A compilation of talks and articles on evangelization by a distinguished theologian.

What is Catholicism? And where is the Catholic Church headed in the third millennium? These two questions provide the structure for Thomas Rausch's Catholicism in the Third Millennium. Here Rausch combines a faithful presentation of the tradition with a critical theological reflection and interpretation of where the Church is today and where it might be moving. Catholicism in the Third Millennium offers an appreciation of the forces and movements that have shaped, and continue to influence, the ongoing change and development of Roman Catholicism. Chief among these is the influence of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) in reshaping Catholicism. This revised edition includes updated text from Rausch's Catholicism at the Dawn of the Third Millennium particularly the final chapter on "The Unfinished Agenda" of Vatican II. Each chapter concludes with focus questions developed by Catherine E. Clifford of St. Paul's University, Ottawa. This experience of guided reading provides readers with a broad survey of Roman Catholic faith and practice in its contemporary context. For readers who wish to compare particular passages of this volume with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, an outline is provided in an appendix, with references to the appropriate sections of the Catechism. A second appendix offers a glossary of terms used in the book, while a third appendix lists a number of basic works for further investigation of Catholic faith and life. Chapters are "The Church and the Council," "Faith and the Believing Community," "A Visible Church," "A Living Tradition," "Sacraments and Christian nitiation," "Christian Life and Discipleship," "Sin, Forgiveness, and Healing," "Sexual Morality and Social Justice," "Prayer and Spirituality," "The Fullness of Christian Hope," and "The Unfinished Agenda." Includes Appendix I: Outlook of Book, with References to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Appendix II: Glossary of Terms, and Appendix III: Basic Reference Works on Catholicism. An Index of Names, and an Index of Subjects are also included. Thomas P. Rausch, SJ, PhD, is professor of theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He is the author of Catholicism at the Dawn of the Third Millennium, Reconciling Faith and Reason, and editor of the bestselling The College Student's Introduction to Theology published by Liturgical Press. Catherine E. Clifford, PhD, is a professor of theology at St. Paul's University in Ottawa, Ontario.

The Catholic Church is on the threshold of a bold new era in its two-thousand year history. As the curtain comes down on the Church defined by the 16th-century Counter-Reformation, the curtain is rising on the Evangelical Catholicism of the third millennium: a way of being Catholic that comes from over a century of Catholic reform; a mission-centered renewal honed by the Second Vatican Council and given compelling expression by Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. The Gospel-centered Evangelical Catholicism of the future will send all the people of the Church into mission territory every day -- a territory increasingly defined in the West by spiritual boredom and aggressive secularism. Confronting both these cultural challenges and the shadows cast by recent Catholic history, Evangelical Catholicism unapologetically proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the truth of the world. It also molds disciples who witness to faith, hope, and love by the quality of their lives and the nobility of their aspirations. Thus the Catholicism of the 21st century and beyond will be a culture-forming counterculture, offering all men and women of good will a deeply humane alternative to the soul-stifling self-absorption of postmodernity. Drawing on thirty years of experience throughout the Catholic world, from its humblest parishes to its highest levels of authority, George Weigel proposes a deepening of faith-based and mission-driven Catholic reform that touches every facet of Catholic life -- from the episcopate and the papacy to the priesthood and the consecrated life; from the renewal of the lay vocation in the world to the redefinition of the Church's engagement with public life; from the liturgy to the Church's intellectual life. Lay Catholics and clergy alike should welcome the challenge of this unique moment in the Church's history, Weigel urges. Mediocrity is not an option, and all Catholics, no matter what their station in life, are called to live the evangelical vocation into which they were baptized: without compromise, but with the joy, courage, and confidence that comes from living this side of the Resurrection.

Catechesis is a unique form of teaching that intends not merely to pass along facts but to hand on the faith received from Christ, the apostles, and the living magesterium of the Church. The Mystery We Proclaim, Second Edition, is an invitation to all involved in this God-ordained work to reflect and examine the importance of their ministry in light of the revealed mystery of faith we all profess. Reflecting both the spirit and the content of the Catechism of the Catholic Church as well as the vision of the General Directory for Catechesis, The Mystery We Proclaim, Second Edition, uses the riches of these resources to guide catechists into the third millennium with greater clarity, confidence, and effectiveness. Today is, as Monsignor Kelly points out, "a promising and exciting time in which the 'new evangelization' offers many rich possibilities for catechesis." Divided into five parts that analyze and evaluate the catechetical movement of the past as well as providing direction for the future, The Mystery We Proclaim, Second Edition, helps consolidate and highlight themes of both the Catechism and the General Directory. Its five major sections are as follows: Catechesis in the New Context, The Heritage and Challenge of Catechesis, The Goals of Catechesis, The Content of Catechesis, and A Methodology for Catechesis. Everyone from pastors to DREs, to religion teachers, catechists, and principals--in fact, anyone involved in religious education--will find The Mystery We Proclaim, Second Edition, an encouragement to continued vigor and renewed enthusiasm for transmitting the living faith from one generation to the next.

The sexual revolution brought a terribly distorted vision of the body and sex into the mainstream. How should Christians respond? With his illuminating Theology of the Body, Pope John Paul II challenged the modern world not to stop at the surface, but to enter the depth of the “great mystery” that the body and sex reveal: a mystery that lies at the heart of the Gospel itself. Since he first discovered John Paul II’s teaching in 1993, Christopher West has devoted himself to sharing its life-transforming message with the world. In this highly anticipated work, West leads us into the depth of Christ’s “nuptial union” with the Church, demonstrating how authentic Catholic teaching on the body and sex saves us from both the libertine perspective of popular culture and the cold puritanism that has sometimes infected Christianity. In the process, West provides a blueprint for reaching our sexually broken world in the “new evangelization.”

This work is a series of sermons produced by Emeritus Professor Hans Mol, and based on Biblical texts, the Commentaries of John Calvin on these texts, and on Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion. Mol is Australia's pre-eminent scholar in the sociology of religion, particularly in Australia. His 1971 volume, Religion in Australia, was the first attempt at statistical analysis of religion in Australia, which was also internationally significant. Parallel to Mol's interest in the sociology of religion has been his interest in Calvin. Indeed the theological basis of his life has been as a Calvinist. Here in this volume he brings both of these interests together. His sermons, preached over the years in Canberra, seek to apply the teachings of Calvin to a world-view in which the scientific study of religion, and indeed the wider study of sociology, are of central significance. In these sermons, he succeeds considerably in this. The volume is a substantial contribution to scholarship, in that the combination of these two factors has only rarely been attempted. Thus, the volume has originality and will have enduring value. It is especially appropriate that it should be published at this time, in preparation for the 500th Anniversary of Calvin's birth (1509-2009).