The revised second edition of the award-winning The RCIA: Transforming the Church incorporates new insights in liturgical catechesis and ritual celebration that have emerged since the original edition. The changed format includes an expanded commentary on each of the periods of the rite, expanded sections, all-new sections, practical guidelines, and suggestions for using the rite with children.Again divided into three parts, this resource first looks at foundational issues for implementing the rite, including underlying theological issues and ministries in initiation. The second section looks at each stage in the rite following a four-step process. The third section examines pastoral issues such as annulments, ecumenical sensitivity, discerning valid baptism, etc.

"No doubt, it is common to hear Christians today declaring their allegiance to God's kingdom. But what does this actually entail, and what difference does it make? In his characteristically provocative and daring way, Christoph Blumhardt articulates a vision of God's kingdom that turns much of our understanding of modern Christianity upside-down. In the present volume, available in English for the first time, Blumhardt leads readers to look at the gospel anew, challenging us to follow Jesus in a way that makes God's reign a reality, here and now. Bypassing vague notions of spirituality, as well as transcending simplistic approaches to faith, Blumhardt inspires us to actually live under the rule and reign of God."

The period of purification and enlightenment is one of intense spiritual preparation for the elect, who have been chosen by God to receive the Easter sacraments. This guide provides practical and liturgically sound ideas for celebrating the rites of this period and for integrating these rites as the primary source of the elect’s formation and preparation for initiation. This resource includes: An overview of six foundational principles of initiation ministry and how they are applied to the period of the purification and enlightenment Background on the rites Suggestions for celebrating the rites Ideas for reflecting on the rites in a retreat-like way Guided meditations on the scrutiny Gospel accounts Seven fully prepared formation sessions on the Rite of Election, the three scrutinies, the handing on of the creed and the Lord’s Prayer, and the Rites of Immediate Preparation A newly composed hymn for use during formation sessions

This book proposes a method of mystagogy based on the preaching of Ambrose of Milan. Chapter 1 establishes the need for mystagogy. chapter 2 lays out the historical context of Ambrose and his church. Chapters 3-8 are a series of six historical studies on Ambrose and his church that correspond to the components of a homiletic method. Chapter 9 proposes a method of mystagogy for the contemporary church based on Ambrose's preaching.

Are The Gospels Really Accurate? Here's How To Know Without A Doubt! We all want clarity about Jesus and the gospels. There is an ongoing research for details (theologians), an ongoing curiosity among the public and an ongoing need among Christians for clarity about the basics of the faith. It is time for a new and up to date story about Jesus and his words. After reading the book, you will: • Read the gospels with new interest and understanding. • Speak with conviction about the gospels. • Know how the spoken word was presented in the books. • Say No to the oral tradition prior to the gospels. • Understand that the gospels form the Testament of Jesus: reports were written before his death, and published in books shortly thereafter. Don’t wait a day to discover the real story about the Gospels. Buy your copy now. Ben van Noort is a graduate (MA) from Utrecht University (Netherlands). In his third academic year he received the annual faculty award, with a study in history of early Christianity. His MA was focused on New Testament and Judaism (1975). He worked as a high school teacher in Christian Religion. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society. “A compelling work of original biblical interpretation with significant theological implications.” —Kirkus Review—

Selected prayers from the Seasons of the Spirit curriculum have been gathered together in this book featuring Lectionary Year B. Each week features a variety of prayers that are tied to the specific lectionary readings for that week and are suitable for congregational use.

Papers presented at the Consultation of Theological Educators and Communication Specialists, held at Bangalore in August 2003.

This is a one-of-a-kind resource for armchair linguists, pop-culture enthusiasts, Pagans, Wiccans, magicians, and trivia nuts alike.

This book offers a theological vision of learning informed by the mystagogical homilies of Ambrose of Milan, Cyril of Jerusalem, John Chrysostom, and Theodore of Mopsuestia. In dialogue with these four mystagogues, Hanna Lucas walks through the rites and liturgy surrounding baptism and the eucharist in order to establish a theological epistemology that sees knowledge as part of the “capacitation” of our nature for heavenly mysteries and union with God. The sacraments of initiation teach us that even the mundane aspects of knowledge, including the rudiments of matter and sensation, fit into a larger divine gift of capacitation. This book offers a holistic and integrated theory of knowledge that envisions one all-encompassing divine pedagogy that orients toward union with God. This union is experienced fully in the eschaton, but it breaks into time through the sacraments of the church, and it echoes down through the ordinary modes of knowing we encounter in daily life. Mundane knowledge beckons the knower to become capable of a sublime intelligence: to become capable of union with the divine. This integrative, unitive, and eschatologically oriented vision of knowledge stands in stark contrast to modern and postmodern epistemologies. Sensing the Sacred positions mystagogy as a timely remedy for the “incapacitations” that modernity offers us.