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Sharing Sacred Space: Interreligious Dialogue as Spiritual Encounter
Benoit Standaert OSB and William Skudlarek OSB
If interreligious dialogue is to bear fruit—the fruit of mutual understanding, respect, and peace—it needs to be rooted in the specific spiritual space or milieu of each religious tradition. For Christians, that milieu is "Jesus space," a space shaped by faith in the paschal mysteries and nurtured by prayer, study, and love. With Jesus space as his starting point Benoît Standaert invites us to join him as he visits different religious spaces—those of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and agnostics. If we are willing to enter into and even dwell for a time in another spiritual space, we will be able to return to the space we call home, enriched by the gifts we have received and prepared to live in peace with those who dwell in a spiritual space that is very different from our own.
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Homilies for Weekdays : Solemnities, Feasts, and Memorials
Don Talafous OSB
Homilies for Weekdays: Solemnities, Feasts, and Memorials is a requested and welcome addition to the first two volumes of weekday homilies by Father Don Talafous, OSB. Here, he offers creative homily suggestions for solemnities, feasts, and obligatory memorials that fall on weekdays. Readers will deeply appreciate the faithful representation of the Scripture readings and their practical applications for Christian living.
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What Every Catholic Needs to Know about the Eucharist : A Guide for the Liturgical Assembly
Michael Kwatera OSB
The primary focus of this book, described as a "reflection on Eucharist," is on the importance of the assembly in the eucharistic liturgy. Using the catechetical method, Kwatera begins with the familiar and moves to the spiritual. In a down-to-earth and easily readable style that is crisply articulate, he discusses the meaning of liturgy and its individual parts. He emphasizes the importance of God's action in calling the assembly together as a worshipping body, not as a collection of individuals. He discusses the active particiation of the assemlby and explains why this is essential to liturgy. He reminds us throughout the book that liturgy is to make a difference in what we do when we leave the communal celebration. he answers the questions "What is the assembly?" and "What is its purpose?"
Far more than being simply a "reflection on Eucharist," this book gives us our "marching orders" for participating with understanding, for appreciating the "real presence" in its various forms, one of which is the assembly, and for understanding the Eucharist as relational. -
The Pro-life Wisdom of Fr. Paul Marx, the Apostle of Life.
Paul Marx OSB
This collection of quotes by Father Paul Marx, OSB, gathered by his friends and co-workers clearly demonstrates the prescience of Father Marx in immediately recognizing what would follow from the widespread acceptance of contraception and abortion by Western society. As early as the late 1960s he foresaw in great detail the disasters that would follow in leading to what Pope John Paul II called the Culture of Death. Not satisfied with merely watching these disasters develop, he took courageous action to the extent of going undercover to attend conferences as "Dr. Marx," where the captains and the kings of the future Culture of Death laid their plans and set their agendas. He was on the ground floor as the death culture took shape, precisely recognizing the gathering darkness for what it was. He saw the path laid out not only for widespread contraception and abortion but all the other evils that followed in the wake of the cheapening of Human Life: euthanasia, theological dissent, embryonic stem cell research, population control, and amoral "sex education," and founded Human Life International as a single clearinghouse to deal with them all on the international level. Today many of these evils require entire separate agencies to deal with them; and this too is the fuit of Father Marx's work, and indeed his legacy. This collection not only shows his insight and courage but also his unfailing joy, love, kindness, humor, and wit, which confounded his opponents and endeared him to millions. Today Human Life International carries on his work with the mission to create effective opposition to the Culture of Death around the world.
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Responsorial Psalms for Weekday Mass: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter
Anthony Ruff OSB
In Responsorial Psalms for Weekday Mass: Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter, Father Anthony Ruff, OSB, offers a simple chanted setting and makes it possible for the responsorial psalm to be sung at every daily Mass during the seasons of the liturgical year. These responsorial psalms were conceived for unaccompanied singing led by a single cantor, but keyboard accompaniments and guitar chords are provided for those who desire it.
The melodic settings use the eight Gregorian chant modes, as found in the psalm tones of Saint Meinrad Archabbey. Type melodies, one for each mode, are employed repeatedly for varying antiphon texts, making it easier for cantor and congregation to pick up the antiphon melodies. The psalm verses are provided in two translations, the New American Bible translation of the United States Lectionary for Mass and the Grail translation, as revised in 1983 for inclusive human language. This unique collection of psalm music allows us to celebrate the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter more fully.
