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Saturday, April 10, 2010

Book Review - Sharing Christ's Priesthood

As a reviewer for The Catholic Company, I periodically receive materials to read, listen to, etc. & then share w/ my blog readers. My latest is a review of the book Sharing Christ's Priesthood by Mike Aquilina. (You may recognize his name from my September review of his book Fire of God's Love: 120 Reflections on the Eucharist.)

"A priest is someone who stands as a mediator between God and humanity."
(from the Introduction pg. 9, "What is a Priest?")

There are six sessions to this Bible study, each exploring a different aspect of the belief that we are all priests, whether we are lay people or ordained clergy. They are writen for individual or group use. Each session starts with a chapter or two to read from the Bible & questions to guide your reflection on that passage. The rest of the session alternates between reflections, smaller Bible passages, & questions. "In Practice..." is the final section w/ questions to help relate your life to the Bible readings.

I had a little trouble getting into this Bible study, although I DO NOT blame the author or the book itself. I think with all my family responsibilities this time of year, I just wasn't able to focus on it as well as I would have liked. I do plan to revisit this book in the summer, once school is out & I can devote a bit more time to it.

So, what did I like about it? I liked the layout & reflection questions throughout the sessions. Many times, I find reflection questions too deep for my tired mind! These questions, while very thought provoking, were pretty easy for me. The section beneath the questions explores the answers in a bit more depth. With the exception of the "In Practice..." section, there is space to record your answers.

By seeing how the priesthood has developed in Scripture through the years, we can gain a better knowledge of how the call to the priesthood effects all of us. With this being the Year of the Priest, what better way to celebrate than to see the priesthood in our own lives.

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