Living Resurrected Lives: What It Means and Why It Matters

Winner of a 2021 Catholic Media Association Book Award for Contemporary Spirituality

Christ’s bodily resurrection is the foundation of Christian faith; at least, it is supposed to be. But how often do we really consider what that means? Living Resurrected Lives explores what it would take for Christians to understand and believe so clearly in resurrection—both Christ’s glorification and the promise of our own—that our lives would be radically transformed by that faith right now. We take a daringly integrated approach, balancing careful consideration of sacred Scripture with attention to history, theology, and personal contemplative practice. We offer arguments to re-establish a firm bedrock for belief in the Gospel accounts, suggest a new theological perspective that integrates scientific insights into quantum uncertainty with reflections on the malleable nature of identity, and provide heart-stirring guided meditations for daily practice. We elucidate St. Paul’s teachings on the transformation of the body and grapple with age-old conundrums about decaying corpses and the continuity of personal identity: What dies? What lives on? We revisit early Christian intuitions about the sublime qualities of the glorified body and explore how we might cultivate such qualities through our own individual practice. Thus we propose an embodied resurrection mysticism that can permeate every moment of our lives.

Veronica Mary Rolf is the author of Suddenly There is God: The Story of Our Lives in Sacred Scripture (2019), An Explorer's Guide to Julian of Norwich (2018), and Julian's Gospel (2013), which have won numerous awards, including two Catholic Press Association Book Awards and the Nautilus Gold Medal for Religion. She records teachings on Christian mysticism and Scripture at www.lifelovelightpodcast.com, writes on spirituality at www.juliansvoice.com, and leads online contemplative retreats at www.veronicamaryrolf.com.

Eva Natanya is a scholar of both Christian systematic theology and Tibetan Buddhism, with long-term experience in interreligious dialogue worldwide. She holds a PhD from the University of Virginia and is an academic lecturer, writer, translator, retreat leader, and teacher of meditation. She spends the majority of each year in solitary meditation retreat. Her website is: www.evanatanya.com.