66.4 2007 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 |Living Faith | Prayer in Our Life |Jesus and Mary |Scripture Scope | Canonical Counsel | Poetry | Book Reviews | Navigational Tools |

Prisms

 

Prisms: The editor of Review for Religious reflects on where we find our contact with the risen Christ.

Articles

Living Faith

Credible Witnesses

Regina Siegfried ASC revisits the martyrdom of five sisters of her congregation fifteen years after the event to invite us all to reflect on what it means to be credible witnesses. Sister Regina writes often for this journal her email address is ReginaSiegfried@sbcglobal.net.

Excerpts: "Credible witnesses are prophets who speak truth to authority, who advocate for the powerless, and who become voices for the silent. ... Prophets are the most credible of witnesses, for their lives are their words and their words are their lives."

 

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

Priesthood 101: Lessons from a Barrio

Antonio (T.J.) Martinez SJ draws upon conversations and experiences with parishioners to propose six pragmatic guidelines on how a new priest ministers to a Latino Catholic congregation. Father Martinez is newly ordained and in studies in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Excerpts: "In their spirituality Latino Catholics understand that there is a sacred distance between God and his people that is mediated by the sacred functions of a priest. ... Lation Catholics have always looked for a highter standard of behavor in their priests, even if they have not always found it."

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

Salesian Spirituality and Stemming Combat Anxiety

Mark F. Plaushin OSFS proposes Salesian spirituality as offering a paradigm for Catholic pastoral praxis on the battlefield which can mitigate anxiety and restore spiritual resilience. Father Plaushin has served in the Army as an infantry office and a cultural afairs office and as a chaplain with two tours in the Middle East. He is now a chaplain at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C.

Excerpts: "Many military Catholics, no different than their civilian friends, lack a substantive spirituality. ... The primary threat to a fighting man or woman's spiritual center of gravity is anxiety. ... Another ground for anxiety is the fear leaders share in ordering others into combat. ... The soldier's vocation is one of preparation, readiness, and especially action, even in the midst of uncertainty."

 

Prayer in Our Life

 

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

Contemplative Gifts

Carolyn Humphreys OCDS reflects upon the richness of the gift of a contemplative orientatin to life and our needs to guard and nourish what we receive by a manner of living that is rooted in a humility. Sister Carolyn last wrote in our journal in 2004, she is a registered occupational thereapist and resides in Paramount, California.

Excerpts: "If all we do is 'do,' we can easily destroy the reality of who we are in the sight of God. ... Taking life one step at a time gives us time to visit our inner sanctuary, our place of rest.."

 

Eucharist Mirrored in Religious Life

Elissa Rinere CP traces some of the struggles of the last forty years regarding Eucharist as celebration, Eucharist as sacrament received, and Eucharist as object of adoration. She is Coordinator of Pastoral Planning and Director of the Office of Worship of the diocese of Norwich, Connecticut where she resides.

Excerpts: "The Eucharist is not merely a ritual; it is a creative force within the community.... Eucharist is often a painful experience of oppression rather than a time of prayer and unity. ... ''Eucharist received' is certainlyt reflected in the service every Christian renders to others."

Jesus and Mary

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

The Christ Child, the Father of the Man

A. Paul Dominic SJ raises the question: How can adult Christians clebrate and enjoy Christmas for what it is in our faith lives? Father Dominic writes for this journal often, he has moved to Guyana South America.

Excerpts: "The devotion to the Infant Jesus cannot follow the ancient apocryphal fervor or the modern materialistic route. ... Perhaps no mature mother could be absorbed totally in the present affairs of her child without being future oriented."

 

The Mother of the Lord in Byzantine Spirituality

John M. Samaha SM introduces us to the rich, but different ways that the veneration of Mary permeates the entire life of Byzantine Christianity. He lives in Cupertino, California.

Excerpts: "The veneration of Mary, which is so central to Byzantine worship, has not been talked about extensively, analyzed, or evaluated systematically. ... Each cycle of prayers in the liturgy concludes with a special prayer addressed to Mary. ... Mary stands for the femininity of creation itself."

Departments

Scripture Scope: A Preface to Reading Matthew
Eugene Hensell OSB continues his Scripture essays, a regular feature of each issue of Review for Religious.

Canonical Counsel: Conscience and Confidentiality from the Members' Perspective
Elizabeth McDonough OP continues her on-going series of canonical information and reflection. She serves as canonical counsultant for many religious communities and for several dioceses. She is Bishop Griffin Professor of Canon Law at the Pontifical College Josephinum.

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Poetry

Absent by Mary Catherine Vukamanic OSU
Fools Gold by Eileen Haugh OSF
the mutted trumpet bySean Kinsella
Widow with Two Coins by Patricia Schnapp RSM

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Book Reviews

Luther's Spirituality by Martin Luther (ed. Philip and Peter Krey) reviewed by Jeffrey Gros FSC

Book Shelf Life
Mini reviews by Philip Fischer SJ

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