Homilies in a New Key is a newly published collection of homilies by Boston College Professor Emeritus of Theology Harvey D. Egan, S.J., that rethink–creatively but in an orthodox way–significant aspects of Christianity. They are the product of Fr. Egan’s more than 60 years of Jesuit spirituality, philosophical-theological studies, graduate and undergraduate university teaching, scholarly research and publishing, as well as pastoral experience. The homilies, according to Fr. Egan, reflect years of prayerfully contemplating and thinking deeply about the great Christian heritage through the lens provided by the Second Vatican Council, the current state of biblical, historical, and theological scholarship—as well contemporary issues arising in American culture. Fr. Egan credits as inspiration the philosophical-theological thinking of Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan, the historical work of Bernard McGinn on the Christian mystical tradition, and the biblical scholarship of N. T. Wright. The homilies contained in Homilies in a New Key, focus on special liturgical feasts, on Jesus Christ, on spiritual topics, on the feasts of saints, and on special family occasions. Fr. Egan writes in the book’s introduction that these homilies may serve as guides for other homilists or for those who teach homiletics, adding “I sincerely pray that these homilies will help [the reader] to know Christ better, stir you to love him more deeply, and to follow him more closely.”
Spiritual nourishment
An environmental call to arms
Acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog, an alumnus of Boston College, presents four decades of his ground-breaking photography in the new book, The Human Element: A Time Capsule from the Anthropocene (Rizzoli, 2021). Balog has traveled well over a million miles from the Arctic to the Antarctic, and this volume presents 350 of his most iconic photographs, offering—literally—an unmatched view of the world. His photography and essays highlight that human needs, behaviors, and technologies are radically changing the nature of nature. The Human Element has been called Balog’s “magnum opus on the human impact on our planet” and “an environmental call to arms.” Balog writes: “In damaging nature, we are damaging ourselves. In protecting nature, we are protecting ourselves.” The Human Element features an essay by Anne Wilkes Tucker, curator emerita of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and foreword by James Fallows, longtime writer for the Atlantic and award-winning author. Balog is the author of eight books. His projects include the award-winning films “The Human Element” and “Chasing Ice,” and the Extreme Ice Survey, the most extensive photographic study of glaciers ever conducted.
Mystērion
Mystērion: The Theology Journal of Boston College is a newly launched undergraduate journal featuring essays by students from Boston College and beyond that address important—and difficult—theological questions. BC students Amanda Garza ’22, Paige McDonald ’23, Sean O’Neil ’23, and Connor Thomson ’23 all contributed to the inaugural issue, which explored the relationship of feminist theology to American religion, the historiography of the Salem Witch Trials, the role of prayer and language in the human experience, the Catholic Church’s evolving position on questions of church and state, and how comparative theology can help us better understand human suffering and liberation, among other topics. Senior Dennis J. Wieboldt III serves as the journal’s editor-in-chief and Walsh Professor of Bioethics Andrea Vicini, S.J., is the faculty advisor. Read more in BC News.
Posted in Boston College Authors, Students
Tagged scholarship, theology, Theology Department
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Second chances
On her own after years in foster care, Cass Macklin finds herself broke, homeless, scared to death, and pregnant. Determined to build a stable life for herself and her child, Cass turns to the one person with the means to help her, the baby’s uncle—a professional baseball player with problems of his own. Cass is the protagonist in Catch Us When We Fall (William Morrow Paperbacks, 2021), the latest novel from bestselling author and Boston College graduate Juliette Fay. It is a story about second chances, redemption, and the power of hope. Fay’s previous novels, which have been translated into more than five languages, include Shelter Me, City of Flickering Light, and The Tumbling Turner Sisters, among others. Fay spoke with her hometown newspaper about Catch Us When We Fall.
Chicago takes center stage
Makeshift Chicago Stages: A Century of Theater and Performance (Northwestern University Press, 2021) brings together leading historians to share the history of theater and performance in Chicago. Boston College Associate Professor of Theatre Stuart J. Hecht is one of the book’s co-editors, along with Megan E. Geigner (Northwestern University) and Jasmine Jamillah Mahmoud (Seattle University). By putting space at the center of the city’s theater history, the essays in Makeshift Chicago Stages spotlight the roles of neighborhoods, racial dynamics, atypical venues, and borders as integral to understanding the work and aesthetics of Chicago’s artists, ensembles, and repertoires, which have influenced theater practices worldwide. Featuring rich archival work and oral histories, this anthology is a valuable resource for theater historians, as well as anyone interested in Chicago’s cultural heritage.
