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The abbot, the community, and obedience in the Rule of Saint Benedict as compared to its source, The Rule of the Master, to see Saint Benedict's originality. 'Historians of monasticism will read this translation, as they have long read the French original, for its close exegesis and textual analysis of the eighteen chapters of the RB directly dealing with the abbot's authority, along with the parallel passages in the RM that influenced Benedict' -Speculum.

"Prayer is a journey, sometimes a combat. There are trials, purifications, passages. It is at once the most simple and the most profound of human activities. May these pages help someone to discover its hidden joy."For members of the Carthusian order, prayer is not just something that is done at certain times of day: It is in fact the vital respiration of their faith. This third volume of novice conferences gives us access once again to the Carthusians' profound wisdom, as we share the initiation of a group of young monks into the practice of prayer.Interior Prayer contains the Carthusians' traditional doctrine on prayer - from its very beginnings to the simplicity of its highest forms. Far from being abstract and theoretical, we learn about the prayer process by sharing in the novices' concrete spiritual journey. Their problems and difficulties, and the many pitfalls they encounter on the way, are expressed in an ongoing dialogue with their guide who relates to each one individually. Many will find help here in their own quest for God and the ultimate purpose of life.

In 1090 St. Bernard of Clairvaux, a monk of the Cistercian order, was born. One of the great figures of his age, he travelled and preached widely; Cistercian abbeys were founded all over Europe. He left many writings, which included his famous treatises on humility, on the love of God, on grace and free will, and his masterpiece on the Song of Songs.It is from these writings that this collection is drawn. Here we see, not only a compassionate, thoughtful man, not only a scholar devoted to the Bible and to the works of the Fathers, but a Christian of extraordinary vision and faith. To him God's healing power, God's love, and our acceptance of our own weakness, were central to the message of Christ.

The Bible is the monk's book. The thought and teaching of St Bernard of Clairvaux was so saturated with Scripture that the reader often cannot decide where the Bible ends and Bernard begins. From direct quotations to fine allusions, Bernard assumed that his readers were as familiar with the Bible as he was himself. It is therefore no wonder that Bernard chose a book of the Bible, the Song of Songs, as a vehicle for expressing his deepest and most personal longing for God, his striving for 'full knowledge, clear vision, a strong bond of union, a relationship which cannot be broken apart, and perfect likeness'.Michael Casey, a Cistercian monk in Australia, writes from the same tradition that formed St Bernard. His study of the background and teaching of 'the last of the Fathers' provides insights into the saint's works and gives them contemporary meaning.

As master of novices for ten years (1955-1965) at the Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Kentucky, Thomas Merton was responsible for the spiritual formation of young men preparing for monastic profession. In this volume, three related sets of Merton's conferences on ancient and contemporary documents governing the lives of the monks are published for the first time:¿ on the Carta Caritatis, or Charter of Charity, the foundational document of the Order of Cîteaux¿ on the Consuetudines, the twelfth-century collection of customs and regulations of the Order¿ on the twentieth-century Constitutions of the Order, the basic rules by which Merton and his students actually lived at the time These conferences form an essential part of the overall picture of Cistercian monastic life that Merton provided as part of his project of "initiation into the monastic tradition" that is evident in the broad variety of courses that he put together and taught over the period of his mastership.As Abbot John Eudes Bamberger, OCSO, himself a former student of Merton, notes in his preface to this volume, "The texts presented in this present book eventually gave rise to the Cistercian way of spiritual living that continues to contribute to the Church's witness in this new millennium. This publication is a witness to the process of transformation that ensures the continuity of the Catholic monastic tradition that witnesses to the God who, as Saint Augustine observed, is 'ever old and ever new.'"

Theological, Philosophical, and Psychological Explorations

A Reader

This work provides a critical analysis of the Eucharistic Prayer which concentrates on structure as it traces the evolution of the prayer (anaphora) from its origins in the ancient Jewish rites and its Christian beginnings in the Didache.

The Rite of Confirmation/The Use of Oil and Chrism

Temple Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel

Epigraphical and Literary Studies

The greatest challenge to ecumenical dialogue has come from discussions related to the Virgin Mary. This assertion is the raison d'etre behind this historical and ecumenical investigation of the image of Mary.

