The Signs of the Times: Understanding the Church Since Vatican II - Softcover

Gilsdorf, Richard W.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0615219616 ISBN 13: 9780615219615

Publisher: Star of the Bay, 2008

Synopsis

The last 50 years have been confusing, tumultuous ones for Catholicism. Seminaries emptied, priests and nuns left their vocations, people dissented from basic teachings, and children received poor catecheses. What happened? This book answers that question. Part history, part Bible study, part apologetics manual, part Marian devotional, part catechism, The Signs of the Times is all profound insight into our turbulent times. As such, it is not only an eye-opening and truly important book for any Catholic, it is the key to comprehending the state of the Church in America today and to gaining a sense of hope for her future. Reviews of the author's work: During the six years I served as bishop of Green Bay, I came to know Fr. Richard Gilsdorf as a holy priest, a Scripture scholar, teacher, and pastor, as well as a friend and confidant whose opinion and insights I valued. He was faithful and loyal to the teachings of the Church and had a zeal for communicating the faith to others. Thi

About this title

About the Author

Fr. Richard Gilsdorf was born to Wilbert and Gladys Gilsdorf on January 24, 1930, in Green Bay, WI. He attended that city s Central Catholic High School and then the St. Lawrence Minor Seminary in Mt. Calvary, WI. He received his BA at St. Norbert College in DePere, WI, in 1952, and then went to study Theology at St. Meinrad Seminary in St. Meinrad, IN, after which he received holy orders to the priesthood at the hand of Bishop Stanislaus V. Bona, at Green Bay s St. Francis Xavier Cathedral on May 26, 1956. He served his first appointment at St. John Church in Little Chute, WI, for two years, and then received assignment to the faculty of Sacred Heart Minor Seminary near Green Bay. From 1960-61, he took a leave of absence to pursue advanced studies in classical languages at Columbia University in New York City, where he received his master s in Greek in 1961. He then attended the Sorbonne in Paris, France, where he earned his Certificat du Cours Supérieur in 1963. In 1970, he received a second master s degree in Scripture from St. Louis University, and he completed his doctoral studies in Scripture in 1973. He served at a number of parishes in the Green Bay diocese, was active in the diocesan migrant worker apostolate, and taught summer courses in Scripture at the Pontifical Catechetical Institute in Beaverton, OR, for four straight years. During then-Bishop Adam Maida s tenure as ordinary for the Green Bay diocese, Fr. Gilsdorf served as a member of the Presbyteral Council and the College of Consultors. He was founder and, from 1994-99, president of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, an organization of priests, deacons, and seminarians promoting loyalty to the Holy Father and the authoritative teachings of the Catholic Church. For the final 23 years of his priestly life he served as pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Casco, WI. After several years of serious illness and much suffering, Father passed to his eternal reward on May 4, 2005.

Review

During the six years I had the privilege to serve as bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin (1984-90), I came to know Fr. Richard Gilsdorf as a holy priest, a Scripture scholar, teacher, and pastor. I proudly add that he was also a friend and confidant, someone whose opinion and insights I valued. I especially appreciated the fact that he was faithful and loyal to the teachings of the Church and had a zeal for communicating the faith to others. I have no doubt this collection of his columns, articles, essays, and other reviews will be both inspiring and challenging for any reader. He always stretched my thinking and enlarged my heart; I trust he will do the same for you in these pages. --Adam Cardinal Maida Fr. Gilsdorf was a priest s priest, a pastor, spiritual counselor, scholar, and lecturer. He was one of the first to grasp the crisis that gripped the Church after the Council. With insight and tact, he exposed dissent and stood as a kind crusader for Catholic truth as contained in Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium. Father was a champion of orthodoxy and readers of this volume will find a unique perspective on the struggles of these past 40 years. He wrote an article for my magazine called The Plight of the Papist priest (included in this book). Its impact was so great, it was translated into five languages, and people requested it for over 20 years. In it, he pinpointed the problem of priests trying to be faithful to the Pope and the Magisterium who are ordered by their bishop to do something lese. Proof that he was on target is this: Priests from three different parts of the country told me they were sure the anonymous author was in their diocese. --Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ Editor, Homiletic and Pastoral Review magazine This book is a treasure. It preserves the crucial work of an exemplary pastor who courageously and with charity defended the Faith against those who distorted and hijacked Vatican II. Fr. Gilsdorf provides here a goldmine of insight into problems of the 60s and the following decades, which I predict will have its greatest impact in the coming years. --Dr. Charles E. Rice

Fr. Gilsdorf was a priest s priest, a pastor, spiritual counselor, scholar, and lecturer. He was one of the first to grasp the crisis that gripped the Church after the Council. With insight and tact, he exposed dissent and stood as a kind crusader for Catholic truth as contained in Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium. Father was a champion of orthodoxy and readers of this volume will find a unique perspective on the struggles of these past 40 years. He wrote an article for my magazine called The Plight of the Papist priest (included in this book). Its impact was so great, it was translated into five languages, and people requested it for over 20 years. In it, he pinpointed the problem of priests trying to be faithful to the Pope and the Magisterium who are ordered by their bishop to do something lese. Proof that he was on target is this: Priests from three different parts of the country told me they were sure the anonymous author was in their diocese. --Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ Editor, Homiletic and Pastoral Review magazine

This book is a treasure. It preserves the crucial work of an exemplary pastor who courageously and with charity defended the Faith against those who distorted and hijacked Vatican II. Fr. Gilsdorf provides here a goldmine of insight into problems of the 60s and the following decades, which I predict will have its greatest impact in the coming years. --Dr. Charles E. Rice

Edition details

• Publisher: Star of the Bay
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0615219616
• ISBN 13: 9780615219615
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 542
• Editor: Beno Patrick F.