According to an old story, a woman concealed her sex and ruled as pope for a few years in the ninth century, but her downfall came when she went into labor in the streets of Rome. From this myth to the experiences of saints, nuns, and ordinary women, The Oldest Vocation brings to life both the richness and the troubling contradictions of Christian motherhood in medieval Europe.

According to an old story, a woman concealed her sex and ruled as pope for a few years in the ninth century. Pope Joan was not betrayed by a lover or discovered by an enemy; her downfall came when she went into labor during a papal procession through the streets of Rome. From the myth of Joan to the experiences of saints, nuns, and ordinary women, The Oldest Vocation brings to life both the richness and the troubling contradictions of Christian motherhood in medieval Europe. After tracing the roots of medieval ideologies of motherhood in early Christianity, Clarissa W. Atkinson reconstructs the physiological assumptions underlying medieval notions about women's bodies and reproduction; inherited from Greek science and popularized through the practice of midwifery, these assumptions helped shape common beliefs about what mothers were. She then describes the development of "spiritual motherhood" both as a concept emerging out of monastic ideologies in the early Middle Ages and as a reality in the lives of certain remarkable women. Atkinson explores the theological dimensions of medieval motherhood by discussing the cult of the Virgin Mary in twelfth-century art, story, and religious expression. She also offers a fascinating new perspective on the women saints of the later Middle Ages, many of whom were mothers; their lives and cults forged new relationships between maternity and holiness. The Oldest Vocation concludes where most histories of motherhood begin—in early modern Europe, when the family was institutionalized as a center of religious and social organization. Anyone interested in the status of motherhood, or in women's history, the cultural history of the Middle Ages, or the history of religion will want to read this book.

"What do I want to be when I grow up?" It's the question children love to ponder (and act out) at an early age. Here's a question we parents might want to ask ourselves: "How can I gently and lovingly help my children discern what God is calling them to be?" And here's a beautiful answer: Read So Many Ways to Be Holy: A Child's Book about Vocations with your child. Charming pictures of children playing dress-up capture the joy that is to be found in all kinds of lives of service -- from being an artist, a doctor, or an astronaut to becoming a priest, a brother, or a nun, and more! For each occupation, your child will learn the patron saint who would protect and guide them to use their talents for the glory of God! Did you know that the patron saint of scientists is St. Albert the Great? And what about the patron saint of ... farmers? dancers? cooks? or fire fighters or truck drivers or ...? After sparking childish imaginations, the book closes with this sweet prayer.

St. John Paul II propelled the Church into a new era of fruitful contemplation about the dignity and value of women, often reiterating how women — specifically as women — reveal the image of God in the world. But his final contribution to that topic may be his most profound. Just months before he passed into eternity, he summed up his decades of teaching on the topic: “To you, women, falls the task of being sentinels of the Invisible!” In these eye-opening pages, author Melissa Maleski shows how this final bold admonition succinctly embodies the Catholic Church's entire, consistent vision of women as powerful, vital agents for good. Drawing not only on the works of John Paul II and on those of the Church Fathers but also on the example of scores of holy women in the Bible plus the Blessed Virgin Mary and the many female saints of the Church, these pages offer prof

The Apostle Paul was the greatest early missionary of the Christian gospel. He was also, by his own admission, an Israelite. How can both these realities coexist in one individual? This book argues that Paul viewed his mission to the Gentiles, in and of itself, as the primary expression of his Jewish identity. The concept of Israel’s divine vocation is used to shed fresh light on a number of much-debated passages in Paul’s letter to the Romans.

Lesslie Newbigin, one of the twentieth century's most important church leaders, offered insights on the church in a pluralistic world that are arguably more relevant now than when first written. This volume presents his ecclesiology to a new generation. Michael Goheen clearly articulates Newbigin's missionary understanding of the church and places it in the context of Newbigin's core theological convictions. Suitable for students as well as church leaders, this book offers readers a better understanding of the mission of the church in the world today. Foreword by N. T. Wright.

What is the task of theology in a complex religious and secular world? What are theologians called to contribute to society, the churches, and the academy? Can theology be both fully faithful to Christian tradition and Scripture, and fully open to the challenges of the twenty-first century? In this book, an international team of contributors, including some of the best-known names in the field, respond to these questions in programmatic essays that set the direction for future debates about the vocation of theology. David Ford, in whose honor the collection is produced, has been for many years a key figure in articulating and shaping the role of contemporary theology. The contributors are his colleagues, collaborators, and former students, and their essays engage in dialogue with his work. The main unifying feature of this exciting collection is not Ford's work per se, however, but a shared engagement with the pressing question of theology's vocation today.