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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Christianity > Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church > General
This book presents the history and theology of a remarkable body of
Christians, formed as a result of the revival of interest in the
prophetic Scriptures stimulated by the events of the French
Revolution. Here we have an example of a charismatic renewal within
the mainstream Churches, which was rejected by them, and which
hence led to a worldwide body, governed by "restored apostles," and
with its own structure, liturgy, doctrine, and hierarchy of
ministers. It was a movement directed towards the reunion of the
Churches, uncompromising in its adherence to Scripture, its
typological interpretation of the Old Testament, and in its longing
for the Parousia. It sought to bring together all that was best in
the various Christian traditions. Eastern as well as Western, in
preparation for the return of the Church's Bridegroom in glory. The
strong ecumenical purpose of this body; its approach to the
reunification of Churches and clergy; the breadth and beauty of its
liturgy; its resolution of internal tensions between the
charismatic and established hierarchical ministries; and its
emphasis on eschatology: all these are of particular relevance to
Christians today.
In 2012 Dr. Marina Marin Pradel, an archivist at the Bayerische
Stattsbibliotek in Munich, discovered that a thick 12th-century
Byzantine manuscript, Codex Monacensis Graecus 314, contained
twenty-nine of Origen's Homilies on the Psalms, hitherto considered
lost. Lorenzo Perrone of the University of Bologna, an
internationally respected scholar of Origen, vouched for the
identification and immediately began work on the scholarly edition
that appeared in 2015 as the thirteenth volume of Origen's works in
the distinguished Griechische Christlichen Schrifsteller series. In
an introductory essay Perrone provided proof that the homilies are
genuine and demonstrated that they are, astonishingly, his last
known work. Live transcripts, these collection homilies constitute
our largest collection of actual Christian preaching from the
pre-Constantinian period. In these homilies, the final expression
of his mature thought, Origen displays, more fully than elsewhere,
his understanding of the church and of deification as the goal of
Christian life. They also give precious insights into his
understanding of the incarnation and of human nature. They are the
earliest example of early Christian interpretation of the Psalms,
works at the heart of Christian spirituality. Historians of
biblical interpretation will find in them the largest body of Old
Testament interpretation surviving in his own words, not filtered
through ancient translations into Latin that often failed to convey
his intense philological acumen. Among other things, they give us
new insights into the life of a third-century Greco-Roman
metropolis, into Christian/Jewish relations, and into Christian
worship. This translation, using the GCS as its basis, seeks to
convey, as faithfully as possible, Origen's own categories of
thought. An introduction and notes relate the homilies to the
theology and principles of interpretation in Origen's larger work
and to that work's intellectual context and legacy.
This lively narrative, written by a monk, relates the history of the abbey of Saffron Walden from its foundation around 1136 to the year 1203. Its characters include the English kings, the earls of Essex, and other local landowners, large and small, as well as the monks and other ecclesiastics. Its interest extends far beyond the local: the editors' introduction and notes establish the chronicle's position as a valuable historical source.
Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, written by Paul from prison
in the middle of the first century, were addressed to specific
Christian communities facing concrete challenges. What did these
letters mean at the time, and what do they mean for us today?
In this addition to the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture,
seasoned New Testament scholar Dennis Hamm explores the
significance of these letters and their enduring relevance to the
life and mission of the church. Based on solid scholarship yet
readily accessible, the book is enriched with pastoral reflections
and applications and includes sidebars on the living tradition and
biblical background.
Catholic political identity and engagement defy categorization. The
complexities of political realities and the human nature of such
institutions as church and government often produce a more
fractured reality than the pure unity depicted in doctrine. Yet, in
2003 under the leadership of then-prefect Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
(now Pope Benedict XVI), the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith issued a "Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the
Participation of Catholics in Political Life". The note explicitly
asserts, "The Christian faith is an integral unity, and thus it is
incoherent to isolate some particular element to the detriment of
the whole of Catholic doctrine. A political commitment to a single
isolated aspect of the Church's social doctrine does not exhaust
one's responsibility toward the common good". "Catholics and
Politics" takes up the political and theological significance of
this "integral unity", the universal scope of Catholic concern that
can make for strange political bedfellows, confound predictable
voting patterns, and leave the church poised to critique narrowly
partisan agendas across the spectrum. "Catholics and Politics"
depicts the ambivalent character of Catholics' mainstream "arrival"
in the U.S. over the past forty years, integrating social
scientific, historical and moral accounts of persistent tensions
between faith and power. Divided into four parts - Catholic Leaders
in U.S. Politics; The Catholic Public; Catholics and the Federal
Government; and, International Policy and the Vatican - it
describes the implications of Catholic universalism for voting
patterns, international policymaking, and partisan alliances. The
book reveals complex intersections of Catholicism and politics and
the new opportunities for influence and risks of cooptation of
political power produced by these shifts. Contributors include
political scientists, ethicists, and theologians. The book will be
of interest to scholars in political science, religious studies,
and Christian ethics and all lay Catholics interested in gaining a
deeper understanding of the tensions that can exist between church
doctrine and partisan politics.
Karl Rahner SJ, (1904-1984) was a seminal figure in twentieth-century Roman Catholic theology, and believed that the most significant influence on his work was Ignatius Loyola's Spiritual Exercises. This book casts significant new light on Rahner's achievement by exploring that influence. It brings out the links between Rahner's theological creativity and the twentieth-century rediscovery of Ignatian spirituality led by his brother Hugo, and throws new light on the relationships in Rahner's thought between grace, christology, and ecclesiology. The study also offers a fresh and contemporary theological interpretation of Ignatian retreat-giving, illuminating the new departures this ministry has taken in the last thirty years, as well as contributing to the lively current debate regarding the relationships between spirituality and speculative theology.
Each year on Good Friday, Christian congregations all over the
world walk the Stations of the Cross, a commemoration of Jesus'
walk to Calvary. In "Walking the Way of Sorrows," artist Noyes
Capehart and writer/journalist Katerina Whitley provide a fresh
resource for congregations and individuals who want to explore the
meaning of these Stations more deeply. Capehart's stark and
powerful block cuts of the fourteen Stations are accompanied by
monologues from the point of view of someone at each station. These
monologues, along with biblical references and a brief liturgy, are
excellent for individual devotion, but can also be used by groups
who walk the Stations together.
This collaboration between a priest-sociologist and a
journalist-author trained in sociology is a natural history of the
Roman Catholic Church in America. The view of American Catholicism
is all-inclusive--"from classroom to church pew, from dinner table
to ballot box, from civil rights picket line to chancery office."
Thomas Aquinas's interpretation of Aristotle has formed the backbone of Catholic theology and teaching to this day. This book is an original new study of Aquinas's ideas in two key areas of ethical thought: the will and human action, with important new insights on a range of theological topics as well - including love, sin, and the moral virtues.
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