Call To Holiness

The charismatic renewal is a sign of the continuing relevance of the Holy Spirit for the baptized and gives life and direction to the Church in its mission in the world. "Call to Holiness" covers the vocation to holiness, the experience of the Spirit, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, the charisms, forms of community life, and the call to evangelize.

Grace never leaves a man where it finds him. Grace always transforms the sinner into a saint--a holy man. God's will is for His people to be holy. This mandate for holiness is based in the very character and person of God: We are to be holy because God is holy. Joel Beeke and Michael Barrett expound the doctrine of sanctification and show that it is the application of the gospel to our daily lives.

"The Call to Holiness was inspired by the fundamental conviction that spirituality without morality is disembodied and morality without spirituality is rootless. In other words, our moral life arises out of our spirituality to become its public face. Furthermore, what we do to nurture our spirituality through spiritual practices can and ought to have an effect on our moral practices. In the end, spirituality and morality converge when we consider life as a whole rather than simply focus on individual actions in the moral life or devotional practices in the spiritual life."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

In April 2012, Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, and Paulist Press co-sponsored a conference celebrating Vatican II's Continuing agenda, focusing on the addresses given at Vatican II's conclusion that challenged the church to spread the council's message. Rather than critique the council documents, the conference explored creative ways in which the energy of the council can be marshaled in establishing the agenda and needs of the twenty-first century. Speakers included: Anthony Ciorra Massimo Faggioli R. Scott Appleby Diana Hayes Roberto Goizueta Michael Himes Sarah Heiman and Peter Denio Nancy Dallavalle John Haught Michael W. Higgins The umbrella theme for the conference was the watershed teaching of the council on the "Universal Call to Holiness." Topics include: how the council has been interpreted over the last fifty years; its vision; messages to rulers, women, the poor and suffering, artists, young people, workers, and scientists; and finally, holiness for our world today. Book jacket.

Central to God’s character is the quality of holiness. Yet, even so, most people are hard-pressed to define what God’s holiness precisely is. Many preachers today avoid the topic altogether because people today don’t quite know what to do with words like “awe” or “fear.” R. C. Sproul, in this classic work, puts the holiness of God in its proper and central place in the Christian life. He paints an awe-inspiring vision of God that encourages Christian to become holy just as God is holy. Once you encounter the holiness of God, your life will never be the same.

Winner: Honorable Mention from the Catholic Press Association Ralph Martin, drawing upon the teaching of seven acknowledged "Spiritual Doctors" of the Church, presents an indepth study of the journey to God. This book provides encouragement and direction for the pilgrim who desires to know, love, and serve our Lord. Whether the reader is beginning the spiritual journey or has been traveling the road for many years, he will find a treasure of wisdom in The Fulfillment of All Desire. It is destined to be a modern classic on the spiritual life.

How do we become better people? Initiatives such as New Year's resolutions, vision boards, thirty-day plans, and self-help books often fail to compel us to live differently. We settle for small goals--frugal spending, less yelling at the kids, more time at the gym--but we are called to something far greater. We are created to be holy. Award-winning author Jessica Hooten Wilson explains that learning to hear the call of holiness requires cultivating a new imagination--one rooted in the act of reading. Learning to read with eyes attuned to the saints who populate great works of literature moves us toward holiness, where God opens up a way of living that extends far beyond what we can conjure for ourselves. Literature has the power to show us what a holy life looks like, and these depictions often scandalize even as they shape our imagination. As such, careful reading becomes a sort of countercultural spiritual discipline. The book includes devotionals, prayers, wisdom from the saints, and more to help individuals and groups cultivate a saintly imagination. Foreword by Lauren F. Winner.