Theology & Catholic Studies: Books

"In The Meal That Reconnects, Dr. Mary McGann, RSCJ, invites readers to a more profound appreciation of the sacredness of eating, the planetary interdependence that food and the sharing of food entails, and the destructiveness of the industrial food system that is supplying food to tables globally."

"In these chapters Cavanaugh cautions readers to be wary of a rigid separation of religion and politics that boxes in the church and sends citizens instead to the state for hope, comfort, and salvation as they navigate the risks and pains of mortal life. When nationality becomes the primary source of identity and belonging, he warns, the state becomes the god and idol of its own religion, the language of nationalism becomes a liturgy, and devotees willingly sacrifice their lives to serve and defend their country."

"Presented here is an ethical framework for the "culture of encounter" that Pope Francis calls us to build. The book serves as a creative and constructive proposal for what it would take to build such a culture in an American context marked by rising individualism, racial tensions, class segregation, hyperpartisanship, and online echo chambers."

In May 2003, more than five hundred people gathered in Kansas City, Missouri, to hear six outstanding contemporary theologians explore the history of the Church and the challenges and hope which that history has for the Church today and tomorrow. This remarkable collection enables everyone to see, hear, or read these extraordinary theologians as they explore what The Church in the Twenty-First Century can learn from the Church of the past.

With the help of fourteen saints, it's time we reclaim Catholic social teaching and rediscover it through the lives of those who best lived it out. Follow in the saints' footsteps, learn from their example, and become the spark of authentic social justice that sets the world on fire.

Thirty-one stories in all, including twelve that do not appear in the only two story collections O'Connor put together in her short lifetime, this extraordinary volume firmly established Flannery O'Connor's monumental contribution to American fiction. These stories reveal a lively, penetrating talent that has given us some of the most powerful and disturbing fiction of the twentieth century.

In this new translation the brilliant and impassioned descriptions of Augustine's colourful early life are conveyed to the English reader with accuracy and art. Augustine tells of his wrestlings to master his sexual drive, his rare ascent from a humble Algerian farm to the edge of the corridors of high power at the imperial court of Milan, and his renunciation of secular ambition and marriage as he recovered the faith that his mother had taught him. It was in a Milan garden that Augustine finally achieved the act of will to Christian conversion, which he compared to a lazy man in bed finally deciding it is time to get up and face the day.

Indigenous and non-Indigenous voices, scholars and pastoral leaders, come together in this volume to discuss both the wounds of colonial history and the opportunities for decolonization, reconciliation, and hope in the relationship between the church and Indigenous peoples across the Americas.

Inspired by the teachings of Pope Francis, Salzman and Lawler provide the first extended critical commentary on the 2018 Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERD), proposing new ways forward for US Catholic health care ethics that prioritize human dignity as their guiding principle.

The Vision of Catholic Social Thought traces the emergence of solidarity and human rights as critical theological and philosophical pillars of the anthropology and ethics foundational to the development of Catholic social teaching. Meghan J. Clark argues that the integration of human rights and the virtue of solidarity at the root of the Catholic social tradition are the unique contributions Catholic thought makes to contemporary debates in ethics, political, and philosophical theory.

Contributions delve into the interlocking fields of history, spirituality, liturgy, and biography. Through their contributions, Black Catholic Studies scholars engage theologies of liberation and the reality of racism, the Black struggle for recognition within the Church, and the distinctiveness of African-inspired spirituality, prayer, and worship.

Creating Spaces for Women in the Catholic Church presents the struggle of theologically educated lay women with the Catholic Church. The author, a Catholic sister, shares the same struggle but enjoys an incredible network of communal, ministerial, financial, and spiritual support that helps her negotiate the painful experiences in the Church.

"A treasure...a wise and entertaining book that should appeal to the spiritual pilgrim in all of us, no matter what the faith and no matter whether believer or nonbeliever." - Chicago Tribune The New York Times bestselling author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything and Jesus: A Pilgrimage turns his attention to the relationship between LGBT Catholics and the Church in this loving, inclusive, and revolutionary book. A powerful call for tolerance, acceptance, and support--and a reminder of Jesus' message for us to love one another. In this moving and inspiring book, Martin offers a powerful, loving, and much-needed voice in a time marked by anger, prejudice, and divisiveness. On the day after the Orlando nightclub shooting, James Martin S.J. posted a video on Facebook in which he called for solidarity with our LGBT brothers and sisters. "The largest mass shooting in US history took place at a gay club and the LGBT community has been profoundly affected," he began. He then implored his fellow Catholics--and people everywhere--to "stand not only with the people of Orlando but also with their LGBT brothers and sisters." Father Martin's post went viral and was viewed more than 1.6 million times. Adapted from an address he gave to New Ways Ministry, a group that ministers to and advocates for LGBT Catholics, Building a Bridge provides a roadmap for repairing and strengthening the bonds that unite all of us as God's children. Martin uses the image of a two-way bridge to enable LGBT Catholics and the Church to come together in a call to end the "us" versus "them" mentality. Turning to the Catechism, he draws on the three criteria at the heart of the Christian ministry--"respect, compassion, and sensitivity"--as a model for how the Catholic Church should relate to the LGBT community. WINNER OF THE LIVING NOW BOOK AWARD IN SOCIAL ACTIVISM/CHARITY.

In The Word, acclaimed Bible scholar John Barton explores how saints and scholars have negotiated the profound challenges of translating the Bible while remaining faithful to the original. In addition to considering questions of literal versus free translation, literary style, inclusive language, and more, Barton draws out scriptural translation's role at critical junctures in religious history. Far from a mere academic exercise, biblical translation has shaped how we answer faith's most enduring questions about the nature of God, the existence of the soul, and the possibility of salvation.