Catholic social teaching guides us in how we are to live the Gospel in today’s world. Liturgy forms us in these teachings and sends us out into the world to give witness to the Gospel. Organized by the seven themes of Catholic social teaching as developed by the United States bishops, this resource explores the intimate connection between liturgy and Catholic social teaching. It provides insights for parish teams on how Catholics might better live what it is we celebrate each time we gather to worship God and express more fully, consciously, and actively what it means to be in right relationship with God and the world. With questions for discussion and reflection following each thematic chapter, worship teams, parish councils, and peace and justice committees will be able to evaluate and improve parish liturgical practices and ministerial outreach as rooted in Catholic social teaching. With penitential services organized by each of the seven themes, this resource also provides parishioners with the means to examine their own consciences, make acts of reparation, and resolve to be more committed to following the teachings of the Church. Liturgy and Catholic Social Teaching is sure to help build a world that more closely reflects the love and mercy, justice, and peace of God. The prayer services found in this book may also be downloaded as a PDF. Additional questions for discussion are also provided online for young adults.

Rethinking the Christian faith from a woman's perspective has been an important advancement in modern theology. This book introduces the methods, ideas, and contributions of recent feminist theology to readers encountering the subject for the first time. Natalie Watson explores the historical background of feminist theology, discusses the value of reading Scripture from a feminist perspective, and shows how this approach can offer a critical, creative, and constructive rereading of the Christian tradition. She also sets forth some fresh ideas encouraging people to see feminism not as a threat to the church but as a challenging perspective that actually enhances its life in today's world. An extensive annotated bibliography invites readers to further study, presenting a wealth of books on feminist theology by many well-known authors. Ideal for classroom instruction, discussion groups, and personal study, this volume is an exceptional, user-friendly guide to contemporary feminist thought.

A systematic exploration of contemporary perspectives in physics, evolutionary biology and psychology as they relate to theological descriptions of the universe, humanity and consciousness. Contributors examine such issues as theological responses to the ecological crisis; how science is treated and valued in education; and the development of the science and religion debate in the 21st century. This is a comprehensive textbook for the student, with periodic exercises to test understanding and encourage discussion of the different topics, and suggestions for further reading.

Originally published in 2004. Feminist discourses have focused sustained and sometimes devastating critical attention on Christianity over the last fifty years. Today feminisms remain significant but often ambiguous forces in contemporary Christian theology. At a time in which questions about the success and viability of feminisms are increasingly posed, Feminist Christian Encounters makes a unique contribution to the ongoing investigation into the creative relationship between feminisms and Christianity. Angela Pears identifies some of the key theological and methodological mechanisms by which Christian feminist theologies are informed, sustained, and made possible by feminist values and critiques. Pears argues that certain strategies characterize the facilitation of this dialogue in contemporary Christian feminist theologies, enabling theologians to accept the values and critiques of feminisms whilst at the same time proclaim some level of commitment to Christianity. Engaging in a process of deconstruction of the methodologies of key Christian theological thinkers who have made use of feminisms in their theologies, this book reveals the mechanisms of feminist Christian encounter at work.

The long-standing tradition of baptizing infants suggests that the sacraments plunge our bodies into salvation, so the revelation of God's love in the sacraments addresses the whole person, not the mind alone. In this work, the contemporary Roman Catholic rite of baptism for infants becomes a case study, manifesting the connections between the human body, the ecclesial body, and the Body of Christ. The sacramental life, for children as for adults, is an ongoing journey deeper into the life of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. By examining the church's practice of infant baptism, Kimberly Hope Belcher asks how human beings participate in God's life through the sacraments. Christian sacraments are embodied, cultural rituals performed by and for human beings. At the same time, the sacraments are God's gifts of grace, by which human beings enter into God's own life. In this study, contemporary ritual studies, sacramental theology, and trinitarian theology are used to explore how participation in the sacraments can be an efficacious engagement in God's life of love. Kimberly Hope Belcher is an assistant professor of theology at Saint John's University, where she teaches sacramental theology and ritual studies. She is a member of the North American Academy of Liturgy and writes for the liturgical blog Pray Tell.

The Theology of Louis-Marie Chauvet provides a much needed accessible introduction to the philosophical and theological foundations of Chauvet's sacramental theology. Particular attention is given to his appropriation of Heidegger and use of the Social Sciences to elucidate the nature of the symbolic exchange that lies at the heart of the sacramental tradition. This book highlights the prophetic, deconstructive and even iconoclastic message for contemporary society and the church implicit in the Eucharistic liturgy. Common conceptions of God's presence and sacrifice are critically analyzed and the connection between sacramental worship and ethics is emphasized.