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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Christianity > Christian life & practice > Christian sacraments
Deeply rooted in the traditions of the church, Charles Taylor
brings both the resources of faith and the skills of contemporary
psychology to bear in the crucial arena of premarital guidance.
Taylor also provides helpful guidelines for churches in
establishing congregational policies for both premarital counseling
and the design of the wedding service itself. An ideal resource for
clergy, premarital counselors, and congregational wedding
committees, Premarital Guidance provides the theological and
practical knowledge and skills necessary for guiding those seeking
marriage in the church.
Is there a secret to a successful marriage? Derek Prince believed
so, and that this secret is found in the pages of the Bible. Prince
discusses the "mystery" of marriage as God established it at
creation, and as Jesus restored it through the New Covenant. His
exposition combines the profound and the simple in a way that
brings God's highest within the reach of every sincere seeker. He
goes on to show how the basic principles also make true spiritual
union possible between each believer and God, and between fellow
believers.
When it comes to baptism there is a profound disconnect between
what churches and clergy understand it to mean and the
understanding of those non-churchgoing families seeking the rite
for their children. Clergy and regular churchgoers feel that the
church is being used and abused by families seeking a baptism, when
they perceive them to be looking for 'just an excuse for a party'.
On the other hand, families seeking a christening in their local
churches are baffled by the lack of enthusiasm and encouragement
they find when they approach their local church. Using a new
interdisciplinary approach to practical theology, A Rite on the
Edge reflects theologically on the findings of research conducted
by Sarah Lawrence into baptism in the Church of England and in
English culture more widely, using insights and research methods
from corpus linguistics. It offers a profound challenge for those
struggling to comprehend how 'outsiders' understand baptism. More
fundamentally, it asks how the Church of England can remain
'present and available for all' at a time of heightened tensions
and confused expectations about who the church is 'for'.
2021 Catholic Media Association Award first place award in Catholic
Social Teaching 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. She presents the
food crisis as a spiritual crisis-a call to rediscover the
theological, ecological, and spiritual significance of eating and
to probe its challenge to Christian eucharistic practice. Drawing
on the origins of Eucharist in Jesus's meal fellowship and the
worship of early Christians, McGann invites communities to reclaim
the foundational meal character of eucharistic celebration while
offering pertinent strategies for this renewal.
In the late sixteenth century, after the Council of Trent and the
Catholic Reformation, the confessional became a key means to
improve morals and religious life - and, for the Catholic clergy of
New Spain, a new avenue through which they might reach the
consciences of Spaniards and improve their treatment of indigenous
peoples. To this end, the bishops of the province of Mexico drafted
a directorio in 1585 to guide the priesthood in fulfilling its duty
according to current ecclesiastical ideals and social realities.
That document, published here in English for the first time, offers
an unrivaled view of the religious, social, and economic history of
colonial Mexico. Though never widely circulated, the Directorio
para confesores (Directory for Confessors) contains an encyclopedic
description of life in Mexico three generations after the European
invasion. In addition to summarizing sixteenth-century Spanish
concerns in the provinces, the Directory offers insight into the
Catholic Church's moral judgments on many aspects of colonial life.
Translated by distinguished scholar Stafford Poole, the document
embodies a remarkable knowledge of scripture and law and reflects
the concerns of the Spanish crown and what was happening in New
Spain. The Directory instructs its clergy audience in the proper
methods to combat superstition among the Spaniards, helps them
navigate the variety of business contracts used in Creole society
at the time, and details the obligations of those in various social
stations, from viceroys to tavern keepers. It also condemns the
forced labor of native people under the repartimiento system,
especially in the mines. Rendered in clear prose and illuminated
with helpful introductory chapters by Poole and John F. Schwaller,
extensive annotations, and a glossary of terms, this volume offers
unparalleled insights into life and thought in sixteenth-century
New Spain.
The discovery by Charles Darwin of natural selection as the
principal mechanism of biological evolution sharpened the classical
theological issue of suffering in the natural world. Darwin's
discovery revealed predation and starvation to be the engine of
biological development. Theological responses to evolution within
the Christian tradition have typically failed to come to terms with
these features of biological evolution, focusing instead on
romantic notions of nature or assumptions about the benefits of
progress. As a result, many doctrines of creation have operated
with a limited understanding of the created world that is their
subject. As Joel C. Daniels shows, however, this shortcoming can be
remedied by utilizing the ancient resources of dramatic tragedy in
a theological vein. By drawing together a theological
interpretation of tragedy and a scientifically accurate
understanding of nature, a realist doctrine of creation can achieve
a high degree of realism with regards to suffering, respecting the
unique characteristics of individual experiences while situating
them in a theologically meaningful frame of reference. The
theological category of tragedy does not solve the problem of
natural evil. However, it has the double virtue of attending
closely to the specifics of the natural world and maintaining a
principled tension between experiences of suffering and Christian
claims about the possibility of redemption. This book thus makes a
unique contribution to Christian theology by drawing on multiple
disciplines to address this issue of existential importance.
The bestselling Benedictine Fr Anselm Grun applied his extenisve
counselling experience, great fund of common sense, biblical
insight and analytical training to the seven sacraments recognised
by the Catholic Church: Baptism, Eucharist (or Communion),
Confirmation, Reconciliation (Penance or Confession), Marriage,
Ordination and Anointing of the Sick. Each sacrament's meaning is
examined, as well its history, its form - past and present - and
its impact on the life of those who receive it and those who
administer it. Grun also suggests how the sacraments could be made
more relevant to Christians living in the twenty-first century.
Everyone can benefit from reading this book: those about to receive
any one of the sacraments will gain insight and inspiration;
teachers, parish priests, and pastoral workers will find their work
enriched and made easier; and both married and celibate will
discover elements to celebrate in their own and in others' way of
life. As alwasys, Grun combines flashes of radicalism with deep
understanding of Catholic tradtion. His is a unique voice, and here
he reclaims a vital subject from widespread ignorance and
neglect.Anselm Grun is cellarer (administrator) of the Benedictine
abbey of Munsterschwarzach in southern Germany. He became a
Benedictine in 1964 and directs residential courses in meditation
techniques, interpretation of dreams, fasting and contemplation. He
is a prolific author whose books have achieved huge sales in many
languages. Works available in English include Angels of Grace, The
Spirit of Self Esteem, Images of Jesus and the forthcoming Jesus:
the Image of Humanity (all from Continuum).
Baptismal fonts were necessary to the liturgical life of the
medieval Christian. Baptism marked the entrance of the faithful
into the right relation, with the Catholic Church representing the
main cultural institution of medieval society. In the period
between ca. 1050 and ca. 1220, the decoration of the font often had
an important function: to underscore the theology of baptism in the
context of the sacraments of the Catholic Church. This period
witnessed a surge of concern about sacraments. Just as religious
thinkers attempted to delineate the sacraments and define their
function in sermons and Sentence collections, sculptural programs
visualized the teaching of orthodox ideas for the lay audience.
This book looks at three areas of primary concern around baptism as
a sacrament - incarnation, initiation, and the practice of baptism
within the institution of the Church - and the images that embody
that religious discussion. Baptismal fonts have been recognized as
part of the stylistic production of the Romanesque period, and
their iconography has been generally explored as moral and
didactic. Here, the message of these fonts is set within a very
specific history of medieval Catholic sacramental theology,
connecting erudite thinkers and lay users through their decoration
and use.
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