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Demythologizing Celibacy : Practical Wisdom from Christian and Buddhist Monasticism
William Skudlarek OSB
When St. Benedict compiled his Rule for Monasteries in the early decades of the sixth century, the Buddhist monastic code had already been in existence for about nine hundred years. Since monastic life is shaped by spiritual practices that are very similar across different religious traditions, it should not be too much of a stretch to suggest that Christians can learn from the accumulated wisdom of Buddhist monasticism.
For Buddhists, celibacy, accompanied by skillful reflection on their personal reactions to it, is a means of letting go of attachment to sensory pleasure. Buddhist monks do not marry; they strive to relinquish the desire for sexual pleasure because this form of gratification obstructs the "one-pointed stillness" that leads to insight.
For Christians, celibacy-like marriage-is ultimately about love: responding to God's love for us and expressing selfless love for others. In light of the Christian understanding of marriage as an authentic-indeed, the ordinary-path to holiness, Skudlarek proposes a demythologized view of celibacy, presenting it as an alternate and equally valid spiritual practice for those who choose not to accept the demands of a committed sexual relationship.
Drawing on the monastic interreligious dialogue, Skudlarek considers the Buddhist view of celibacy, which is not mythologized as a response to a divine call or as a superhuman way of life. He examines their regard for it as simply-and profoundly-a path to freedom, peace, and happiness. As Christians become aware of the benefits of celibacy for monks who observe it without reference to the Gospel, they may be able to appreciate all the more its importance and value for those who wish to followChrist as celibates, and in this way come to share in the freedom of the children of God.
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Painting the Pilgrimage: From Paris to Compostela
Jerome Tupa OSB
"Published on the occasion of the exhibition Painting the Pilgrimage: From Paris to Compostela, January 29 through May 18, 2008. Organized by the Naples Museum of Art"--T.p. verso.
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Spirit and Reason: The Embodied Character of Ezekiel's Symbolic Thinking
Dale Launderville OSB
By comparing and contrasting the pictures gained from Greek and Mesopotamian cities with Ezekiel's Jerusalem, Launderville masterfully shows how Ezekiel fosters a type of symbolic thinking focused on making the Israelites into living symbols of God. The Spirit is the reality that connects humans with the cosmic order and enables the workings of the human heart—the place within which reason functions, according to ancient Israelite anthropology. Ezekiel's symbolic thinking is an integrative rationality in which reason is regarded as operating within the heart through the empowerment and guidance of the Spirit.
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An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies
Aaron Raverty OSB, Orlando Espin, and James Nickoloff
Students enrolled in undergraduate theology and religious studies courses are frequently confronted with the daunting task of mastering new and unfamiliar terminology. While some textbooks include glossaries to aid the introductory student, many educators assign classroom texts that assume students' prior knowledge of key terms. Having ready access to a wide variety of definitions in a single, compact volume is especially important in our multicultural and religiously plural world. Spanning the gamut from "Aaron" to "Zwingli," this dictionary includes nearly 3,000 entries written by about sixty authors, all of whom are specialists in their various theological and religious disciplines. The editors have designed the dictionary especially to aid the introductory-level student with instant access to definitions of terms likely to be encountered in--but not to substitute for--classroom presentations or reading assignments. Designed as a supplement for student coursework, An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies is also a useful resource for catechesis or religious education, for those pursuing interfaith or interreligious dialogue, and for those whose duties require communication with persons from diverse religious traditions.
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To Thank and Bless : Prayers at Meals
Dietrich Reinhart OSB and Michael Kwatera OSB
When families gather for meals, they are nourished with more than the food placed before them. Mealtime is a time to be nourished with the companionship of people as well. Both the food we share and the people with whom we share it are gifts from God. So it is fitting that we pause at mealtime to offer thanks and praise to God. This collection of prayers echoes the Scripture-yet another source of God's sustenance-of the church year. From Advent to Ordinary Time, from the Solemnity of St. Joseph to the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, families will be reminded of the link between the dining room table and the eucharistic table.
