Spring
Books Bookshelf
By WILLIAM C. GRAHAM
In my favorite Christmas letter of the last millennium, my friend
Ann told the tale of grandson Peter in nursery school, already practicing to be
a priest. He has taught the other children, meeting in the basement of a
Presbyterian church, no less, how to make the Sign of the Cross, and also says
Mass: Eat this bread, drink this cup and brush your teeth. And let
the church say Amen! Here are some books that those who will see to this young
mans education may find helpful:
Sacraments: A NEW understanding for a NEW Generation
(Twenty-Third Publications, 189 pages, $24.95 paperback), by Ray R. Noll, will
be welcomed by those seeking an introductory study guide for classrooms, parish
groups, private study. Noll, who teaches at the University of San Francisco,
considers history and pastoral practice in exploring the meaning of the
individual sacraments and sacramental life for the developing church.
Particularly helpful is the CD-ROM included with the text
containing articles or chapters by other theologians that highlight the issues
involved in the study of the sacramental life. I found the book and the disc
helpful and interesting.
Authority in the Church (Liturgical Press, 143 pages,
$14.95, paperback), by Jesuit Fr. David J. Stagaman, begins with a helpful
overview of recent scholarship on church authority. He claims that the
historical development of church authority provides crucial clues for a
theological understanding of that authority and asks: What is the source of
authority when found in any community? And, how did authority in the Roman
church come to be as it is? Those who really want to meditate on struggles and
authority and the churchs identity will find here a scholarly but
readable treatment of the issues at hand.
Invitation to the Apocrypha, by Jesuit Fr. Daniel J.
Harrington (William. B. Eerdmans, 222 pages, $16 paperback), is a guide to
these important but often neglected books of the Old Testament. The author, a
professor at Weston Jesuit School of Theology, focuses on the problem of
suffering as he guides readers through the background, content and message of
these books, which date roughly from the fourth to first centuries before
Christ. The text will be helpful for its intended audiences of introductory
college and seminary classes as well as readers and discussion groups who want
to delve into these ancient Jewish texts of the Bible.
Juries: Conscience of the Community, by Mara Taub (Chardon
Press, P.O. Box 11607, Berkeley CA 94712, 177 pages, $17 paperback), is a
collection of readings for students and prospective jurors. After her own
experience as a juror, Taub recognized that for verdicts to be moral and
responsible, they had to be put in a context and their consequences
considered seriously. Those who will serve on juries and who wish to be
well prepared may profit from some hours with this collection of essays.
In Dancing in the Margins: Meditations for People Who Struggle
with Their Churches (Crossroad, 159 pages, $14.95 paperback), Kathy Coffey
seems quick to identify both heroes and villains. She may, however, prompt some
hopefulness in those who, as in one of the final meditations, identify with
Marys bewilderment at the empty tomb before meeting the risen Christ:
We who weep seek him, too; tenderly he touches eyes blinded by
tears.
The impending Lenten season may be even more profitably
encountered with the help of Fr. Joseph J. Juknialis of Milwaukee. He has
written A Whirlwind of Ash: Daily Lenten Reflections and Psalm Prayers
(Twenty-Third Publications, 120 pages, $9.95 paperback). Preachers may be glad
to have these daily helps based on the scriptures assigned for Mass, Sunday and
daily. So also will those who wish better to recognize what it is that
God has already done in you to be moved then to allow God to do
even more.
And, for use at home and with families, A Time to Grow: Daily
Gospel Reflections and Prayers, by Mary Carol Kendzia (Twenty-Third
Publications, 48 pages, paperback). These brief reflections, also based on the
daily scriptures, include a family prayer and a faith response, activities that
will be particularly helpful to families with young children. In fact, this one
will go off to young Peter who was mentioned above).
I invited some of Caldwell Colleges graduate students in
pastoral ministry to select a book from the box of review copies and offer
their comments. Their reports and reviews follow.
Terrie Stolte is a certified public accountant employed at
McGraw-Hill Companies in Manhattan. A religious education instructor for the
past 10 years, she and her family are members of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in
Skillman, N.J. She looked at Grace at the Table, Ending Hunger in Gods
World by David Beckmann and Arthur Simon (Paulist, 219 pages, $10.95
paperback).
