Reading the Clouds : Mission Spirituality for New Times

by Gittins, Anthony J.

• ISBN13: 9780764804991
• ISBN10: 0764804995
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-09-01
• Publisher: Liguori Pubns

Summary

Using stories as diverse as that of the death of a polar bear at the London Zoo, aboriginal refugees of Darwin, Australia, and a munitions expert who becomes a professional safecracker, Anthony Gittins charts unexplored spiritual landscapes of the 21st century. The spiritual approach that identifies Gittins is a practical, down-to-earth way of connecting with God in the place you are -- and an avenue sturdy enough to endure for the long haul.

For those who want to uncover a personal spirituality that adapts to the context of a particular culture and to the demands for justice, this book charts a new and unexplored path. In discussing the factors that will mark a spirituality for the future, Gittins blends a unique viewpoint of personal, pastoral, and global perspectives, elucidating for readers the importance of mission and evangelization in any authentic journey of the soul.

A carefully woven tapestry of sociological and anthropological allegories and practical advice, Reading the Clouds is a spiritual travelogue for a changing world. Readers will come awa

Author Biography

Anthony J. Gittins, CSSp, is a religious of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost (CSSp), and a member of the Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMM). A native of Manchester, England, he has taught in Chicago for fifteen years and is currently the Bishop Francis X. Ford MM Chair of Missiology at the Catholic Theological Union.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Reading the Clouds	ix
Introduction: Spirituality, Culture, and a World of Change	xv
Part One: The Idea of a Christian Vocation	1	(48)
From Call to Response	3	(22)
Ministry As Mission	25	(24)
Part Two: Integrating Life and Ministry	49	(114)
Stories, Parables, and Pastoral Ministry	51	(22)
Healing and Wholeness: A Cross-Cultural Perspective	73	(24)
Caring and Prophecy: Retrieving a Tradition	97	(22)
Embodied Spirituality	119	(22)
Growing in Age and Wisdom	141	(22)
Afterword: Signs of the Times	163	(4)
References	167	(10)
Index	177