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Sacred Music and Liturgical Reform: Treasures and Transformations
Anthony Ruff OSB
Sacred Music and Liturgical Reform is a high-level study of liturgical music in the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Anthony Ruff, a preeminent scholar of liturgical music, proposes a hermeneutic for understanding the Second Vatican Council's teachings on worship music: a balanced 'inconsistency' rather than absolutist and rationalistic coherence. Ruff's focus in this study is on preservation and renewal, arising from the Council's decrees mandating, on the one hand, the preservation of the inherited treasury of sacred music (the thesaurus musicae sacrae), and, on the other hand, the adaptation and expansion of this treasury to meet the changed requirements of the reformed liturgy. Sacred Music and Liturgical Reform, with an extensive index essential for any student of liturgical music, also explores controversies surrounding liturgical music and provides a historical context for the musical changes in the Church. Drawing on the musical and liturgical history that led up to and informed the statements of the Council, Ruff offers a centrist interpretation of Vatican II's teachings on worship music and in the process seeks to reclaim and redefine the 'center.' This is an essential text for all professors and students of liturgical music, as well as music directors.Anthony Ruff, OSB, is a member of the Music Subcommittee of the Bishop's Committee on Liturgy and has numerous articles published in Antiphon, The Hymn, and Pastoral Music, among others. Father Ruff is currently an assistant professor of theology and liturgical music at St. John's University.
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God's Gift Giving : In Christ and through the Spirit
R. Kevin Seasoltz OSB
Beginning with the notion of gift giving, this book serves as a mediation on the central mysteries of the Christian faith - the trinity, redemption, the eucharist, human participation in the divine life and solidarity with one another - in a contemporary idiom
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Soldier, Artist, Monk
Placid Stuckenschneider OSB
Soldier, Artist, Monk is a collection by Brother Placid Stuckenschneider OSB of his thoughts and memories that covers over fifty years. He grew up in Montana, but soon found himself on board a US Troop Ship leaving San Francisco harbor. Pacific Stars and Stripes was the first publication to publish drawings by "Stucky" when he was serving at the end of World War II in the Philippines and Japan.After a brief sojourn at Layton School of Art, Milwaukee, Stuckenschneider entered the Benedictine monastery of Saint John's Abbey in Minnesota to try his vocation. For many years his work enhanced publications of Liturgical Press. Throughout his life as a monk he sought to balance the three primary elements of Benedictine monastic life: Work, Reading and Prayer. Brother Placid died at Collegeville on Saturday, 24 February 2007, less than a month after receiving the first copy of Soldier, Artist, Monk.
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Come to the Feast : Liturgical Theology of, by and for Everybody
Michael Kwatera OSB
Come to the Feast is a collection of articles on the purpose and "theology" of liturgical ministry. It reflects articles and talks that Father Kwatera has prepared over the last two decades. It is not a "how-to" for specific liturgical ministries; rather, it is meant to be a kind of catechesis on the "why" of liturgical ministry.
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Preparing the General Intercessions
Michael Kwatera OSB
Preparing the General Intercessions is not a collection of ready- to-pray intercessions but rather a guide for preparing them from scratch and samples to assist the writers.
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Yahweh's Other Shoe
Kilian McDonnell OSB
Only eternal life is worthy of the name, writes Kilian McDonnell, O.S.B., in an elegy for a brother monk, and in his poetry one feels the working out of this life that begins with Adam and proceeds beyond our own span of time on earth. These poems breathe human air, but are always conscious of the larger picture of life in Christ.
I wrestle with God 'flesh to flesh, sweat to mystery,' and I limp away. This is how Father McDonnell describes his poetic project, and in these poems the reader attends a wrestling match of the highest order. He takes on the great themes of poetry: desire, mortality, love and age, brotherhood and God. Beginning with the figures of the Old and New Testament, he is aware of the human fallings, failings, and laughter in the stories as of what they say about God with us. Engaging with the events of our day, the great physical world around us, the intricate world of human relationships, and the spiritual journey of a monk, the poems continuously reveal what it means to be human. -
Lord of the Cosmos: Mithras, Paul and the Gospel of Mark
Michael Patella OSB
In Lord of the Cosmos, Patella demonstrates the ways in which the Roman Imperial religion imbues Paul's letter and subsequently Mark's Gospel. Mark resonated in the imperial capital and beyond because of its inherent participationist theology, a theology probably augmented by Paul and possibly introduced by him. In his own writings, Paul draws from Mithraic vocabulary and symbolism. Mithraism itself functions within the cosmic framework outlined in Plato's Timaeus. Pauline theology, with its Mithraic overtones, coheres with the Markan theme of Christ's cosmic victory over Satan; Paul and Mark share a similar view of Christ's salvific act. With the Bartimaeus pericope (10:46-52), the Markan Gospel demonstrates that believers, by their call to discipleship, participate in that victory. This whole process is signaled by the baptism with its divine communication and actions of descent and ascent, a strong Pauline concept. Patella shows that the Markan presentation of Jesus' death, the climax of the narrative, brings the act of divine communication full circle. At the baptism, God communicates to creation, and with Jesus' cry from the cross, creation replies in despair. Jesus' death is not the end of the story, however. The women at the tomb realize this fact and are awestruck at its significance, which is the reason that they do not tell anyone what they have witnessed. The notice to meet Jesus in Galilee is an affirmation of the resurrection. By moving from the area of the dead, that is the tomb, to the land of the living, Galilee, Mark echoes the cosmic theology in Paul, which moves from life to death, and back to eternal life.
