Priests Today: Reflections on Identity, Life and Ministry

For many priests today, the sense of challenge is great. Some feel caught between an old order of pre-Vatican II times and an attempted new post-conciliar order. Perhaps as never before, priests, 'ministers of the sacred,' and indeed all members of the Church, need from time to time to help one another rediscover the spark of inspiration and enthusiasm that lies at the heart of priestly ministry and life. In this book of reflections, we have chosen texts that we believe open windows onto aspects of spirituality and pastoral ministry that encourage and prompt renewal. What lies behind our selection is the conviction that it is above all in a life of communion with others, understood and lived out in a robust spirituality of communion, that priests can find new hope and strength as they interrelate with their brother priests, with their bishops and with all who pass them by, moment by moment, in their life and ministry.
Includes reflections by: Saint Augustine, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Benedict XVI, Helder Camara, Avery Dulles, Richard R. Gaillardetz, Gregory the Great, Basil Hume, John Paul II, Chiara Lubich, Karl Rahner, Fulton Sheen, Edith Stein, Mother Teresa, Jean Marie Vianney, and many others.