Books – Page 3 – Communio

Recall Abortion

Perhaps this new book on myths of abortion contributes to what Pope Benedict calls “human ecology.” In the days before the annual March for Life, Recall Abortion is fitting.

Recall Abortion, the first book by longtime pro-life
activist Janet Morana, examines the societal changes that led to legal abortion
and the lies that ensure it continues to be one of the most common medical
procedures for women. Through research, interviews with medical professionals
and testimonies of women who have had abortions, Morana takes apart the myth
that abortion is safe and necessary health-care and shows the abortion industry
for what it is: A profit-driven, unscrupulous and often criminal enterprise
that victimizes women.

Continue reading Recall Abortion

Proclaim Liberty: Notes on the Next Great Awakening in America –Carl Anderson’s new book

Carl Anderson, Supreme
Knight of the Knights of Columbus, published Proclaim Liberty: Notes on the
Next Great Awakening in America.

Anderson’s “eBook shows how Catholics — by voting
in a manner consistent with Catholic social teaching — can transcend our broken
politics and excessive partisanship. It lays out a roadmap to truly
transforming our country.” Moreover, Proclaim Liberty brings together “the issues
confronting us in political races and ballot initiatives large and small into
focus, using the lens of Catholic social teaching.”

Carl Anderson’s new work
complements the US bishops’ document Forming Consciences for Faithful
Citizenship, in which they call “Catholics to form their consciences in the
light of their Catholic faith and to bring our moral principles to the debate
and decisions about candidates and issues.”

More information, as well as links
to eBook sellers, is available here.

Remembering the Future…John Zizioulas’ new book

A new book is available from the eminent theologian and bishop, John Zizioulas, Remembering the Future: An Eschatological Ontology (T&T Clark International, Continuum, 2013). I very much enjoy the thinking and the challenge of Zizioulas.

From the publisher…

The predominating concept in theological ontology is
that of a protological ontology which defines being itself as being defined by
the past. The future of things in this perspective is defined by its origins
and the “given” or the “factum”. In this major new book
John Zizioulas shows that eschatology can have important implications for
ontology, i.e. for being itself. The world was created with a purpose and the
end which would be greater than the beginning. This is the view of the Fathers,
such as Irenaeus and Maximus, who made the end the “cause of all
being”. The implications of such an idea are revolutionary, both
historically and experientially. It represents a reversal of the ancient
philosophical idea of causality as well as of our common sense rationality,
according to which the cause precedes chronologically as well as logically. It
is the opposite of protological ontology, which makes the past decisive for the
future. Eschatological ontology, therefore, is about the liberation of being
from necessity, it is about the formation of being. Man and the world are no
longer imprisoned in their past, in sin, decay and death. The past is
ontologically affirmed only in so far as it contributes to the end, to the
coming of the kingdom. The eschaton will ‘judge’ history with this criterion
alone. The last judgment as part of the eschaton represents an ontological, not
a moral event. Zizioulas shows how this eschatological ontology permeates
Christian doctrine, particularly that of creation and ecclesiology. He also
points out some of its ethical implications.

About

John D. Zizioulas, 81,
Metropolitan of Pergamon, was Professor of Systematic Theology at the
University of Glasgow and Visiting Professor at King’s College, London. His
thinking is widely respected across confessional lines. The key points of his
thinking, I believe, are freedom (human and divine), ontology and otherness (personhood),
communion theology, one and the many, and the contours of Christian unity.
Zizioulas is the author at least 8 books and numerous articles. He is the
Orthodox voice in ecumenical discussions especially between Rome and
Constantinople. Since 1986 John Zizioulas has been a bishop.

Introduction to the Devout Life –De Sales lasting legacy

Good books are one thing. Books considered “classic,” that is, those books that can withstand the test of time are not only an excellent resource but a true companion for one’s journey. No doubt, our human and spiritual needs mature over time, but a classic continues to give insight and guidance. Wisdom collected from a true living experience is hard to underestimate. The Introduction to the Devout Life by Saint Francis de Sales, bishop and Doctor of the Church, is one such book. It is not to be missed by any person wanting to know the Christian life better, and how to live it coherently. The book is about the universal call to holiness.

The Introduction to the Devout Life was an instant success from the moment it rolled off the printing press. In the Saint’s own time the book was revised a few times.

