Signatures of Grace: Catholic Writers on the Sacraments - Softcover

Various; Grady, Thomas

3.29

28 ratings by Goodreads

9780452282216: Signatures of Grace: Catholic Writers on the Sacraments

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0452282217 ISBN 13: 9780452282216

Publisher: Plume, 2001

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A distinctive collection of essays by eight acclaimed Catholic writers celebrates the wonders of sacramental life and presents an invitation to revisit, or discover for the first time, the profound mysteries at the heart of Catholic life. Reprint.

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Review:

Signatures of Grace is a collection of essays interweaving personal testimony with historical and theological reflections on the sacraments at the heart of Catholic worship. The contributors to this volume are among America's best contemporary Catholic writers, including Patricia Hampl, Mary Gordon, and Murray Bodo. Perhaps the best essay in this book, however, is "Eucharist," by novelist Ron Hansen (author of Mariette in Ecstasy). Hansen's description of the Eucharist's significance in Catholic theology is deft and broad-minded: "Our gifts of bread and wine are changed by Christ.... They are no longer things; they are God. And in this extravagant gift of the Eucharist we are, as Saint Augustine wrote, receiving ourselves, for our Baptism formed us into the body of Christ and his members." The book ends with an essay by the late Andre Dubus called "Sacraments," which describes how the author found God's presence in everyday physical experiences, such as cooking for his daughters, lighting a cigarette for his father, and feeling the breeze on his face. Signatures of Grace will help many readers become similarly attuned to God's presence in their everyday lives, in a manner that is firmly grounded in Catholic history and theology. --Michael Joseph Gross

From the Inside Flap:

The wonders and mysteries of sacramental life are celebrated in this distinctive collection of essays by eight acclaimed Catholic writers. In SIGNATURES OF GRACE, Murray Bodo, O.F.M.; Andre Dubus; Mary Gordon; Patricia Hampl; Ron Hansen; Paula Huston; Paul Mariani; and Katherine Vaz share the personal experiences that have deepened the significance of the sacraments in their spiritual and everyday lives. For many of them, these writings help illuminate a journey that is often begun long after the catechism is committed to memory.

In "Baptism," Katherine Vaz, a novelist and life-long swimmer, blends images of water, creation, and rebirth to evoke the eternal readiness of the soul to receive grace. Writing on Penance, Patricia Hampl recalls her earliest confessions, when tallying up a decent number of disobediences was a challenge. Whenever he finds himself in a city of strangers, Ron Hansen seeks out a local church where, in the Eucharistic rites of an early morning or noontime Mass, he is sustained by a sense of belonging, of home.

Writing from a wheelchair and knowing he would never walk again, Andre Dubus, who died in 1999, learned to embrace life's simplest pleasures as gifts: a breeze wafting through his window on a fine June day; a conversation with a friend; preparing a meal for his daughter.

These and other essays weave the evolution of the sacraments through the centuries with each author's unique personal history. Inspiring and deeply felt, SIGNATURES OF GRACE is an invitation to revisit, or discover for the first time, the profound mysteries at the heart of Catholic life.

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