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged American history, Chicago, Theatre Department, urban life
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Saint Teresa of Avila
An English translation of André Brouillette, S.J.’s revised and published dissertation has been released by Paulist Press. Teresa of Avila, the Holy Spirit, and the Place of Salvation looks at how the Spirit and salvation come together in the life and works of Saint Teresa of Avila. According to Fr. Brouillette, Saint Teresa—led by the Spirit—shows both humanity and the church what salvation looks like. Fr. Brouillette is an associate professor of systematic and spiritual theology at BC’s School of Theology and Ministry. He also is the author of the forthcoming book, The Pilgrim Paradigm: Faith in Motion.
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged Catholic, Jesuit author, saints, School of Theology and Ministry
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Dina Nayeri on the refugee experience
Dina Nayeri will give a reading from her acclaimed book, The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You (Catapult, 2019), on October 20 at 7 p.m. (ET). Her presentation will be in webinar format followed by a moderated discussion and audience Q&A. At age eight, Nayeri and her mother and brother fled Iran and lived in an Italian hotel-turned–refugee camp. Ultimately, she was granted asylum in the United States and settled in Oklahoma. In The Ungrateful Refugee, Nayeri weaves together her own story with the stories of other refugees and asylum seekers to shed light on what it is to be a refugee, to grapple with your place in society, attempting to reconcile the life you have known with a new, unfamiliar home. All this while bearing the burden of gratitude in your host nation. Nayeri is also the author of the novels A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea and Refuge. Her stories and essays have been published by The New York Times, New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, New Yorker, Granta New Voices, and Wall Street Journal. Nayeri’s appearance is presented by the Lowell Humanities Series and cosponsored by the Fiction Days Series and the English Department. Pre-registration is required.
The Cross in Dialogue with Other Religions
The central Christian belief in salvation through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ remains one of the most intractable mysteries of Christian faith. One of the important challenges for contemporary Christian theology involves exploring new ways of understanding the salvific meaning of the cross. Newton College Alumnae Professor of Western Culture Catherine Cornille has edited a new book that brings together Christian theologians with expertise in Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and African religions to reflect on how engagement with these traditions sheds new light on the Christian understanding of atonement. In Atonement and Comparative Theology: The Cross in Dialogue with Other Religions (Fordham University Press, 2021), contributors illustrate the possibilities for comparative theology to deepen and enrich Christian theological reflection. Boston College graduate Bede Benjamin Bidlack, an associate professor of theology at Saint Anselm College is one of the book’s contributors.
Book award for Professor Lykes
The Institute for the Study of Genocide has named Beyond Repair? Mayan Women’s Protagonism in the Aftermath of Genocidal Harm winner of the 2021 Lemkin Book Award. Beyond Repair? was co-written by Alison Crosby (York University, Toronto) and Lynch School of Education and Human Development Professor M. Brinton Lykes, who also serves as co-director of BC’s Center for Human Rights and International Justice. Beyond Repair? “explores Mayan women’s agency in the search for redress for harm suffered during the genocidal violence perpetrated by the Guatemalan state in the early 1980s at the height of the 36-year armed conflict. The book draws on research conducted with 54 Q’eqchi’, Kaqchikel, Chuj, and Mam women who are seeking truth, justice, and reparation for the violence they experienced during the war, and the women’s rights activists, lawyers, psychologists, Mayan rights activists, and researchers who have accompanied them as intermediaries for more than a decade.” The Lemkin Book Award recognizes the best non-fiction book published in English or translated into English that focuses on the causes, prevention, response, or consequences of genocide and mass atrocities. Beyond Repair? was selected for its methodological rigor, clarity of argument, and sophisticated analysis of the ways in which Maya women have sought redress for the genocidal violence carried out by the Guatemalan state. The award will be presented in New York City this fall.
Guide for ‘Fratelli Tutti’
Boston College graduate Marcus Mescher has written The Study Guide to the Encyclical Letter of Pope Francis: Fratelli Tutti, On Fraternity and Social Friendship (Paulist Press, 2021), which is intended to be a resource for prayer, conscience formation, and discussion in response to Pope Francis’ call to practice mercy, solidarity, and hope. Mescher’s study guide helps readers pray with the text, reflect on it, and look for connections with the canon of Catholic social teaching, and ultimately leads toward action that builds “communities of belonging and solidarity.” Mescher, an associate professor of Christian ethics at Xavier University, is also the author of The Ethics of Encounter: Christian Neighbor Love as a Practice of Solidarity.
BC Bookmarks 