If you ask yourself: What do I need to do be better Christian? How do I live my life with all its complexities and remain faith to the Gospel and the Church? Do I have to be a priest, sister or brother to be a good Christian? How does one live a Christ-centered life? Then this book is for you.

“The writings of Francis de Sales, filled with celestial doctrine are a bright light in the Church, pointing out to souls an easy and safe way to arrive at the perfection of a Christian life” (Breviarium Romanum, 29 January, lect. VI).

Anton Baumstark: On the Historical Development of the Liturgy

The decision to publish this book in English is exceptional. Anton Baumstark is a pivotal figure in 20th century liturgical studies and widely considered a genius. He set the world on fire for his keen understanding of the sacred Liturgy, both of the East and the West as he offers a lens –a method– for understanding historical (organic) development in the Tradition of the Church. Baumstark keeps the reader grounded in asking the questions which keep us close to the theologia prima, the sacred Liturgy. The serious student in liturgical studies will pay close attention to On the Historical Development of the Liturgy and Comparative Liturgy.

The Forward is written by Archimandrite Robert F. Taft, SJ, from whom I was first introduced to Anton Baumstark.

From the publisher, Liturgical Press:

Anton Baumstark’s On the Historical Development of the Liturgy (1923) complements his classic work, Comparative Liturgy. Together they lay out his liturgical methodology. Comparative Liturgy presents his method; On the Historical Development of the Liturgy offers his model.

This book was written for one audience and valued by another. Written to lead adherents of the nascent German liturgical movement to a deeper religious appreciation of Catholic worship, its methodology and scope have won the appreciation of liturgical specialists for nearly a century. In describing the organic growth of the liturgy, its shaping and distortion, Baumstark’s reach extends from India to Ireland, Moscow to Axum, Carthage to Xi’an. He discusses the influences of language, literature, doctrine, piety, politics, and culture. While his audacity can be breathtaking and his hypotheses grandiose, his approach is nevertheless stimulating. In this annotated edition, Fritz West provides the first English translation of this work by Anton Baumstark.

Trained in classical and oriental philology, Anton Baumstark (1872-1948) was prodigious as a scholar studying the literature, art, and liturgy of the whole church–Oriental, Eastern, and Western. Comparative liturgy, his method for studying the historical development of the liturgy as an organism, has had a lasting influence, notably on the liturgical study of the Christian East. Fritz West, a liturgical scholar ordained in the United Church of Christ, has written numerous articles on liturgical methodology, the three-year lectionary, and worship in his Reformed tradition. He has published two books, The Comparative Liturgy of Anton Baumstark and Scripture and Memory: The Ecumenical Hermeneutic of the Three-Year Lectionaries.

Infinity Dwindled to Infancy –reviewed by George Weigel

Over the summer Jesuit Father Edward Oakes published his latest book, Infinity Dwindled to Infancy.

I posted a blog piece about the Infancy here.

Father Oakes’ book was reviewed by George Weigel on First Things: read it (actually, read the review and the book).

You can now get the book in paper and on Kindle at Amazon.

Mercies Remembered: Reflections and Reminiscences of a Parish Priest

A recently published book of a parish priest, Mercies Remembered: Reflections and Reminiscences of a Parish Priest, is being presented at Waterbury’s Silas Bronson Library (267 Grand Street) December 6 at 6:30pm.

Mercies Remembered is described as a collection of “heartfelt stories of mercy from his 22 years as a priest with the simplicity, humility, humor and profundity of a faith-filled life.”

Father Matthew R. Mauriello, STL, is a native of New Jersey and a priest of the Diocese of Bridgeport and is currently the pastor of the Church of Saint Roch (Greenwich, CT). Moreover, he is the president of the North American Congress on Mercy. Father Mauriello was given the honor of being an Honorary Canon of the Cathedral Basilica of Orvieto.

The book is available at the link above on Amazon or from the author, Father Matthew.

Contact:

Father Matthew R. Mauriello

Church of Saint Roch

10 St Roch Avenue

Greenwich, CT 06830-6234

203-243-8343

frmattmaurie@aol.com

Recent book explores ethical dimension of human cell research

Is this Cell a
Human Being? Exploring the Status of Embryos, Stem Cells and Human-Animal
Hybrids (Springer, $139; slightly less expensive on Amazon). Antoine Suarez and Joachim Huarte are the editors. The book follows the 2009 meeting of international experts who worked with the ethical considerations of human
cell use and the implications and hope of the research.

