| Title:
Christian Totality: Theology of the Consecrated Life
Authors: Basil Cole, OP, and Paul Conner, OP ISBN: 0-8189-0798-3 Paperback: 368 pp. Price: $18.95 + shipping To Order call: 1 800-343-ALBA (2522) Please have your Master or Visa card ready To order online click here. |
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After highlighting the dignity of lay Christian life and its mission to transform the world, Christian Totality proceeds to explore the splendid love and mystery of the consecrated life. It deals at length with the three evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience, with the common life and with the apostolic work of consecrated men and women. The book likewise presents a lucid and balanced exposition of the real meaning and essential features of the virtues of poverty, chastity and obedience and suggests practical ways and means of avoiding pitfalls and of growing in each virtue. Of special interest is the sensitive treatment of issues like friendship with the same or opposite sex among consecrated persons. |
Basil Cole, O.P., S.T.D., is the author of Music and Morals
(Alba House, 1993) as well as several articles in theology. A member of Western Dominican Preaching,
he gives parish missions and retreats and also teaches at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas
in Rome and at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington,
D.C. Paul Conner, O.P., S.T.D. is the author of Married in
Friendship (Sheed and Ward, London, 1987) and Celibate Love (Our Sunday Visitor, 1979)
along with numerous articles on topics of moral and spiritual theology. He has taught in seminaries
and colleges in the U.S.A. and abroad, and is currently Associate Professor of Theology at Providence
College in Providence, Rhode Island.
Reviews"Christian Totality by Dominican Fathers Basil Cole and Paul Conner successfully provides laity, clergy and the religious of the Church with both a catechesis on the theology of the consecrated life and practical guidelines for living one's religious profession faithfully. Dedicated to 'the consecrated youth of the third millennium--the future of the mystery,' this text is ideal for use in formation programmes of young religious brothers and sisters. Written succinctly and in a well-ordered manner, Frs. Cole and Conner present religious life and the vows as they truly are: as mysteries into which our Lord invites select souls to penetrate and enter by the giving of their very lives. Perhaps the greatest asset of Christian Totality is the effective integration of numerous Vatican and post-Varican II documents into the theology that is set forth, many of which are particular to the religious life. The recent Apostolic Exhortation of Pope John Paul II, Vita consecrata and Redemptionis donum, are highlighted throughout the work, along with countless other documents and decrees of the Church. The significant citations of the Catechism of the Catholic Church point further to the idea that this work synthesizes the best of the past few decades into a sound treatise on the theology of the consecrated life.... The body of the book examines the heart of religious consecration: the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. In addition to the historical and scriptural bases of each vow, the authors address the virtues related to the vows and the practical means for living one's vows fully. From my perspective, Frs. Cole and Conner set forth remarkably well the current thought of the Church as it applies to and embraces the consecrated life. Chapter 7 is of particular value to contemplative-active orders that are striving to impart to their young members the love of contemplation and apostolic zeal flowing from this.... This text is highly recommended for religious communities to use in the formation of their members, or for the continuing formation of all their members of all generations. Religious and diocesan priests will find this work of great assistance in their understanding of the consecrated life today in the current springtime of the Church." --Mother Mary Assumpta Long, Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in L'Osservatore Romano, March 7, 2001 "This is a very useful book. It presents the priesthood and the religious life in a traditional yet up-to-date manner. I loaned it briefly to two young cloistered nuns. One said: 'It is a very satisfying, deep, and solid treatment of the consecrated life.' The other asked if she might borrow it to help her prepare for a meeting of novice mistresses next summer. Both of them hope it will be added to their monastery library. I would hope that many seminaries and religious houses would add it to their libraries too." --Matthew V. Reilly, O.P. in Homiletic and Pastoral Review, February 1999 "Vows Over 2000 Years: Co-authored by Dominican scholars, Fr. Basil Cole, OP and Fr. Paul Conner, OP, a comprehensive new book examines the meaning and reality of the consecrated vocation. Title: Christian Totality: Theology of the Consecrated Life, its 8 chapters begin with a study of the dignity of lay Christian life, followed by chapters dealing with each of the Evangelical Counsels along with a look at Consecrated Community and Apostolate. It closes with a chapter on Ministerial Priesthood and a Selected Bibliography." --Crux of the News
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