The Second Vatican Council met from 1962 through 1965 and is the most significant event in the last 400 years of Christian history. It changed the face of the Roman Catholic Church forever and dramatically affected all the people of the world. Author and theologian Bill Huebsch has provided a thorough and thoroughly readable telling of the story of Vatican II.
The story and promise of the Second Vatican Council are part and parcel of the church's daily life throughout the world. It isn't possible to prepare for or enact pastoral ministry today without being a student of Vatican II. From participatory liturgy to whole-family faith formation, from the RCIA to the deaconate, and from the renewed call to holiness to the renewed age of mercy, the springboard of the modern church is Vatican II. Because of this, knowing about the story of Vatican II is essential to understanding its promise. This volume tells that wonderful story of the council-and it does so in plain English. It follows an exciting chronological pathway from the beginning of the council to its final bell. But the deep promise of the council is found in the documents themselves. Church documents don't always make for compelling reading but the plain English presentations which author Bill Huebsch provides here make this book a page-turner! Huebsch captures the excitement and rapidly unfolding drama-all set in the theater of St. Peter's Basilica during those four years in the early 1960s. He treats each character with dignity and respect, moving beyond the judgments of "too liberal" or "too conservative" that have dogged the Church and created division rather than unity. This book fills its readers with hope and equips them to unfold the promise of the Second Vatican Council in today's world.
Whatever happened to the Second Vatican Council? Has the Catholic Church backed away from its teachings? What, exactly, were those teachings? Did the Council stand for the renewal of the liturgy, for example, or its destruction? Did it bring the Church into the world, or has it allowed the world to infiltrate the Church? On the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the closing of Vatican II, Alan Schreck discusses the key documents of the Council and their meaning for Catholics today. He also takes a close look at the ferment and criticism Vatican II left in its wake. What he finds will surprise some Catholics but encourage all to lean into the task of renewing and strengthening the Church for the twenty-first century.
John Henry Newman is often described as "the Father of the Second Vatican Council." He anticipated most of the Council's major documents, as well as being an inspiration to the theologians who were behind them. His writings offer an illuminating commentary both on the teachings of the Council and the way these have been implemented and interpreted in the post-conciliar period. This book is the first sustained attempt to consider what Newman's reaction to Vatican II would have been. As a theologian who on his own admission fought throughout his life against theological liberalism, yet who pioneered many of the themes of the Council in his own day, Newman is best described as a conservative radical who cannot be classed simply as either a conservative or liberal Catholic. At the time of the First Vatican Council, Newman adumbrated in his private letters a mini-theology of Councils, which casts much light on Vatican II and its aftermath. The leading Newman scholar, Ian Ker, argues that Newman would have greatly welcomed the reforms of the Council, but would have seen them in the light of his theory of doctrinal development, insisting that they must certainly be understood as changes but changes in continuity rather than discontinuity with the Church's tradition and past teachings. He would therefore have endorsed the so-called 'hermeneutic of reform in continuity' in regard to Vatican II, a hermeneutic first formulated by Pope Benedict XVI and subsequently confirmed by his successor, Pope Francis, and rejected both 'progressive' and ultra-conservative interpretations of the Council as a revolutionary event. Newman believed that what Councils fail to speak of is of great importance, and so a final chapter considers the kind of evangelization--a topic notably absent from the documents of Vatican II--Newman thought appropriate in the face of secularization.
