That lay women and men increasingly serve as leaders of institutional ministries in the Church is nothing new. Yet, until now, these lay leaders have longed for theological resources and formational training to help them in their vocation and ministry. Called and Chosen: Toward a Spirituality for Lay Leaders is designed especially for women and men who, in collaboration with vowed religious and the ordained, shepherd Church ministries and touch the lives of countless people. Written by leading authorities in biblical studies, theology, spirituality, church history, and ecclesial leadership, the book is broken into four parts: Part one invites lay leaders to claim their own call and commitment by reflecting on the Catholic vision of spirituality, vocation, mission and ministry, and the experiences of other leaders. Part two grounds their work in the larger story of our institutional ministries by examining their biblical, theological, and historical roots. Part three probes the work of the Spirit in communities and institutions, against the backdrop of contemporary cultural realities, to help leaders develop the capacity to discern the Spirit's workings. Part four focuses on issues central to the role of a spiritual leader: the spirituality of administration, the task of building community, the use of power and authority and work of forming and mentoring others. Questions at the end of each chapter invite further reflection on the themes explored.

2020 Association of Catholic Publishers first place award, resources for liturgy 2020 Catholic Press Association first place award, liturgy soft cover Spirituality is a motion, a responsive movement of heart, mind, and spirit to the life of God moving within us. Starting from his Roman Catholic roots but working ecumenically, Bob Hurd explores this notion of spirituality in two parts. Part 1 places it in the theological framework of Creation-Grace-Incarnation, concluding that its specific form is participation in Christ's self-emptying love of God, humankind, and creation. Part 2 investigates this kenotic spirituality liturgically, exploring how it comes to expression in the ritual stages of Gathering, Word, Eucharistic Prayer, Communion, and Sending. Comparing and contrasting each stage with corresponding patterns in various Protestant traditions, Hurd lays out the possibility of a spirituality common to Christians of various confessions.

This groundbreaking book is distinctive for the explicit attention it gives to the communal, intersubjective, cultural, and linguistic embodiment of the workings of God in the world. It emphasizes not simply acting justly but living with, in, and from the justice of the triune God by which we are justified. Finally, it offers an important sacramental and liturgical grounding to the Christian understanding of both justice and the triune God. David N. Power and Michael Downey make clear to contemporary believers why a spiritual and sacramental life that is ordered by its trinitarian orientation must include the desire for justice. In short, it is an ethic of social justice that springs from contemplation of the Divine Trinity in the world.

Unique in the Church, the Camaldolese life is ordered to a three-fold good: solitude, community, and witness. Men and women as hermits live by a monastic rule, committed to both solitude and community life. The discipline of solitude combined with the second good, the rigors of community living are intended to widen the heart in service of the third good: bearing witness to the abundance of God's love as the self, others, and every living creature are brought into fuller communion in the one Love. The essays in The Privilege of Love convey the richness and the depth of the Camaldolese Benedictine spirit. Their diversity of expression is itself a manifestation of the magnitude of God's bonding Love. This bonding is the Spirit's own gift, weaving together the many voices found in these pages - voices of women and men, of monk, hermit, and layperson. The voices speak of historical roots, of the riches found in solitude and the grit of community life, of the psychological strength required in any pursuit of God, of the vulnerability of the human heart which is the home for wisdom's Word, and of the privilege of being in love with Love itself. Essays and contributors underPart One: A Vision in Context are Overview of Camaldolese History and Spirituality," by Peter-Damian Belisle, OSB Cam. Essays and contributors under Part Two: Sustaining the Spirit are *An Image of the Praying Church: Camaldolese Liturgical Spirituality, - by Cyprian Consiglio; *Lectio Divina and Monastic Theology in Camaldolese Life, - by Alessandro Barban; *Monastic Wisdom: The Western Tradition, - by Bruno Barnhart. Essays and contributors in Part Three: Configurations of a Charism are *The Threefold Good: Romualdian Charism and Monastic Tradition, - by Joseph Wong; *Koinonia: The Privilege of Love, - by Robert Hale; *Psychological Investigations and Implications for Living Together Alone, - by Bede Healey; *Golden Solitude, - by Peter-Damian Belisle, OSB Cam; *A Wild Bird, with God in the Center: The Hermit in Community, - by Sr. Donald Corcoran; *The Camaldolese in Dialogue: Ecumenical and Interfaith Themes in the History of the Camaldolese Benedictines, - by Thomas Matus and Robert Hale; *The Camaldolese Oblate Program: History, Tradition, Charism, - by Jeffry Spencer and Michal Fish; *Concluding Remarks - ; *Camaldoli's Recent Journey and Its Prospects, - by Emanuele Bargellini; Peter-Damian Belisle, OSB Cam., Translator. *The Bibliography for the Study of Camaldolese History and Spirituality, - provides, for the first time anywhere, a comprehensive list of Romualdian/Camaldolese source material. "

That lay women and men increasingly serve as leaders of institutional ministries in the Church is nothing new. Yet, until now, these lay leaders have longed for theological resources and formational training to help them in their vocation and ministry. Called and Chosen: Toward a Spirituality for Lay Leaders is designed especially for women and men who, in collaboration with vowed religious and the ordained, shepherd Church ministries and touch the lives of countless people. Written by leading authorities in biblical studies, theology, spirituality, church history, and ecclesial leadership, the book is broken into four parts: Part one invites lay leaders to claim their own call and commitment by reflecting on the Catholic vision of spirituality, vocation, mission and ministry, and the experiences of other leaders. Part two grounds their work in the larger story of our institutional ministries by examining their biblical, theological, and historical roots. Part three probes the work of the Spirit in communities and institutions, against the backdrop of contemporary cultural realities, to help leaders develop the capacity to discern the Spirit's workings. Part four focuses on issues central to the role of a spiritual leader: the spirituality of administration, the task of building community, the use of power and authority and work of forming and mentoring others. Questions at the end of each chapter invite further reflection on the themes explored.

"Rich in qualities that make it a fine resource for courses in spirituality, ministry and Christian life. It puts the essentials of Christian spirituality in a truly inclusive perspective. I have been waiting for this kind of book". -- Joann Wolski Conn, Graduate Program in Pastoral Counseling, Neumann College

Interest in spirituality today is on the rise. Well-respected theologian, writer and educator Michael Downey addresses that interest here in a concise, engaging overview. He organizes his discussion around two basic questions: What is Christian spirituality today? and How can we better understand a uniquely Christian spirituality in light of the proliferation of spiritualities in today's world?

A collection of writings by a monk of Gethsemani. Full of wisdom and flows from a deeply lived vocation.