Pathways To Re Creating Religious Communities

"Religious life has always been an essential and dynamic component of the church. Religious communities historically have met the needs of the surroundng society: in education, the arts, medical care, and social work. But why do we need religious communities now? What purpose do they serve within the church and within society? Patricia Wittberg offers some practical and prophetic answers." "There are four basic questions that a religious community must answer if it is to survive and grow in the twenty-first century. What is our fundamental reason for existing as a community? What distinguishes members from non-members? How will we live out our fundamental purpose in daily life? What resources do we need, and where can they be found? Using the metaphor of a journey, this book suggests ways of addressing these questions, based on studies of other religious communities - past and present, Catholic and those of other religions." "The author also identifies pitfalls that commonly deter new communities and suggests how these pitfalls may be avoided. Included is a selection of "journeystories" that present some fictional founding and refounding journeys; these can serve as starting points for brainstorming by religious communities interested in refounding themselves. This is a hopeful, popularly written book that will appeal not only to all religious but to general readers as well since it has great importance for the life of the entire church."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

A much needed research and reference bibliography for all who are interested in the history of Benedictine Women in North America. Those interested in Benedictine spirituality, liturgy and prayer will find useful resources here as well.

Today, Catholic colleges and universities are dealing with critical questions about what constitutes Catholic collegiate identity. Based on their research, Morey and Piderit describe the present situation and offer concrete suggestions for enhancing Catholic identity, culture, and mission at all Catholic colleges and universities. The authors define the critical issues and analyze and address them by using the rich construct of culture, particularly organizational culture; and they provide four different models of how Catholic colleges and universities can operate and successfully compete as religiously distinctive institutions in the higher education market.

Following the Second Vatican Council, when each Religious Institute was encouraged to research its charism, some Institutes experienced a tension between their charism and their mission, or even difficulty identifying what their charism was. This book is a study of the theological understanding of charism and of mission in relation to Religious Life within the Catholic Church. While this topic has featured in much Roman Catholic theological literature since Vatican II, there appears to be a dearth of in-depth studies. This book addresses this apparent lacuna. It draws particularly on the work of two major theologians, Jean-Marie Roger Tillard OP and Sandra Marie Schneiders IHM, who have reflected at length on charism and mission in the period leading up to Vatican II and on the implementation of its documents with respect to Religious Life. The very significant contributions of Tillard and Schneiders on the topic provide Religious, as well as others who want to know and understand Religious Life, with an interesting and motivating insight into charism and mission in Religious Life. Within the Roman Catholic Church, a “Year of Consecrated Life” has just drawn to a close, and this book forms a background and a response to Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter to “all Consecrated People on the occasion of the Year of Consecrated Life” (November 2014), which invited Religious to reflect on these aspects that are essential to the life they have chosen to live.

The two-volume Encyclopedia of Monasticism describes the monastic traditions of both Christianity and Buddhism with more than 600 entries on important monastic figures of all periods and places, surveys of countries and localities, and topical essays covering a wide range of issues (e.g., art, behavior, economics, liturgy, politics, theology, and scholarship). Coverage encompasses not only geography and history worldwide but also the contemporary dilemmas of monastic life. Recent upheavals in certain countries are highlighted (Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, etc.). Topical essays subtitled Christian Perspectives and Buddhist Perspectives explore in imaginative fashion comparisons and contrasts between Christian and Buddhist monasticism. Encyclopedia of Monasticism also includes more than 500 color and black and white illustrations covering all aspects of monastic life, art, and architecture.

This book is a collection of related stories by members of the Adrian Dominican congregation that reflects the creative movement that has taken place in religious life as women have responded to the inspiration of Vatican Council II as well as to the impact of contemporary culture. While the impetus to renewal came directly from the Church authority, adaptation and change far exceeded what was originally envisioned by those who authorized the process, particularly when the institutes responded to the directive to "consult all the members".The contributors to this book trace the most critical influences that moved religious congregations toward a renewed religious life. They embraced a God who does not remain static but who moves in human history, a loving God who relates to us in care and compassion, a Holy Spirit who dwells within and inspires through discernment the decisions and directions that are to be taken, a sense of personal worth and empowerment as women baptized into gospel mission and ministry, a response to Church teaching that action on behalf of justice is constitutive of Gospel mission. In renewing their religious life, women have an important experience to offer the Church for ongoing renewal in the future, as reflection upon these essays and continuing dialogue will reveal.

Publisher Fact Sheet An intimate look, drawn from hundreds of interviews and statements from Jesuits and former Jesuits, at the turmoil among Catholicism's legendary best-and-brightest.

This seminal work surveys the historical rise and fall of religious orders and congregations and reveals an unfolding pattern that gives hope for the present and future.