The book has 10 articles and an introduction published by the Social Trends Institute of Spain and the US which explores matters of family, bioethics, culture & lifestyles and corporate governance. One of the contributors to Is this Cell is Dominican Father Nicanor Austriaco of Providence College. Father Nicanor is also the author of the popular monograph, Understanding Stem Cell Research: Controversy and Promise (www.kofc.org/un/en/resources/cis/cis326.pdf).

Of their new work STI said, “The central question of this book is whether or not particular cell entities of human origin ought to be considered human beings.”

The CNA article is here.

The Liturgical Commentaries of St Symeon of Thessalonika

I am happy to recommend my friend’s recently published book, The Liturgical Commentaries of St Symeon of Thessalonika.

From the book:

This volume contains an edition and facing
English translation of Explanation of the Divine Temple and “On the Sacred
Liturgy,” the two commentaries on the pontifical (hierarchal) Byzantine Divine
Liturgy by St. Symeon of Thessalonika (†1429). This edition is based on MS
Zagora 23, which contains extensive corrections and additions apparently added
to the text by the author himself. The book opens with a historical and
theological foreword on liturgical commentaries and mystagogy by Archimandrite
Robert Taft. The introduction surveys the life and career of St. Symeon,
analyzes the structure and theology of the commentaries, and concludes with an
account of technical and editorial questions. The index includes references to
names, places, and topics in Symeon’s text and in the introduction and traces
key terms in the commentaries in both Greek and English.

A review:

With this book Fr.
Steven Hawkes-Teeples, SJ, Professor of Byzantine Liturgy at the Pontifical
Oriental Institute in Rome, fills a gaping hole in the scholarly literature
associated with the overlapping academic fields of Byzantine Studies, Medieval
Studies, Orthodox Theology, and Oriental Liturgiology. The present volume
represents the first translation into any modern western academic language of
both commentaries of St. Symeon of Thessalonika (d. 1429) on the Byzantine
Divine Liturgy or Eucharist. Such neglect is surprising, for St. Symeon is an
author of the first importance. As the last and most prolific Orthodox
liturgical theologian of the Byzantine era, who lived at the point when the
Byzantine Empire was moving toward its demise before the Ottoman onslaught, he
crowns and closes his era. — Robert F. Taft

Work of Human Hands: A Theological Critique of the Mass of Paul VI: Alcuin Reid reviews

Much has been said about Anthony Cekada’s book Work of Human Hands, some of the critique is lazy, or rigidly steadfast to one’s limp opinion. Nothing is so relevant as information, and nothing so problematic as ignorance (being “untrained”). My hope is that we’d not be too preoccupied by our our thinking; I have confidence that Truth can be revealed in honest thinking and dialogue. The sacred Liturgy, because of its import in our worship of the Triune God, needs to be faithful to Christ and to the Tradition the Church. Cekada’s work is a sizable and it deserves attention. Because of my interest in the sacred Liturgy I am re-posting the book review originally posted on the New Liturgical Movement blog. I am grateful to Dr Alcuin Reid for his tour of the work and the author, and to Shawn Tribe for posting Reid’s review.

Anthony Cekada, Work of Human Hands: A Theological Critique of the Mass of Paul VI, Philothea Press, West Chester, Ohio 2010.

I have long been in Father Cekada’s debt, for it was his booklet The Problems with the Prayers of the Modern Mass that alerted me almost twenty years ago to the significant theological difference between the pre-conciliar and post-conciliar Roman Missals. Work of Human Hands is by no means so succinct a publication. It is a substantial attempt to demonstrate profound theological rupture between the two, and more. It deserves serious attention.

Some will dismiss this study because Father Cekada is canonically irregular and a sede vacantist. Whilst these are more than regrettable, ad hominem realities are not sufficient to dismiss this carefully argued and well researched work. We must attend to his arguments on their merits.

The principal thesis is that “the Mass of Paul VI destroys Catholic doctrine in the minds of the faithful and in particular, Catholic doctrine concerning the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the priesthood and the real presence,” and that it “permits or prescribes grave irreverence.” His secondary thesis is that the Mass of Paul VI is invalid. His practical conclusion is that “a Catholic may not merely prefer the old rite to the new; he must also reject the new rite in its entirety. The faith obliges him to do so.” These strong, even extreme, positions may themselves repel readers. But again, they must be examined.

Continue reading Work of Human Hands: A Theological Critique of the Mass of Paul VI: Alcuin Reid reviews