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Homilies for Weekdays: Year 1
Don Talafous OSB
Looking for homily suggestions that faithfully represent the Scripture readings and offer hearers of the text practical applications for Christian life? Homilies for Weekdays, the final of two volumes by Father Don Talafous, O.S.B., contains creative suggestions of what a homilist might say about the daily readings following the Lectionary cycle.
This extensive compilation for each day is a result of Father Talafous’ many years of experience in preparing homilies. Written on both a popular and pastoral level, these homily ideas may also serve as daily reflections or meditations on the Scriptural texts for readers interested in nourishing their Christian lives with Scripture.
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Saint John's at 150: A Portrait of this Place Called Collegeville, 1856-2006
Hilary Thimmesh OSB
"Here, in words and images, is the story of this Benedictine academic and spiritual community. Saint John's at 150 has a foreword by Abbot John Klassen, an afterword by President Dietrich Reinhart, and an introduction by Minnesota historian Annette Atkins, who provides a quick survey of what was going on in the rest of the state and the nation as background for the Saint John's story. Then twelve chapters by various authors - some in the monastery, some on the faculty, some from the rest of the world - present personal essays on topics in Saint John's first 150 years, everything from the missionary lifestyle of the first monks to cameo images of some current college profs in the classroom. Sidebars and special features add thirty more writers to the mix for short pieces that are interesting because of the authors as well as the topics."--BOOK JACKET
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Listening to the Silence: The Seasons of Grief
Jim Blommer and Placid Stuckenschneider OSB
"Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.... An inspirational book for those grieving the loss of a loved one. Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest.... Seeking God's comfort while grieving? This book is for your inspiration"--P. [4] of cover.
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Psalmody and Prayer in the Writings of Evagrius Ponticus
Luke Dysinger OSB
Evagrius Ponticus was the most prolific writer of the Christian Desert Fathers. This book is a study of his life, works, and theology. It gives particular attention to his little-studied exegetical treatises, especially the Scholia on Psalms, as well as his better-known works, in order to present a more balanced picture of Evagrius the monk.
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The Gospel According to Luke
Michael Patella OSB
Luke continues to challenge our lives. Focusing on Jesus and his earthly ministry among the early church, Michael, F. Patella, OSB, opens the Gospel of Luke to the 21st-century reader.
Patella presents literary, textual, and historical criticism in a readable manner to give readers a solid background for the Lukan Gospel. A brief introduction informs reader of Luke's literary technique, Luke as an evangelist, and other historical data.
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A Sense of the Sacred : Theological Foundations of Sacred Architecture and Art
R. Kevin Seasoltz OSB
There have been many histories of Christian art and architecture, and many that have paid attention to the various cultural, social, and economic contexts in which the architecture and art appeared. Most of these accounts have been written by art historians. Kevin Seasoltz writes as a theologian, whose aim is to relate theological and liturgical developments throughout the course of Christian history to developments in sacred architecture and art. Believing that sacred buildings and artifacts have often been more constitutive of theological developments that constitutive of them, Seasoltz wants to help people discover architecture and art as theological loci—places of revelation.
Following a chapter on culture as the context for theology, liturgy, and art, Seasoltz surveys developments from the early church up through the conventional artistic styles and periods. He pays particular attention to the conflicts that emerged between religion and art since the Enlightenment and to the significant advances made since the middle of the twentieth century to reconciling a wide range of competent architects, artists, and craft persons to the ministry of the Protestant, Anglican, and Catholic churches. Comprehensive, illuminating, ecumenical.
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Homilies for Weekdays: Year 2
Don Talafous OSB
Looking for homily suggestions that faithfully represent the Scripture readings and offer hearers of the text practical applications for Christian life? Homilies for Weekdays, the first of two volumes by Father Don Talafous, O.S.B., contains creative suggestions of what a homilist might say about the daily readings for the two-year Lectionary cycle.
This extensive compilation for each day is a result of Father Talafous' many years of experience in preparing homilies. Written on both a popular and pastoral level, these homily ideas may also serve as daily reflections or meditations on the Scriptural texts for readers interested in nourishing their Christian lives with Scripture.