2013 Catholic Press Association Book Award: 50th Anniversary of Vatican II (2nd Place) Marking the fiftieth anniversary of the first session of Vatican II (1962-65), a watershed event in the history of the church, whose meaning and interpretation continue to inspire heated debate. In this book fifty distinguished authors, including theologians, journalists, spiritual writers, and pastoral leaders, offer their own assessment of the meaning of the Council and its historic documents, drawing in many cases on their personal experience as witnesses or participants. The contributors are a "who's who" of modern Catholic and non-Catholic voices: Francis X. Murphy (who, as "Xavier Rynne," penned an inside account of the Council for The New Yorker magazine), Martin E. Marty, Lisa Sowle Cahill, John O'Malley, Joan Chittister, Gregory Baum, Michael Novak, Basil Pennington, Richard McBrien, Cardinal Avery Dulles, John Dominic Crossan, Joseph Komonchak, Brother Roger of Taize, Cardinal Francis Arinze, Elizabeth Johnson, David Hollenbach, and many more. For those who want to understand what happened at the Council, as well as those concerned about the state of the church today and the agenda for the future, these fifty personal stories provide an invaluable and inspiring resource.
Popular author Bill Huebsch gives an overview of whole community catechesis and what it means. He then offers concrete suggestions for a step-by-step process (the nuts-and-bolts) for implementing this catechetical model. The appendices provide sample hand-outs, outlines for prayer and meetings, and organizational tools.
“In the heart of this world, the Lord of life, who loves us so much, is always present. He does not abandon us, he does not leave us alone, for he has united himself definitively to our earth, and his love constantly impels us to find new ways forward. Praise be to him!” – Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ In his second encyclical, Laudato Si’: On the Care of Our Common Home, Pope Francis draws all Christians into a dialogue with every person on the planet about our common home. We as human beings are united by the concern for our planet, and every living thing that dwells on it, especially the poorest and most vulnerable. Pope Francis’ letter joins the body of the Church’s social and moral teaching, draws on the best scientific research, providing the foundation for “the ethical and spiritual itinerary that follows.” Laudato Si’ outlines: The current state of our “common home” The Gospel message as seen through creation The human causes of the ecological crisis Ecology and the common good Pope Francis’ call to action for each of us Our Sunday Visitor has included discussion questions, making it perfect for individual or group study, leading all Catholics and Christians into a deeper understanding of the importance of this teaching.
On an otherwise ordinary Sunday morning in 1964, millions of Roman Catholics around the world experienced history. For the first time in centuries, they attended masses that were conducted mostly in their native tongues. This occasion marked only the first of many profound changes to emanate from the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Known popularly as Vatican II, it would soon give rise to the most far-reaching religious transformation since the Reformation. In this groundbreaking work of cultural and historical sociology, Melissa Wilde offers a new explanation for this revolutionary transformation of the Church. Drawing on newly available sources--including a collection of interviews with the Council's key bishops and cardinals, and primary documents from the Vatican Secret Archive that have never before been seen by researchers--Wilde demonstrates that the pronouncements of the Council were not merely reflections of papal will, but the product of a dramatic confrontation between progressives and conservatives that began during the first days of the Council. The outcome of this confrontation was determined by a number of factors: the Church's decline in Latin America; its competition and dialogue with other faiths, particularly Protestantism, in northern Europe and North America; and progressive clerics' deep belief in the holiness of compromise and their penchant for consensus building. Wilde's account will fascinate not only those interested in Vatican II but anyone who wants to understand the social underpinnings of religious change.
The perfect gift! A specially priced, beautifully designed hardcover edition of The Joy of the Gospel with a foreword by Robert Barron and an afterword by James Martin, SJ. “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus… In this Exhortation I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy, while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.” – Pope Francis This special edition of Pope Francis's popular message of hope explores themes that are important for believers in the 21st century. Examining the many obstacles to faith and what can be done to overcome those hurdles, he emphasizes the importance of service to God and all his creation. Advocating for “the homeless, the addicted, refugees, indigenous peoples, the elderly who are increasingly isolated and abandoned,” the Holy Father shows us how to respond to poverty and current economic challenges that affect us locally and globally. Ultimately, Pope Francis demonstrates how to develop a more personal relationship with Jesus Christ, “to recognize the traces of God’s Spirit in events great and small.” Profound in its insight, yet warm and accessible in its tone, The Joy of the Gospel is a call to action to live a life motivated by divine love and, in turn, to experience heaven on earth. Includes a foreword by Robert Barron, author of Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith and James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage
