Living the Call

by Novak, Michael; Simon, William E., Jr.

• ISBN13: 9781594035869
• ISBN10: 1594035865
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-09-13
• Publisher: Encounter Books

Summary

Since 1965 the number of priests in the United States has fallen by some 30,000. But over that same time period, more than 30,000 laypeople have come into the employ of parishes and other Church institutions. Laypeople have stepped up to serve in a variety of new ministries, and they are relieving their pastors of many administrative burdens, enabling them to focus on their proper priestly duties. Lay teachers now outnumber nuns, brothers, and priests in Catholic schools by at least 19 to 1. In the history of the Church, laypeople have never been asked to do so much. William E. Simon, Jr. and Michael Novak call attention to this great shift in Living the Call. The first part of the book tells the personal stories of nine faithful laypeople now serving the Church in new and diverse ways. Simon and Novak's insight is that more and more who work in the Church feel the need to shape their lives in a new way, matched to their different needs and adjusted to the new base of knowledge about the world with which they begin. In response to this need, the second part of Living the Calloffers practical examples and reflections on a number of themes, including entering into the presence of God and learning different forms of prayer, reading that refreshes the mind and deepens the soul, and the graces of the sacraments and how being a spouse contributes to holiness.

Table of Contents

A Word from Bill	p. ix
A Word from Michael	p. xv
Into The World
Taking Our Knowledge and Putting It to Use in the World	p. 3
Teach Our Children to Follow the Right Path	p. 13
The Child of Immigrants Gives Back	p. 17
A Life of Service-Not Far from Home	p. 25
Passing by Injustice-and Then Stopping to Do Something about It	p. 33
Parish Ministry	p. 41
"This Is My Perfect Job!"	p. 57
The Business of the Church	p. 67
"My Credentials Are My Baptism"	p. 73
Lay Ministries	p. 81
Surrounded by Poverty, a Soul Is Enriched	p. 89
In Love and Death, Helping Others Find Peace	p. 95
After the Waters Recede: Leading the Next Generation to Shore	p. 101
The Search Within
The Soul of Laypeople	p. 111
First Comes Love-God's for Us	p. 117
Looking Inward	p. 123
Into the Presence of God	p. 127
The Sacraments	p. 135
Imbibing the Wisdom of the Ages-Spiritual Readings for the Lay Catholic	p. 141
Getting away from It All-Spiritual Retreats	p. 155
Are You Ready for Commitment? A Look at Oblates and Associates	p. 161
Single or Married-Answering God's Call	p. 171
Teach All Nations!	p. 181
To Rebuild All Things in Christ	p. 185
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