As Christians, we are often told that Lent is a time when we must sacrifice in order to be worthy of God. But as Mark-David Janus reminds us, it is important to reflect instead on what God wants most—mercy. "Lent is where we come face to face with mercy, our need for mercy, the experience of God's generous mercy, the challenge to be merciful to others, and perhaps hardest of all, be merciful to ourselves. It is through mercy we come to the knowledge of God." In this spiritual journey from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday, Fr. Janus invites us to take a little time each day with a short quotation from scripture (taken from the day's liturgy) and offers a thoughtful and thought-provoking reflection of his own that will challenge and enliven our faith.
Mark-David Janus, CSP, PhD, is president and publisher of Paulist Press.
As Christians, we are often told that Lent is a time when we must sacrifice in order to be worthy of God. But as Mark-David Janus reminds us, it is important to reflect instead on what God wants most—mercy. "Lent is where we come face to face with mercy, our need for mercy, the experience of God's generous mercy, the challenge to be merciful to others, and perhaps hardest of all, be merciful to ourselves. It is through mercy we come to the knowledge of God." In this spiritual journey from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday, Fr. Janus invites us to take a little time each day with a short quotation from scripture (taken from the day's liturgy) and offers a thoughtful and thought-provoking reflection of his own that will challenge and enliven our faith.
Mark-David Janus, CSP, PhD, is president and publisher of Paulist Press.
Halík reflects an inclusive, accessible spirit that will appeal to general spirituality readers in the Catholic market. His presentation of this ancient devotion will also find interest among more traditional readers.
Tomáš Halík challenges us with this new Via Crucis, rooted in the Gospel and addressed to believers and nonbelievers alike. He invites readers to a real encounter, one with Jesus in our present world. "Jesus and his cross are not something external to our lives, they are not an event that ended in the past, they must not be the object of our sentimental piety. Jesus does not invite us on the Way of the Cross to regret, but to change our mentality and our actions."
Endorsements
"Tomáš Halík is one of the most insightful voices in contemporary Catholicism." —Massimo Faggioli, author of The Rising Laity
"The world needs more Tomáš Halík." —Charles Taylor
Tomáš Halík PhD, DD, is professor of sociology at Charles University, Prague. Pope John Paul II appointed him advisor to the Pontifical Council for Dialogue with Non-Believers, and Pope Benedict XVI granted him the title of Monsignor-Honorary Prelate of His Holiness. He was awarded the Templeton Prize in 2014.
Halík reflects an inclusive, accessible spirit that will appeal to general spirituality readers in the Catholic market. His presentation of this ancient devotion will also find interest among more traditional readers.
Tomáš Halík challenges us with this new Via Crucis, rooted in the Gospel and addressed to believers and nonbelievers alike. He invites readers to a real encounter, one with Jesus in our present world. "Jesus and his cross are not something external to our lives, they are not an event that ended in the past, they must not be the object of our sentimental piety. Jesus does not invite us on the Way of the Cross to regret, but to change our mentality and our actions."
Endorsements
"Tomáš Halík is one of the most insightful voices in contemporary Catholicism." —Massimo Faggioli, author of The Rising Laity
"The world needs more Tomáš Halík." —Charles Taylor
Tomáš Halík PhD, DD, is professor of sociology at Charles University, Prague. Pope John Paul II appointed him advisor to the Pontifical Council for Dialogue with Non-Believers, and Pope Benedict XVI granted him the title of Monsignor-Honorary Prelate of His Holiness. He was awarded the Templeton Prize in 2014.
"What I so greatly appreciate in Cardinal De Kesel's most recent book, Faith and Religion in a Secular Society, is his deep commitment to Christian belief rooted necessarily in contemporary culture. He is clearly a realist about the situation of the Church today... He understands that the Church must listen to what contemporary people are saying and asking. And he knows that the Church can indeed creatively respond. Cardinal De Kesel's book is refreshingly optimistic."
—from the foreword
Faith and Religion in a Secular Society makes the same bet as Pope Francis that, in the face of the phenomena of secularization, religious indifference, and institutional weakening, it is not by preaching about or idealizing a bygone past that Christianity can expect to regain in Europe, because it risks isolating and separating even more than it is from a culture that no longer waits. The salvation of the Church and the safeguarding of her universal mission depend rather on its ability to facilitate a culture of encounter with all those who want to humanize the modern, pluralist, and secular society, while also asserting its freedom of expression. It is this pastoral option that Joseph De Kesel is already experimenting with in deeply secularized Belgium, which, like France, was once a land of Christianity.
