. The broader context for hymnody is then addressed, especially in relation to worship, art, sentimentality, and culture. A final chapter suggests that Christians have always sung about justice, that the message transcends the messengers, that the most potent singing about justice keeps the whole Christian song intact, and that removing justice from the whole loses it. The book falls into three parts: content, context, and the importance of justice within the warp and woof of hymnody.

"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Jesus' words are clear. Yet for centuries we as Church and as individuals have made exceptions to this command to love and peace; we seek the goal of peace but avoid the means of peace. Of Passion and Folly presents the challenging call of Christ to love in all times and in all places, and reminds us that from the folly of the cross in the passion of Jesus, peace was born, and it can be born again.In Of Passion and Folly Sister Patricia McCarthy, CND, demonstrates that-through Scripture, the sacraments, the formation of the conscience through prayer and action, and in community with each other, we can walk along Jesus' way, the way of peace. She opens the door to a transformation from violence to peace by emphasizing the need for education in the spirituality rooted in the Gospel and in the tradition and sacramental life of the Church.The underlying conviction Sister Patricia brings to Of Passion and Folly is that the work of peace is integral to the message of Christ's teachings and life. The spirituality of peace, which cannot co-exist with violence of any kind, is found within the gospel although it has often been buried under the just war tradition of our Church. In order to be whole in our response to Jesus Christ, she challenges us to reexamine our attitudes and be willing to re-look at prayer, the sacraments, Eucharist, penance, business practices, social life, parenting, lifestyles, and consumerism in light of Jesus' command to love one another, even our enemies. We must also be willing to take war, violence, injustice, racism, hatred, and revenge and measure them against the standards of Christ.Sister Patricia draws upon her firsthand experience of the violence which surrounds and overwhelms our world today. She points out that although Christians believe the resurrection of Christ has conquered the violence we experience today, we need direction to live as people of the resurrection. Of Passion and Folly provides that direction. Written for a Catholic audience, it is a valuable tool for directors of adult education in parishes, for teachers and chaplains in high schools and colleges, for those involved in the RCIA, and for peace action groups.Of Passion and Folly helps us move from merely desiring peace to deliberately choosing peace. The basis of our choice is awareness of our call to peace, a call given us in baptism, strengthened in confirmation, renewed in confession, and nourished in Eucharist. Union with the one who came among us as the Prince of Peace is the goal of a life of peace.

Ritual Word, Paschal Shape

"Lovers of the Place" weaves together allegory, narrative, and poetic intuition, gathering images and insights around an experience of conversion to the monastic way of humility. Through his insight and experience, Abbot Kline invites all the baptized to a participation in the monastic charism now loose in the Church at large.

Behind the drop in seminarians and the declining numbers of priests, behind the sexual misconduct scandals shaking the confidence and trust once readily given to priests, a spiritual deepening and maturing is quietly renewing the spirit and confidence of the diocesan priest. In this collection, twelve priests and bishops reflect on the spirituality of the diocesan priest from their personal and pastoral experience.Have diocesan priests finally transcended the monastic and religious order spiritualities that have shaped their prayer and interior lives for centuries? Is a spirituality proper to the diocesan priest emerging precisely at a time when the priesthood is under such close scrutiny? The contributors - pastors, theologians, poets, and bishops - grapple with the maturing of the diocesan priest's soul.

Recognizing that both metaphoric and inclusive language are necessary in Christian worship, this book clarifies how these need not be contradictory criteria for forming liturgical language.

This practical work takes an in-depth look at 40 words in the Psalms chosen largely because of their frequency, but also because of the diversity of meanings that modern users might assume. It aims to encourage Christians looking at the Psalms to ask how they can contribute to prayer today.