65.2 2006 Review for Religious

 

INTERACTIVE ARTICLES

Some of the articles in this issue of Review for Religious are interactive, having prayers, psalms, and points for personal prayer and reflection. You can find the full text of these articles and material for reflection and prayer by clicking on the GO icon next to the interactive articles. Readers are invited and encouraged to share their reflections and comments through letters or e-mails.

Topics

| Prisms | Franciscan Legacy | Vocation | Religious Implications | The Spirit | Scripture Scope | Canonical Counsel | Poetry | Book Reviews | Navigational Tools |

Prisms

 

Prisms: The editor of Review for Religious reflects on service.

Articles

Franciscan Legacy

INTERACTIVE ARTICLE
Go to this article to find questions for reflection and discussion.

Custodians of Franciscan Households

Michael Blastic OFM enters us into the meaning of Franciscan fraternity through developing three elements: 1) a life lived in brotherhood; 2) experienced in a household; 3) qualified with patience. Blastic present his peprer on Franciscan brotherhoos at a province meeting in November 2005. He writes from St. Bonaventure University in New York state.

Excerpts: "Francis did not go to the lepers to make himself better. ...Franciscans' holiness was experienced domestically. ... Frances sees Jesus as the face of God, who made himself vulnerable in this world, who exercised patience through life and death. ... An important aspect of itinerancy is that while moving about we are still at home with each other.

Francis's Charism, Tree-Huggers, and the Eucharist

Regis J. Armstrong, OFMCap centers his reflections on the spirituality of Francis of Assisi by focusing on five passages of Francis's writings that deal with Eucharist. Armstrong is an editor, translator, and author at Catholic University of Amerian in Washington D.C. He presented these reflections in January, 2005, to the faculty, staff, and students of the Theological College at Catholic University.

Excerpts: "We are made aware of Francis's understanding of the church as the place of encounter or adoration. .. The Eucharist demands the daily embrace of the virtures of humility, self-emptying, and vulnerability that the Incarnate Word lives and reveals each day. ... Francis found God's goodness, the gifts of faith and of the Spirit, more and more overwhelming in the mystery of the Eucharist."

Vocation

INTERACTIVE ARTICLE
Go to this article to find a prayer reflection.n.

Imitation of Mary and the Religious Vocation

Julius D. Leloczky OCist invites those following the special call to religous life into a prayerful meditation on the role of Mary as model and mentor. Leloczky joined the Cirstercians in Hungary in 1953, later studied in Rome, and in 1964 was sent to the Cistercian Abbey in Irving Texas, where he continues to live and minister.

Excerpts: "Members of relligous orders, when answering God's call to an unmarried way of life, do not choose to live in lifeless sterility."

INTERACTIVE ARTICLE
Go to this article to find questions for reflection and discussion.

Just Because I Said So

Mary Joseph Schultz SCC considers the importance of commitment and what it means "to give one's word." She writes from Mendham, New Jersey, where she is president of Assumption College for Sisters.

Excerpts: "Commitment is not widely modeled for today's youth, either in families or in society at large."

Religious Implications


Are Religious Superiors Called to Be "Politically Correct"?

Vimal Terimanna CSSR reflects on his experience as major superior and as president of the Conference of Major Religious Superiors of Sri Lanka to share his concern for the proper use of authority. He writes from Kandy, Sri Lanka

Excerpts: "The Christian tradition has always held that authority is for service. ... Consecrated life has to give the lead to the rest of the church, even regarding its pastoral leadership."

Identifying Identity Among Nonclerical Religious

Benedan Kneale FSC clarifies identity for men and women as embracing two dimensions, personal and social, which are mutually supportive. Having taught for many years at Saint Mary's College of California, Kneale now lives in Napa, California

Excerpts: "We have a private identity and a public identity.... Some individual religious are weakly connected to the charism of their institute or hold divided loyalties."

The Spirit

Led By the Spirit: Julian of Norwich
Andrew Ryder SCJ notes the central role of the Spirit in the writings of Julian of Norwich. The Holy Spirit is the dynamic, active agent who brings us into communion with the life of Christ and the Persons of the Holy Trinity. This article is the last of four on the Holy Spirit to be published in this journal. Ryder lives in Malpas, Cheshire, United Kingdom.

Excerpts: "Julian's answer to fear and anxiety was to emphasize God's love and mercy. ... Julian uses two words, 'homely and courteously,' to explain how God loves his creatures.

Departments

The Miracles of Jesus
Eugene Hensell OSB contuinues his Scripture essays, a regular feature of each issue of Review for Religious.

Canonical Counsel: The Importance of Procedural Law

Elizabeth McDonough OP continues her on-going series of canonical information and reflection. She is canonical advisor for numerous religious communities as well as for the Archdiocese of Washington and several other dioceses.

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Poetry

Before We Are Blinded by Bonnie Thurston
gently her fingers by Sean Kinsella
Palm Sunday by Agnes Cunninghan SSCM

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Book Reviews

Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life by Lawrence S. Cunninham.
Reviewed by Eva-Maria Ackerman FSGM

Forgotten Among the Lilies: Learning to Love Beyond Our Fears by Ronald Rolheiser OMI
Reviewed by Regina Siegfried ASC

Visual Habits: Nuns, Feminism, and American Postwar Popular Culture by Rebecca Sullivan
Reviewed by Regina Siegfried ASC

Book Shelf Life
Mini reviews by Philip Fishcer SJ

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