Cardinal Josef De Kesel is the Archbishop of Mechelen Brussels and Primate of Belgium since 2015. He was elevated to cardinal by Pope Francis in 2016. He is a member of the Roman Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life.
"What I so greatly appreciate in Cardinal De Kesel's most recent book, Faith and Religion in a Secular Society, is his deep commitment to Christian belief rooted necessarily in contemporary culture. He is clearly a realist about the situation of the Church today... He understands that the Church must listen to what contemporary people are saying and asking. And he knows that the Church can indeed creatively respond. Cardinal De Kesel's book is refreshingly optimistic." —from the foreword
Faith and Religion in a Secular Society makes the same bet as Pope Francis that, in the face of the phenomena of secularization, religious indifference, and institutional weakening, it is not by preaching about or idealizing a bygone past that Christianity can expect to regain in Europe, because it risks isolating and separating even more than it is from a culture that no longer waits. The salvation of the Church and the safeguarding of her universal mission depend rather on its ability to facilitate a culture of encounter with all those who want to humanize the modern, pluralist, and secular society, while also asserting its freedom of expression. It is this pastoral option that Joseph De Kesel is already experimenting with in deeply secularized Belgium, which, like France, was once a land of Christianity.
Cardinal Josef De Kesel is the Archbishop of Mechelen Brussels and Primate of Belgium since 2015. He was elevated to cardinal by Pope Francis in 2016. He is a member of the Roman Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life.
Just Church engages the reader in the synodal pathway to a "Just Church" that can and should reflect its social teaching. An important measure of justice is an ecclesiology open to participation by others beyond celibate clerics, especially in consideration of competing Catholic ecclesial bodies and methods of membership.
"Just Church is a compelling reminder to the Church, at every level and in every setting, that true justice and authentic synodality require the inclusion of all the baptized in discerning what constitutes constructive mission in the Church's present moment in history. Most notably, Zagano's work underscores that the Church can be a faithful promoter of justice in the world only if justice reigns in the Church."
—from the foreword
Endorsements
"Pope Francis's vision for the future, synodality, and a Church in which lay women and men become active participants in shaping that future are all addressed here in crystal-clear prose. A trenchant critic of ecclesiastical humbug, Zagano points the way forward to a more just Church."
—Paul Lakeland, director of the Center for Catholic Studies at Fairfield University
Just Church engages the reader in the synodal pathway to a "Just Church" that can and should reflect its social teaching. An important measure of justice is an ecclesiology open to participation by others beyond celibate clerics, especially in consideration of competing Catholic ecclesial bodies and methods of membership.
Endorsements
"Just Church is a compelling reminder to the Church, at every level and in every setting, that true justice and authentic synodality require the inclusion of all the baptized in discerning what constitutes constructive mission in the Church's present moment in history. Most notably, Zagano's work underscores that the Church can be a faithful promoter of justice in the world only if justice reigns in the Church." —from the foreword
"Pope Francis's vision for the future, synodality, and a Church in which lay women and men become active participants in shaping that future are all addressed here in crystal-clear prose. A trenchant critic of ecclesiastical humbug, Zagano points the way forward to a more just Church." —Paul Lakeland, director of the Center for Catholic Studies at Fairfield University
"Just Church looks to connect the dots between Catholic social teaching and the practice of the Church, between affirming the equality of all persons created in the image and likeness of God and the ecclesiology of Vatican II, grounded in the recognition of the equal dignity of all the baptized, and their application to the life and practice of the Church—in particular, their consequences for women. Phyllis Zagano's perceptive reading of how hesitant efforts to develop a more synodal and inclusive ecclesial culture continue to be met by the resistance of clerical exceptionalism sheds light on the wounded credibility of the Church in the world today." —Catherine Clifford, PhD, Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Ontario
"Just Church offers a historical and critical analysis of Catholic social teaching and synodality that honors the experiences of women who long for a just Church. Her candid research on women in the Church is essential for realizing Pope Francis's synodal vision." —Erin Brigham, PhD, executive director, Joan and Ralph Lane Center for Catholic Social Thought and the Ignatian Tradition, University of San Francisco
Phyllis Zagano, PhD, has lectured throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. Her many awards include the 2014 Isaac Hecker Award for Social Justice from the Paulist Center Community in Boston. Her groundbreaking work on women in the diaconate led to her appointment in 2016 to the Pontifical Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women. Her most recent book is Women Religions, Women Deacons (Paulist Press, 2022).
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