Church and Culture

Fr. Dan Horan discusses his recent book on this encyclical by Pope Francis titled Reading, Praying, Living Pope Francis’s Rejoice and Be Glad: A Faith Formation Guide.

Daniel Horan, OFM

He is a Franciscan Friar, Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology and Spirituality at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and the author of numerous articles and twelve books, including The Franciscan Heart of Thomas Merton: A New Look at the Spiritual Influence on his Life, Thought, and Writing (2014) and, most recently, Reading, Praying, Living Pope Francis’s Rejoice and Be Glad (2019).

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From Center to Periphery: Relocating the Prophetic Witness of Religious Life at one of the locations throughout the United States listed below. In these gatherings, we will celebrate our heritage, reflect with expert and engaging presenters and with each other on the implications of our call to mission in the 21st century, and continue our lifelong formation as women and men challenged, in Pope Francis’ words, to fly from the nest to the frontiers, to wake the world.

Richard Gaillardetz, PhD, Joseph Professor of Theology at Boston College;
Presentation title: From Center to Periphery: Relocating the Prophetic Witness of Religious Life

Caroljean Willie, SC, PhD, NGO representative at the United Nations for the Sisters of Charity Federation;
Presentation title: Called to Live on the Margins of Possibility

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Even though hope is essential to human and Christian life, very little has been written about it in comparison to faith and love. Faith sees what already is, while hope sees what is yet to come. Charity loves what already is, but hope puts its trust in what is not yet here.

Living in very dark times, hope is a most important, necessary and rare virtue.

For Christians, for vowed Religious, “hope” is linked to the person of Jesus Christ. Consequently we would do well to give greater attention to the precise nature of Christian hope. What exactly is it? This day will offer a clear understanding of the nature of hope to deepen our capacity to give an account of the hope that is within us (1Peter 3: 15), especially in the face of resistance and indifference.

Rooted in an understanding of the kenosis of God in Christ as the reason for our hope, the presentation will be interspersed with poetic reflections that help express the nature of hope.

Michael Downey, PhD

With a Master of Arts in special education as well as in theology, Dr. Michael Downey is the first layperson to receive the Ph.D. in theology from The Catholic University of America. His abiding theological concern for those who are wounded and marginalized has brought him to serve the church most in need through lectures, conferences and retreats in different parts of the world. Editor of the award-winning New Dictionary of Catholic Spirituality, he is founding North American editor of Spirituality, an international journal of the Christian spiritual life.  Author or editor of more than twenty books, as well as journal articles, essays, and book chapters numbering in the dozens, he is the recipient of three honorary doctorates. Two of his better known books are Altogether Gift:  A Trinitarian Spirituality (2000) and The Heart of Hope (2009). A member of the editorial board of Cistercian Studies Quarterly, he works extensively with enclosed contemplative communities, and is active in retreat work. Dr. Downey has a particular interest in Trinitarian theology and a theology of hope, both of which are expressed in his Living the Justice of the Triune God [with the late David N. Power] (2012). On March 31, 2005 Pope John Paul II awarded him the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice.

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As Christians, we believe the Scriptures are God's living word given to us to sustain our faith in every age of our human history. So once again, in this 21st century, we turn to the Scriptures to find the inspiration, strength and especially the HOPE we need to sustain us in our daily lives, particularly in times of doubt, struggle, and suffering. And in this year dedicated to consecrated life, we look to the scriptures for the hope we need to face the challenges and questions that confront religious life today. Let us together open our minds and hearts to God's voice and presence speaking to us through the lives of the women and men we encounter in the scriptures in order to re- vitalize, nurture and strengthen our hope.

Mary Schneiders, OP, PhD is a Dominican Sister of Hope (Ossining, NY.) For the past 21 years, she has been a fulltime staff member of Berakah Spirituality and Retreat Center in Pittsfield, NH (formerly Berakah Renewal Center) where she teaches courses in Scripture, Theology and Spirituality, and journeys with people in spiritual direction. Prior to that Sr. Mary taught theology and Scripture at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, NY for 11 years. She offers retreats and workshops at many retreat centers, parishes, and women’s groups throughout the US. Sr. Mary has an MA in Religious Studies from Providence College in Providence, RI, and a PhD in Theology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

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Resource published by UISG.

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Pope Francis is asking every person to look deeply at how the people of God are experiencing ourselves as church and to ask what the Spirit is calling us to as church into the future. The call to members of consecrated life to participate in this process was specifically mentioned in the SYNOD 2023 PREPARATORY DOCUMENT. Additionally, each congregation has received an invitation from the USG (Union of Superiors General) and UISG (International Union of Superiors General) to participate and offer their perspectives.

Discussion with Professor Rafael Luciani and Sr. Maria Cimperman. Professor Luciani, Theology faculty at Boston College, is a member of the Theological Commission for the Synodality process. Sr. Maria, Theological Ethics faculty and Director of the Center for the Study of Consecrated Life, has been named by the UISG and USG to a four-person commission which created a process for congregations and who will encounter the responses from religious congregations and offer a synthesis for the Synod on Synodality.

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InFormation Bulletins - InFormation 1996 No.1 Jan-Feb

"Lastly, if and when the local church has achieved sufficient autonomy from the "sending church," both institutionally and intellectually, and its members, both lay and clerical, have taken over the task of evangelizing not only individuals but their own culture as such, then inculturation, properly speaking, begins to take place. Then the third level of culture is engaged with, that is, the level at which the different meanings attached to the building blocks of culture are integrated together into a cultural system resulting in a world view."

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Formation Resources - Resource Manuals - Volume IV

III. Formation for a Prophetic Way of Life

• 3.7. "Towards a New Heaven & a New Earth", Michael Amaladoss, SJ

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Formation Resources - Resource Manuals - Volume IV

III. Formation for a Prophetic Way of Life

• 3.5. "Forming Ministers for the 21st Century", Luisa Saffiotti

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Formation Resources - Resource Manuals - Volume II

Part II : Multiculturalism

• Marie Chin, RSM
  "Many Miles Before We Sleep"

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