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RECOMMENDED
BOO
OUTBACK PRIESTS: 25 Stories from the Toowoomba Diocese by Fr Peter Murphy. Diocese of Toowoomba Publication, 2004
pp. 151; $15. Ah,
those were the days! “Nine trains converged on
PRIESTS IN A PEOPLE’S CHURCH by George Guiver and others London: SPCK 2001 pp138 $38.50 Nine authors associated with the (Anglican) College of the Resurrection, Mirfield UK, probe the questions about the relationship between priests and the rest of God’s people. The book follows another by the same group, The Fire and the Clay.
GOING
THE DISTANCE How to stay fit for a lifetime of ministry by Peter Brain Sydney: Matthias Media 2004 pp 260 $26.50 “Christian
ministry is not a sprint; it’s a marathon, requiring not just enthusiasm and
ability, but staying power”. Peter Brain is the Anglican Bishop of Armidale
NSW, having served previously in the Archdioceses of Sydney, Adelaide and
Perth. A very practical book that deals with such topics as burnout,
depression, stress, anger, sexual temptation in ministry, friendship.
Particularly valuable as it addresses these questions in the Australian
context.
QUICKENING
THE FIRE IN OUR MIDST by George A. Aschenbrenner SJ Chicago Ill.: Loyola Press 2002 $35.95 The author is a Jesuit who specialises in diocesan priestly spirituality. He has worked with seminarians and priests in many situations, including as director of the Spiritual Formation Program at the North American College in Rome. The book is practical, prayerful and theological. THE
FIRST FIVE YEARS OF THE PRIESTHOOD by Dean R. Hoge Collegeville Min.: Liturgical Press, 2002 pp 180 $46.95 A rather expensive paperback, but of obvious importance for formation staff and those ministering to younger or more recently ordained priests and, of course, to the newly ordained priests themsel STEWARDS
OF GOD’S MYSTERIES Priestly
Spirituality in a Changing Church by Paul J. Philibert O.P. Collegeville Min.: Order of Saint Benedict, 2004 pp. 87 $18.95 An
initiative of the (USA) National Federations of Priests’ Councils, to mark
the thirtieth anniversary of a document entitled The Spiritual Renewal of
the American Priesthood. The fruit of a
“writing committee” consisting of a Dominican, a Sulpician, and a diocesan
priest. Short, practical book with an extensive bibliography.
CLERICAL
CULTURE Contradiction and Transformation by Michael L. Papesh Collegeville Min.: Liturgical Press, 2004 pp 1900 $38.95 Another practical, thoughtful book written by a diocesan parish priest (or “pastor”, as more commonly used in the USA). To quote Richard Rohr OFM: “Michael Papesh is critical in the good sense, and faith-filled in the best sense. We desperately need a book such as this in our soul searching time”.
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CARDINAL RATZINGER: The Vatican's Enforcer of the Faith by John L. Allen Jr New York & London: Continuum, 2000, pp 340 16.99 Pounds [Reviewed in THE TABLET, 3 February 2001] An insightful, well-resourced and sympathetic account of Ratzinger the man and his role in the post-Vatican II church. The eight chapters, arranged chronologically and written in the attractive style of a skilled journalist, present the significant ways in which Ratzinger has influenced the contemporary Catholic Church. A rich read that is both pastoral and theological for today's priest.
A PRIEST AFTER MY OWN HEART
Exploring Priestly Spirituality By Michael Fallon msc Strathfield: St Pauls, 2001 pp172
Written out of a conviction that all our human experience can become a route to access the divine, this book is by an author long involved in adult education and retreat direction. As the subtitle indicates, it explores spirituality for priests today in a realistic and challenging way. It would make a good companion for a priest on retreat.
THE CHANGING FACE OF PRIESTHOOD A
Reflection on the Priest’s Crisis of Soul by Donald B. Cozzens Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2000 pp 148 $35.95 This
book is a call for an honest look by priests and by the church at large at three
key issues for priests today: identity, integrity and intimacy and at four
crises they face: shortage of vocations, sexual orientation, authority, and an
intellectual crisis. Many priests have identified the chapter on integrity as
the most significant part. The book speaks out of and to the American experience
but most of it has broader relevance. A serious limitation is a lack of a
developed discussion of the relation between the priesthood of all the baptised
and ordained priesthood. LIKE
HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS, Ordaining
Community Leaders by Fritz Lobinger New York: Crossroad, 1999
pp 208
$ 39.95
This book is a search for a way in which the Church today can move from the present model of largely passive congregations with “provider-priests” to truly active congregations. The suggested way forward is for teams, not individuals, of “viri probati” to be ordained as community leaders, proven by years of experience as voluntary helpers in active parishes. This foresees the introduction of two new kinds of priest: teams of ordained community leaders and the transformation of present priests into “animator-priests”. |