Why is there so much worship and so little real commitment to living out the Gospel? How can there be so much participation in the sacraments and so little growth and transformation in most of our lives? In this challenging book of practical theology, Regis Duffy tackles vital questions that are seldom asked, let alone answered. Basing his argument solidly on the New Testament and core Christian teaching, Duffy shows how ritual, sacrament, worship, and community have real meaning and worth only when they function as effective symbols of transformation and renewed commitment. What is often...

Drawing upon the long history of care in the sacramental mission of the clergy, especially since the reforms of Vatican II, Father Duffy offers a new model that can stimulate both Catholic and Protestant pastoral care to fresh thinking and imaginative reconstruction. The model derives from the catechumenate, that lengthy process of study and service which, down through the ages, has preceded baptism and guided Christian formation. Reflecting a judicious use of interdisciplinary insights and praxis theology, Father Duffy's vision represents an ecumenical contribution to sharpened focus and...

In this book a leading liturgist gives a step by step commentary on Part Two of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. He links liturgy with catechesis and with conversion, and discusses the ways in which the Church teaches and celebrates God's salvation and gives us a way of gospel living. Worship teaches in ways that intellectual arguments cannot. Since the Catechism connects God's creation and our new creation in Christ as a context for the liturgy, the author emphasizes the importance of celebrating and teaching liturgy within the contemporary culture of society. He sees the liturgical...

A penetrating study of the impact of culture on the Catholic Church in the U.S., and the importance of the Church to the culture. ""Emmaus,"" writes the author, ""is not only the name of a town in the gospel of Luke. It is also a state of mind."" He portrays the American Emmaus as an ongoing conversion walk of twentieth-century Christians who attempt to recognize the crucified and risen Christ within the complex and pluralistic cultures of the United States. He focuses on the connections between being Catholic and American at this point in history, challenges the Church to give witness to the...

This handbook to the ""Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults"" (RCIA), written by a renowned religious educator and theologian, invites converts, the clergy, and all those engaged in the catechumenal process to appreciate anew the richness of the Catholic faith. Regis Duffy articulates the requirements for becoming and remaining a full Christian committed to gospel values on every level of life to the building of the Kingdom of God. On Becoming a Catholic is a complete introduction to the essentials of the catechumenal process and clearly relates what the church teaches to its members....