Reflections on the Catholic Charismatic Renewal

"Can a male savior save women?" In answering this profound question, and as a way of engaging women and men who seek a deeper understanding of the role of Jesus Christ in contemporary Christianity, Quilting and Braiding explores the christologies of pivotal feminist theologians - Sallie McFague and Elizabeth Johnson - and examines the impact of feminist christology on the field of theology.For centuries scholars have studied, debated, and articulated their understanding of the life, message, and impact of Jesus Christ (incarnation and salvation). In Quilting and Braiding, Shannon Schrein examines critical questions arising from feminist thought that address these core Christian beliefs. She explores the constructivist christology of McFague and the revisionist christology of Johnson and examines how each makes use of language, particularly metaphor and analogy, in addressing the christological concerns of women today.Drawing its imagery from practices that have typically been a part of women's heritage - quilting and braiding - this work forms a footbridge between tradition and contemporary concerns, bringing the study of christology into the lives of God's people.

How well are the psalms understood? The parables seem more accessible, but are they? And as familiar as we are with the texts of the psalms and the parables, how open are we to new perspectives on them?The studies in Like a Tree Planted, the first volume in the Connections series, encourage readers to deepen their understanding of the psalms and parables and to grow in their relationship with God. Like a Tree Planted invites reflection on eight pairs of psalms and parables by highlighting their shared metaphor. These images, familiar from our everyday lives as well as from both testaments, encourage fresh insights from familiar scriptural texts.The psalms presented here, all from the first book of the Psalter, and the parables, selected from Luke's Gospel, speak deeply and collaboratively through figures of the tree, our stature and status, searching faces, feelings of entitlement and responsiveness, the ecosystem, shepherding, the storehouse, and "the other side."An introductory chapter in Like a Tree Planted introduces readers to the process of reading metaphorically, and a concluding chapter draws implications from the reading of these particular psalm and parable texts as a set.

"Kristine Rankka has produced a masterpiece--an insightful analysis of modern feminist interpretations of 'radical' or 'tragic' suffering. Here is a mature work, comprehensive in its breadth, compelling in its argument, moving in its palpable sensitivity, poetic and graceful in its articulation. By invoking the category of the 'tragic,' Rankka proposes a mystical-political spirituality to move reflection on suffering from the private, to the communal, interdependent realm. Rankka's _Women and the Value of Suffering_ is a creative retrieval of a conversation among women, long in progress, about the meaning of life's suffering. It is eminently readable and thoroughly enriching!"George E. Griener, S.J.Academic deanJesuit School of Theology at Berkeley

This work emanates from the ecclesiology of Vatican II as a systematic treatment of the vision of communion from the central document, "Lumen Gentium". It is about a Church in communion with the laity, the hierarchy and with all the Churches.

The Ecclesiology of Communion

The Gospels are not only the foundation of the New Testament, they are also integral to the celebration of the Eucharist. Because the Gospels embody the whole Christian tradition, every Christian seeking to be a student of Christ should be a student of the Gospels.This work provides that opportunity for all Christians, whether in classrooms, study groups, prayer groups, or in individual study, to come to know Christ by coming to know the Gospels. The first three chapters address the literary, structural, and rhetorical principles underlying the Synoptic Gospels. The remaining chapters encourage readers to dialogue with the Gospels in three ways: 1) by explaining the structure and theology of each Synoptic Gospel, 2) by devoting attention to the four outstanding features of the Gospels parables, miracles, the passion narratives, and the resurrection accounts, and 3) by introducing the readers to the special features of John's Gospel. This flexible textbook's approach allows beginning students to encounter the Jesus of the Gospels on their own terms, to make their new knowledge personal and practical.

This examination of the Eucharist is divided into two parts. The first seeks to uncover the origins of the Eucharist and to trace developments in the earliest eucharistic practice and understanding. The second part studies the eucharistic theology of the New Testament writers.

This volume demonstrates that Israel drew its resources for overcoming social injustice from Near-Eastern thought on the subject. By combining its own ideas of social justice with those of its neighbours, Israel's people fought injustice with what was "new" and what was "old".

The author reminds us that our Christian stories are at the heart of the faith. Without these stories, formulated doctrines and theological systems would be bereft of meaning and substance. With the breadth of bright vision, he explains what story theology is all about; and he tells us why it is gripping the minds and hearts of so many.