Kresta in the Afternoon – October 15, 2018 – Hour 2

+ Resources Mentioned Available in Our Store:

• 

  The One Christ: St. Augustine’s Theology of Deification

  Provocative passages on deification abound in St. Augustine of Hippo. He relies on the term "deification" far more than other Latin fathers do. Even more important, the reality of the deified life runs throughout every major aspect of Augustine's presentation of Christianity. By tracing how deification and related metaphors appear throughout Augustine's writings, David Meconi corrects generations of faulty readings on this crucial patristic theme. For Augustine, the Christian life is essentially an incorporation of the elect into the very person of Christ, forming his mystical body inchoately now in via and perfectly in patria. This is the "whole Christ," the totus Christus, where Christ and Christian become one through the charity of the Holy Spirit and the church's sacraments that elevate and enable men and women to participate in God's own life. This work opens by showing how the metaphysic of deification are set in principio, as all creation is an imitation of the Logos. Among all creatures, though, the human person alone bears the imago Dei, and emerges as the one called to appropriate God's life freely. For this purpose, the Son becomes human. By treating Augustine's passages on deification both chronologically and constructively, Meconi situates Augustine in a long chorus of Christian pastors and theologians who understand the essence of Christianity as the human person's total and transformative union with God. (learn more)

• 

  Union with God: Living the Christ Life (Deeper Christianity)

  This book is available from Christian Truth Society or on Kindle.  St Athanasius famously said that “the Son of God became man so that we might become God”. This booklet delves into what it means for a Christian to not only have a relationship with God but become so united with Him that we take part in his divinity. Fr. David Vincent Meconi, SJ is a member of the Chicago Province (USA) of the Society of Jesus. His academic specialty is the thought of St. Augustine of Hippo and the place of prayer and the emergence of a Christian culture in the early Church. The Deeper Christianity Series delves into the mysteries of Christianity, opening up the spiritual treasures of the Church. (learn more)

• 

  Called to Be the Children of God: The Catholic Theology of Human Deification

  This book gathers fourteen Catholic scholars to present, examine, and explain the often misunderstood process of "deification". The fifteen chapters show what "becoming God" meant for the early Church, for St. Thomas Aquinas and the greatest Dominicans, and for St. Francis and the early Franciscans. This book explains how this understanding of salvation played out during the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent. It explores the thought of the French School of Spirituality, various Thomists, John Henry Newman, John Paul II, and the Vatican Councils, and it shows where such thinking can be found today in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. No other book has gathered such an array of scholars or provided such a deep study into how humanity's divinized life in Christ has received many rich and various perspectives over the past two thousand years. This book seeks to bring readers into the central mystery of Christianity by allowing the Church's greatest thinkers and texts to speak for themselves, demonstrating how becoming Christ-like and the Body of Christ on earth, is the only ultimate purpose of the Christian faith. "Rescue from sin and death is indeed a wonderful thing but the salvation won for us by Jesus Christ is incomparably greater. And that is the subject of this book. In all its parts, this book, like Christianity in all its parts, is about salvation. But that means it's about everything that fills our lives, on earth and in heaven." -- Dr. Scott Hahn, Author, Rome Sweet Home "Theologians, pastors, students and laity alike would benefit immensely from reading this book, not only for developing their theological knowledge but also for deepening their love for the divine life they already live here on earth." -- Fr. Thomas G. Weinandy, O.F.M., Cap., Member of the International Theological Commission "The richness of Catholicism is on full display in these marvelous essays as they show how Scripture's revelation of theosis is both taught and embodied throughout the Church's history. I loved reading, pondering, and praying with this marvelous book." -- Dr. Timothy Gray, President of the Augustine Institute and Senior Fellow at St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology "At last, we have an up-to-date, comprehensive, and readable introduction to the classical doctrine of divinization. Called to Be the Children of God is a must read for any serious student of Catholic theology." -- Dr. Brant Pitre, Professor of Sacred Scripture, Notre Dame Seminary, Graduate School of Theology (learn more)

+ Resources Mentioned Available in Our Store:

• 

  You Can Share the Faith: Reaching Out One Person at a Time

  Many Catholics are baffled about how to share the faith, but the good news is it s not complicated. Jesus didn t have a twitter account, followers on Facebook, or a livestream app, though he would have made good use of those. He started with one person, then another, then a handful and his mission grew. Karen Edmisten s own journey from atheism to Catholicism followed a similar low-key, one-on-one model and frames her lively advice. As she moves from an initial impression Catholics are weird to her conversion, friends along the way listen, support, answer her questions and give her the space she needs. In You Can Share the Faith: Reaching Out One Person at a Time Edmisten draws out practical pointers from her own story and the stories of others to help you share your faith confidently and with compassion. (learn more)