"Pardo's study provides a persuasive criticism of the widespread assumption that the process of Christianization in Mexico can be conceived as the imposition of a complete and fool-proof system that did not accept doubts or compromises. "The Origins of Mexican Catholicism" will become an invaluable tool for future researchers and enrich future debates on the subject."
---Fernando Cervantes, Bristol University, UK
"Pardo does an excellent job of balancing and contrasting sixteenth-century Catholic theology with Nahua thought and belief."
---John F. Schwaller, University of Minnesota

At first glance, religious conversion may appear to be only a one-way street. When studying sixteenth-century Mexico, one might assume that colonial coercion was the driving force behind the religious conversion of the native population. But "The Origins of Mexican Catholicism" shows how Spanish missionaries instead drew on existing native ceremonies in order to make Christianity more accessible to the Nahua population whom they were trying to convert.
Osvaldo F. Pardo explains that religious figures not only shaped native thought, but that indigenous rituals had an impact on the religion itself. This work illustrates the complex negotiations that took place in the process of making the Christian sacraments available to the native peoples, and at the same time, forced the missionaries to reexamine the meaning of their sacraments through the eyes of an alien culture.
For Spanish missionaries, ritual not only became a focus of evangelical concern but also opened a window to the social world of the Nahuas. Missionaries were able to delve into the Nahua's notions of self, emotions, andsocial and cosmic order. By better understanding the sociological aspects of Nahua culture, Christians learned ways to adequately convey their religion through mutual understanding instead of merely colonial oppression.
Given its interdisciplinary approach, this book will be of interest to specialists in Latin American intellectual and literary history, the history of religion, and anthropology, and to anyone interested in cross-cultural processes.

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.

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.

One of the most urgent questions facing the Catholic Church is how best to celebrate its sacraments. But the problem facing priests and liturgy planners is how, realistically, to bring new life to celebrations for the modern era. This volume faces the problem in relation to vocation and healing.