Books – Page 4 – Communio

Infinity Dwindled to Infancy: A Catholic and Evangelical Christology, NEW book by Father Edward Oakes

Infinity Dwindled to Infancy: A Catholic and Evangelical Christology (Eerdmans, 2011) is due to be released in July. If you pre-order now, there is a discount on Amazon.

Father Oakes utilizes a wide range of works taken from Scripture, theology and literature to explore the questions on the lordship of Jesus Christ. He’s attentive to the Magisterium. The concern is to know what the we, as Christians, believe and teach about who Jesus Christ is, and why. In this book the author is wants to answer this question: what does it mean for an infinite God to become man?

The title of this book is taken from a poem of Jesuit Father Gerard Manley Hopkins, “The Blessed Virgin compared to the Air we Breathe.” There the poet says:

“This air, by life’s law,

My lung must draw and draw

Now but to breathe its praise,

Minds me in many ways

Of her who not only

Gave God’s infinity

Dwindled to infancy

Welcome in womb and breast,

Birth, milk, and all the rest

But mothers each new grace

That does now reach our race.”

Infinity Dwindled to Infancy has three parts: the data, the history and the teaching on the identity and work of Christ. The work carries an Imprimatur from Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago and the Nihil obstat from Capuchin Father Thomas Weinandy, theologian for the US Conference of Bishops.

Father Edward T. Oakes, SJ, is a professor of systematic theologian teaching at Mundelein Seminary. He is a member of the some time meeting of the Dulles Colloquium (a theological discussion group that was organized by Father Richard J. Neuhaus and Cardinal Avery Dulles) and he is a member of the ecumenical theological discussion group Evangelicals and Catholics Together. Oakes is a frequent writer for First Things and several other periodicals. Oakes is the author of Pattern of Redemption and a co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to Hans Urs Von Balthasar. There are several translations done by Father Oakes of Balthasar to note.

The true story of St Padre Pio: Obedientia et Pax

St Padre Pio is a much beloved, internationally famous and yet not entirely known. That is, until now with Stefano Campanella’s new published book, Oboedientia et Pax: The True Story of a False Prosecution.

The author researches the history of the rocky relationship the Capuchin saint Padre Pio had with the blessed Pope John XXIII. Much misinformation was rampant that soured the Pope’s and other’s, view of Saint Pio who lived with the sacred Stigmata.

Both are icons of holiness and priesthood but there some fragility in human relations…

The author speaks to his work here.

Reaching Muslims: A one-stop guide for Christians

A recent book on Muslim Christian relations is Reaching Muslims: A one-step guide for Christians gives a perspective, albeit from a Protestant perspective, is worth noting. Much of what is said therein would recall for interested readers the kinds of things Pope Benedict XVI has already said. The author is reasonably positive when he speaks about Muslim culture being “culturally rich and often wonderfully passionate
about life and faith.” There is a lot of useful information given here: he covers lots of ground: politics, sociology, belief, justice matters, history and demographics.

This book attempts to help the read to bridge the gap of divisions, real or fictional, between Christians and Muslims. Fear of the other keeps us from speaking the truth in love and in peace with someone who does not think or act like we do. Chatrath holds up the role of friendship in knowing the other. Friendship bears the heat of the day!

Continue reading Reaching Muslims: A one-stop guide for Christians

Baptism in the Traditional Form

In the Latin Church there are several forms of celebrating the Sacrament of Baptism. Most Catholics today are familiar with the Rite of Baptism done according to the reforms of Pope Paul VI. Other Catholics follow the Traditional form according to the Rituale Romanum. This booklet follows this older form of the ritual.

The booklet is compiled by members of the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) who are not in full communion with the Roman Pontiff. Moreover, the booklet doesn’t carry an imprimatur of a bishop in communion with the Pope.

This is a handy booklet on Baptism is in print at Angelus Press. One booklet is $3.95, 10 for $26.00.

The Maronites: The Origins of an Antiochene Church

For nearly 25 years I have had a significant attraction to the Eastern Churches with regard to their sacred Liturgy, ecclesiology, culture, food, and friendship shared as it is, and historically lived, in the Maronite Church. My introduction to the Maronite tribe of the universal Catholic Church is found in the good friends I have had through the years who first introduced me to their Maronite Church. I was happy to see that Cistercian Publications is publishing in February a book on one of the Churches that is close to my heart.

From the Website

The Maronite Church is one of twenty-two Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with the Pope of Rome. Her patriarch is in Lebanon. Forty-three bishops and approximately five million faithful make up her presence throughout the world.

The story of Maron, a fifth-century hermit-priest, and the community gathered around him, later called the Maronites, tells another fascinating story of the monastic and missionary movements of the Church. Maron’s story takes place in the context of Syrian monasticism, which was a combination of both solitary and communal life, and is a narrative of Christians of the Middle East as they navigated the rough seas of political divisions and ecclesiastical controversies from the fourth to the ninth centuries.

Abbot Paul Naaman, a Maronite scholar and former Superior General of the Order of Lebanese Maronite Monks, wisely places the study of the origins of the Maronite Church squarely in the midst of the history of the Church. His book, The Maronites: The Origins of an Antiochene Church, published during the sixteenth centenary of Maron’s death, offers plausible insights into her formation and early development, grounding the Maronite Church in her Catholic, Antiochian, Syriac, and monastic roots.

