Books published by Liturgical Press

Pope Francis has said, Discernment is a choice of courage.In this little wisdom book, Professor Ladislas Orsy shows contemporary readers a well-tested way to listen to the Holy Spirit within and among us as well as offering a way of navigating lifes questions through communal discernment. Community discernment is the discovery of a gift by another gift: the discovery of Gods plan for the community through the light of faith infused into the minds of its members.While this text was originally written for Jesuits living in community to help them to live Gods calling, the principles of Ignatian spirituality outlined here have broad application beyond such a setting today. As such it is:Rooted in history but not a history of discernmentTheological but not a doctrinal treatisePractical but not a how-to manualSpiritual but does not belong to any specific school of thought.Succinct and very readable, this book contains a collection of insights suitable for both individual and group discernment exercises.

"Insights into the qualities that should mark a good spiritual director-learned, experienced, and discerning-as demonstrated by the spiritual texts of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross"--

"A Bible study exploring the theme of meals shared in faithful fellowship and in covenant relationship with God. Old Testament meals and promises provide a foundation for gospel meals with Jesus, culminating in the Last Supper as it is understood throughout the New Testament"--

Letters from Prison, Part Two provides an in-depth investigation of Paul's letters to the Colossians and Ephesians, two letters with a great deal in common. Besides being written from prison, both letters address Gentile communities learning to live faithful Christian lives. Exploring themes such as God's eternal plan, the unity of the church, and the fullness of life in Christ, these letters offer a sweeping and still relevant vision of faith in Christ and the church as his body.

Incarcerated numerous times ';for the defense of the gospel' (Phil 1:16), Paul wrote several letters from the confines of prison. Letters from Prison, Part One explores the letters of Philippians and Philemon in four sessions, explaining the reason each letter was written and addressing various themes such as joy, unity in Christ, reconciliation, and the close relationship between Paul and his communities.

The spirituality and lives of the desert fathers and mothers are often seen as the beginning and end of Christian monastic life. Their stories and messages inspire not only the most devout Christians but also the ';nones' and the ';dones.' In Desert Dangers and Delights John Michael Talbot reflects on his experience as a spiritual father and a popularizer of Catholic Christian spirituality through his music and teaching. He uses his own stories, Scripture, and the stories and sayings of the desert fathers and mothers to show a radically alternative way of living and thinking in Christ. With questions for reflection at the end of each chapter, this book will aid all readers, from experienced monastics to those just beginning a spiritual journey with Christ.

Jesus' call to profound discipleship in the Sermon on the Mount is too often dismissed as special instructions for only the holiest and most exceptional Christians. In The Sermon on the Mount, Clifford Yeary challenges us to hear the sermon once again as Christ intended it, as our call to follow him whose life illustrated its every ideal. Yeary helps us to hear the Sermon on the Mount as a message for each of us, a challenge that is our constant call to renewal. Commentary, study and reflection questions, prayer and access to recorded lectures are included. 4 lessons.

"A Bible study of the Gospel According to Mark. Part One covers Mark 1:1-9:32, providing an in-depth study of Jesus' ministry of healing and preaching. Part Two explores Mark 9:33-16:20, including Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and the events of his passion, death, and resurrection. Commentary, study and reflection questions, prayers, and access to online lectures are included for each volume"--

"A Bible study of the Gospel According to Mark. Part One covers Mark 1:1-9:32, providing an in-depth study of Jesus' ministry of healing and preaching. Part Two explores Mark 9:33-16:20, including Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and the events of his passion, death, and resurrection. Commentary, study and reflection questions, prayers, and access to online lectures are included for each volume"--

Sacramental Participation in the Trinitarian Mystery

"Examines how the writings of the thirteenth-century nun Gertrude the Great of Helfta articulate an innovative relationship between a person's eucharistic devotion and her body"--

In "Psalms", Schaefer focuses on the structure of each psalm, its dramatic plot, modes of discourse, rhetorical features, and effective use of imagery to portray theology and the spiritual life. Schaefter portrays each poem's inner dynamic to acquaint readers with the poet and the community which prayed and preserved the composition, allowing believers to transpose in the contemporary situation.

Worship, Virtue, and Authority

A Guide to Theological Reflection

The Worlds of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

New Perspectives on John's Gospel

"Explores various concepts of Christian humility in late antiquity, looking closely at some of the ways humility has operated as a relational value in specific contexts involving ascetic women"--

In 1999 Kathy Berken left Green Bay, Wisconsin, for her new home as a live-in assistant in a LArche community in Clinton, Iowa. She found that her new home was not an ark of refuge. However, she also found that God was with her and the members of her house, shaping and guiding them. The story of her journey is told here with verve and honesty.

"An examination of how consumer culture has had a corrosive effect on the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, also assessing how sacramental worship can provide resources for responsible Christian discipleship in today's consumer culture"--

Six years into the papacy of Pope Francis, Catholics are still figuring out how to respond to his image of the church as a field hospital --a church that goes into the streets rather than remaining locked up behind closed doors. Marriage and family are primary sites of the field hospital, called to meet people's need for healing and accompaniment with compassion and love. The authors of this collection --all lay, a mix of single and married, traditional and progressive Catholics --take up this work. They offer practical wisdom from and critical engagement with the Catholic tradition but avoid rehashing decades-old theological debates. Instead, their essays engage with and respond to realities shaping contemporary family life, like religious pluralism, technology, migration, racism, sex and gender, incarceration, consumerism, and the call to holiness. The result is a collection that envisions ways that families can be places of healing and love in and for the world.List of contributors: Jennifer Beste Megan K. McCabe Elizabeth Antus Kathryn Lilla Cox Kent Lasnoski Hoon Choi Cristina L. H. Traina Craig A. Ford Jr. Bridget Burke Ravizza Julie Donovan Massey Emily Reimer-Barry Richard Gaillardetz Timothy O'Malley Sandra Sullivan-Dunbar Kathryn Getek-Solis Kari-Shane Davis Zimmerman Jana Marguerite Bennett Victor Carmona Gemma Tulud Cruz Daniel Olsen Thomas Beaudoin Christine Firer Hinze David Cloutier Marcus Mescher Sue Muldoon Timothy Muldoon Mary M. Doyle-Roche Jason King Julie Rubio

"A loose assemblage of sermons outside of the organized collections of Bernard's sermons treating themes of the life of desire, the true meaning of holiness, and the awakening of the spiritual senses in the search for God"--

"A survey of Thomas Merton's thought on fundamental aspects of monastic formation and spirituality, which also addresses some of the temptations and popular misunderstandings surrounding monastic life"--

"A collection of fifty-two feminist liturgies for justice from the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER), ready-made to help communities venerate powerful women of faith, develop a richer and deeper spirituality, and take real action for justice"--

In Ezra and Nehemiah, Davies provides that knowledge using rhetorical criticism. The purpose of rhetorical criticism is to explain not the source but the power of the text as a unitary message.

"A Bible study focusing on four major pilgrimages in Scripture-the journey of trust with Abraham and Sarah, the journey of freedom with Moses and the Hebrew people, the journey of exile and return with Israel, and the journey of discipleship with Jesus and his followers"--