Beckmann is the current president and Simon the founder of Bread
for the World, the nations pre-eminent citizens group lobbying for
an end to hunger. Their aim is to heighten citizens awareness that
poverty is increasing. The book provides statistics on world hunger as well as
unsettling facts about the efforts of major industrial countries to eliminate
world hunger. The authors believe, according to Stolte, that the world
superpowers need help in recognizing and addressing world hunger and
poverty.
Their studies support the fact that world violence, wars and
conflict can be easily traced back to peoples need for food. Beckmann and
Simon advocate education of those living in poverty as a sure way to empower
people to take care of themselves and to work to change oppressive governments
that rule over the majority of poor people.
The authors believe that separation of church and state is fine,
but must not segregate faith from life. They plead for the more advanced
countries to come to the aid of disadvantaged countries before it is too
late.
The book is written in a question-and-answer format that affords
the reader the option to track down the specific information he or she is
seeking. The organizations address is provided to enable the reader to
become more involved. Stolte concludes that this is a recommended read.
Laurice Bonannella and her family live in Budd Lake, N.J., and
are members of St. Jude Parish where Laurice is the director of religious
education. She looked at Stories of Awe & Abundance, by Franciscan
Sr. Jose Hobday (Continuum, 122 pages, $9.95 paperback).
The stories in this book were first published in Praying
magazine, edited by Art Winter. The remarkable short stories of Hobdays
experiences are based both on the spiritual values she learned from her mother
who was raised in the Native American tradition and of her own later
experiences and encounters as she traveled the world to bring her stories to
others.
Hobday thinks that American Christians have much to learn from
the Native American tradition, including making prayer more creation-centered,
having a greater sense of the dead, learning to love and respect silence and
cherish solitude, and placing a greater emphasis on celebration. She also
speaks of a need for the love of the land in our country in order to stop the
destruction of its beauty.
The reader, Bonannella observes, is drawn into finding God in the
ordinary things. Hobday sees God present in the many people she meets, ordinary
people doing everyday things: an elderly woman with cancer, a supermarket
worker, a truck driver, cowboys, policeman, and especially the poor and
downtrodden people of Ecuador.
Her simple message told with heartfelt love and compassion can
move the reader to a more profound sense of Gods presence.
Jeanne Skrobot teaches science at Red Bank Catholic High School
in New Jersey. She looked at One Anothering -- Volume 1: Biblical Building
Blocks for Small Groups and One Anothering -- Volume 2: Building
Spiritual Community in Small Groups, by Richard C. Meyer (Innisfree Press,
Inc., 137 and 156 pages, both $12.95 paperbacks).
Skrobot notes that Meyer, a Presbyterian pastor, writes to improve
small-group life in the church. His focus is group dynamics, including
listening skills, confidentiality and prayer.
Those beginning small-group work will find Meyer particularly
helpful. The first volume can be used by newcomers and more experienced groups,
while the second volume targets groups that are well established. Both volumes
are intended for use by group participants and also serve as facilitator
manuals. His writing style is engaging, concludes Skrobot, and the work is
filled with helpful quotes from many sources, personal stories and even a
collection of comic strips from the Peanuts series by Charles M.
Schulz.
Linda Corona, a full-time public librarian, is an active
parishioner of St. Philomenas Parish in Livingston, N.J., where she is a
member of the team that prepares candidates to join the church. She also
teaches sixth grade in the religious education program. She looked at The
Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality, by Ronald Rolheiser
(Doubleday, 257 pages, $21.95 hardbound). According to Rolheiser, the essential
aspects or nonnegotiables in the search are community worship, the
call to social action, the central belief in the Incarnation and a grateful
heart.
Rolheiser emphasizes that spirituality is, in a way, a sense of
balance, and Corona concludes that Rolheiser is successful in promoting that
balance and in bringing to life the authentic meaning of the Incarnation.
Corona found herself reading parts more than once, finding the book an
inviting, prayerful resource for anyone interested in developing an authentic
spiritual life.
Fr. William C. Grahams Sacred Adventure: Beginning
Theological Study (University Press of America, 213 pages, $24.95
paperback), includes a chapter by Jesuit Fr. Avery Dulles titled, The
Basic Teaching of Vatican II. Graham receives e-mail at
NCRBkshelf@aol.com
National Catholic Reporter, February 4,
2000
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