Abbot Paul Naaman is a Maronite scholar and former Superior General of the Order of Lebanese Maronite Monks.

Reading Benedict XVIs “Light of the World”

Much is being made of Peter Seewald’s brilliant interview of Pope Benedict XVI, Light of the World: The Pope, the Church, and the Signs of the Times (2010).

The recent splash of news about this book is rather interesting and pathetic at the same time. Interesting because there are some great things the Pope says theologically about a whole host of things; pathetic because so many people are focussed on what the Pope said about latex. In recent years I’ve not see THAT much interested in the Pope’s ideas on sex, sexuality and salvation through condom use. AND the confusion runs rampant to the point that a Vatican clarification had to be issued on what the Pope said. Catholic News Service ran the Vatican statement and making sure everyone was on the same condom –rather, page.

On November 22, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke spoke briefly of the Pope’s recent work when he answered John Burger’s questions. Burke, prefect (head) of the Church’s highest court, the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, is one of 24 new cardinals created by Benedict XVI on November 21. The cardinal is a native of Wisconsin, trained in Canon Law, and the bishop of La Crosse, WI, and the former archbishop of St Louis, MO.

Read the interview here.

Popular blogger Jimmy Akin wrote two noteworthy pieces, “The Pope Said WHAT about Condoms???” which can be read here and “New Developments on the Pope and Condoms” can be read here.

Catherine of Siena: A Passionate Life –book presentation at St Catherine of Siena Church NYC

On Thursday, December 9, 2010 at 7:00 PM
in Saint Catherine of Siena Church, 411 East 68th Street, NYC, author Don
Brophy will present his award winning new book, Catherine of Siena: A
Passionate Life.

Brophy’s book has won the Paulist Press Book of the
Month Award, the same is forthcoming from the Catholic Press Association. Other
Catherine of Siena Scholars hail Don Brophy’s work as a masterpiece that
reveals in a new way the wonder and passion of Catherine of Siena in
medieval Europe and today.

There will be time for questions and answers as well
as meeting the author.

The event is free and open to the public.

Saint Catherine of Siena Church is a ministry of the Dominican Friars of the Province of Saint Joseph. The friars have been present on New York’s East Side since 1896. In addition to the Church, the friars also sponsor the Dominican Friars Healthcare Ministry of New York, providing pastoral care to the four area hospitals.

Office of Compline, edited by Fr Samuel Weber

Edited by Fr. Samuel F. Weber, OSB

$18.95 USD

Foreword by Archbishop
Raymond L. Burke

From Ignatius Press:

This volume contains the Office of
Compline for every day of the year, in Latin and English, according to the
novus ordo of the Roman Catholic Church, with Gregorian Chant settings. On the
facing pages for the Latin, the official English text is also arranged for
chanting, using simple English tones. New translations have been made for the
official hymns of the Office, and all the hymns are given with the Gregorian
melodies proper for each season and feast of the liturgical year.

This book
will find a welcome in parishes, cathedrals, religious communities and
seminaries, as well as families, all who wish to pray together at the end of
the day.

Complete instructions are given for praying Compline. The Foreword by
Archbishop Raymond Burke explains the rich spiritual tradition of prayer at the
close of day, and provides an inspiring meditation on the texts and meaning of
the Office of Compline.

The scriptures give only one command concerning the
frequency of prayer: pray without ceasing (Lk 18:1; 1 Thess 5:17). This volume
will prove to be a welcome companion to all who are seeking to make a full
response to the Gospel, and persevere in unceasing prayer.

The editor, Fr. Samuel Weber, is a Benedictine priest and monk of the Archabbey of Saint Meinrad and is the Director of the Institute of Sacred Music in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis

The Catholic Handbook for Visiting the Sick and Homebound 2011

In 2009 I wrote a review of the book, The Catholic Handbook for Visiting the Sick and Homebound. The 2011 edition is now available for use beginning on November 28th, the First Sunday of Advent 2010. Liturgy Training Publications is the publisher. This resource is a good deal for $6.00, discounts for bulk orders.

The is published according to Canon 827 of the Code of Canon Law and the approval Committee of Divine Worship of the USCCB.

My opinion remains the same: the book is an essential tool for those who are Ministers of Care of the Sick. The introduction written by Sr Genevieve Glen can’t be neglected if one wants to be an effective, sensitive and holy minister.

Beatitudes and Beads: Rosary Meditations on Blessedness

Beatitudes and Beads is a 32 page booklet guides the user through the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount, often called Lord’s Commandments which have the same force as the Decalogue. Beatitudes and Beads gives the user the original rosary with meditations on the Eight Beatitudes.

As the author states so clearly, “Our happiness in Christ is not assured because we’re right or powerful or feared. Jesus said we inherit the kingdom when we face insult, persecution, and lies with gladness, charity and mercy.” So very true but so hard to live, but we ought not shy away from trying to live the Beatitudes.

The author, Dominican Father Philip Neri Powell is a member of the Order of Preachers of the Southern Province, pursuing studies at the Angelicum, Rome.

Liguori Publications sells the booklet for $2.50 (click on the link above).