Going to God Together Reflections Along the Way
Brendan Leahy offers reflections rooted in the Focolare’s communitarian spirituality which stresses undertaking the Christian journey together and the mutual sharing of what happens when we try to put the words of the Gospel into daily practice. He also draws on insights of saints and spiritual writers from a variety of historical and cultural settings. These ‘simple’ reflections mirror discoveries that Leahy feels he needs to constantly re-discover in order to be most effective in building up the presence of Jesus among “two or more” who are going to God together.
Ecclesial Movements and Communities Origins, Significance and Issues
People on the lookout for the trends in the Catholic Church will be very happy to discover Brendan Leahy’s Ecclesial Movements and Communities. The birth and development of the ecclesial movements has been a topic of much discussion over the past 50 years. Leahy presents the movements as examples of the Church’s charismatic dimension, a principle which Pope John Paul II described as ‘co-essential’ with the hierarchical-institutional dimension. His overview of their rise and development captures the unique qualities of Charismatic Renewal, Communion and Liberation, Cursillo, Focolare, L’Arche, Legion of Mary, the Neocatechumenal Way, Regnum Christi, Sant’Egidio, and others.
Leahy offers an insightful overview of the rise and spread of the movements and describes several ways of seeing what it is that makes them ‘co-essential’ in the Church. Capturing the ecclesial maturity that exists in many of the movements today, he addresses many specific questions, like:
• how the movements express and/or renew charisms
• how the movements fit in the context of Apostolic Succession (including the role of priests)
• movements and the parish
• canonical challenges
BELIEVE IN LOVE The Life, Ministry and Teachings of John Paul II
“When you are young,” writes Leahy, “you have dreams, hopes and expectations. Karol Woytyla … was no different.” Believe in Love paints the rich landscape of John Paul II’s formative influences, his theological and philosophical foundations, and his personal reflections. For John Paul, he writes, “God is not way up in the clouds in remote majesty and might.” Rather, the chapters reflect the pontiff’s belief that we need to link our notion of God with our understanding of what it is to be human. Hence we have chapters on dialogue, culture, anthropology, young people, families, artists, politics, economics, work, war and peace, forgiveness, and the elderly.
PRIESTS TODAY Reflections on Identity, Life, and Ministry
Book of reflections that open windows onto aspects of spirituality and pastoral ministry that encourage and prompt renewal.
THE MARIAN PROFILE In the Ecclesiology of Hans Urs von Balthasar
The Marian Profile is an original and at the same time faithful exposition of an important aspect of von Balthasar's work. Leahy sets the stage by tracing the Marian principle from the patristic and medieval periods up to Vatican II and John Paul II's Mulieris dignitatem. He then gathers together the intuitions and references to that principle in von Balthasar's works.
A Garden with many flowers by Bishop Brendan Leahy
It helps me to keep remembering the church, above all, is the universal people of God, born from the Gospel, loving one another and empowered by the Spirit
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