Title: The Challenge of the Gospel: Reflections on the Sunday Gospels, Cycle A  Author: Joseph A. Slattery  ISBN: 0-8189-0966-8  Paperback: xiv+ 162 pp.  Price: $15.95 + shipping  To Order call: 1 800-343-ALBA (2522) Please have your Master, Visa or American Express card ready. To order online click here.

The challenge of the Gospel message is to so love God and neighbor that we are able to change the less desirable aspects of ourselves and the world in which we live into the ideal that God had in mind when He created the earth and all that dwells therein. We are meant to pattern our lives after that of Jesus and, by bringing God's love to the world, to transform it into His Kingdom. We are to place our trust in Him Who has promised to be with us in our struggle till the end of time. That memorable line from the movie The African Queen put the matter quite succinctly, if not entirely truly, in the words: "Human nature was what we were put on earth to rise above." And therein lies much of the challenge of the Gospels: to resist the temptation to do evil and to employ all our energies in doing good. Each Sunday one or another aspect of that challenge is placed before us in these brief reflections.

 

Fr. Joe Slattery, a native of Dublin, Ireland, was ordained for the diocese of Richmond, Virginia in June 1966. He received his Ph.D. in religious studies from the Catholic University in Washington, DC in 1980 and during the 1980's he co-authored with Margrit Banta a catechetical series for grades 7-12 entitled I Call You Friends. After spending several years in parish and adult education work he was named Director of Ministry to Priests for the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference while lecturing part-time at St. John Vianney National Seminary in Pretoria (1997-2002). He is presently on leave form the Richmond diocese to teach courses in biblical and pastoral studies at St. Charles Lwanga National Seminary in Windhoek, Namibia. Reviews "Father Slattery understands that the true gift in preaching is discovery. Slattery has applied the educational adage, "the best way to learn a subject is to teach it" to the art of preaching. His Sunday reflections are exercises in reflection as a means of spiritual development. The reflections are not exhaustive exegeses but are rather lessons learned from his encounters with the world and the Scriptures. They are lessons learned from his own experiences. But having been ordained in Dublin, ministered in Virginia, studied at Catholic University, lectured in Pretoria, and teaching in Namibia, Father Slattery's experiences are neither shallow nor parochial. The reflections average two pages in length." --William Fitzgerald in Catholic Library World, March 2005 Pastor, missionary, and diocesan administrator, Joseph Slattery has written a number of helpful reflections on the Lectionary cycles. This latest volume focuses on the Sunday Gospels in the A cycle. The approach is not that of a commentary on the biblical texts but of reflective essays for each Sunday that draw on the inspiration of the biblical texts and already provide application to Christian life. Homilists looking for leads or others simply wanting some solid spiritual reading will appreciate this volume. --Donald Senior, C.P. in The Bible Today, July/August 2005 Top of Page