Free to Be Nothing Rev Edward J Farrell St Agnes Church Detroil Michigan

Free to Be Nothing by Rev. Edward J. Farrell

Free to Be Nothing [biblical reflections on poor apostolate]
Edward Farrell
Michael Glazier, Inc., 1989
ISBN 0-89453-780-6

This blog post offered by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com.

Contents
Preface
Foreword
1  Free for Community
2  For for Conversion
3  Free to be a Disciple
4  Free for Evangelization
5  Free for Prayer that Leads to Action for Justice
6  Free to Be Embarrassed by the Poor
7  Free to Plunge into the Incarnation
8 Free to Live the Call of Holiness
9  Free for the Journey into Mature Faith
10 Free to Dream the Dream of Jesus
Postscript
 
The source of the title for Free to Be Nothing about the ministry of St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church in Detroit, Michigan is (I believe) a parishoner's comment related to to others at the end of the visit made by Mother Teresa of Calcutta in 1979.
 

She is free to be nothing. Therefore God can use her for anything.

 
In his Foreward, Fr. Farrell widens the statement with a quote from Mother Teresa's own words.

You have said 'yes' to Jesus--and he has taken you at your word.  The Word of God became man, poor; your word to God became Jesus, poor.  And so this terrible emptiness--deep poverty--and your 'yes' is the beginning of being or becoming empty.  It is not how much we really 'have' to give, but how empty we are; so that we can receive fully in our life and let Him live His life in us.  In you today, He wants to relive His complete abandonment to His Father.  Allow Him to do so.  It does not matter what you feel, as long as He feels alright in you.  Take away your eyes from yourself and rejoice that you have nothing.  Give Jesus a big smile each time your nothingness frightens you.

St. Agnes Church celebrated its last mass in 1989, the year Free to Be Nothing was published, and merged with nearby St. Theresa of Avila Church, as part of a large restructuring project in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Detroit.  The unfortunate decay of the St. Agnes Church building was documented in a 2012 article titled 5 Pillars of the Abandoned World.

After the closing of St. Agnes Father Farrell continued teaching at Sacred Heart Seminary. He was the author of many books. From the small amount I have been able to find about his personal life and ministry, he was an extraordinarily faithful servant of Christ. His earthly ministry ended in 2006 at the age of 75 years, with an eternity of living still ahead.

Martin Luther Companion to the Contemporary Christian Kolb and Lumpp

Martin Luther: Companion to the Contemporary Christian
Kolb and Lumpp, editors

Martin Luther: Companion to the Contemporary Christian
Robert Kolb and David A. Lumpp (editors)
Concordia Publishing House (CPH), St. Louis MO, 1982

Paperback Book
110 pages
9 x 6 inches, 23 cm

Concordia Publishing House is the publisher for the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, founded in 1869.

From the Back Cover:

The 10 contributors to this volume present their insights from varied experiences as active pastors of Lutheran congregations.  Law and Gospel, Holy Baptism, the Lord's Supper, the communion of saints, and vocation are only several of the subjects treated as dynamic, living channels by means of which God declares and seals His promises to His sons and daughters.

Luther still has much to offer in the way of evangelical counsel to those presed by the demands of contemporary existence.  Each essay spells out the resources God provides for those called by the Gospel, who are at once heirs of the promise through fiath, thankful recipients of His gifts, and stewards of His creation.

Contents

Notes on Authors
Robert Kolb and David A. Lumpp: Editors' Preface

Herbert C. Mueller, Jr.: The Righteousness of the Law and the Righteousness of Christ

Vernon D. Gundermann: Buried with Christ, Raised to New Life

Kenneth B. Block: The People of God, the Communion of Saints, and the Priesthood of All Believers

Arnold F. Krugler: Your Brother Is the Eternal Good

Charles J. Evanson: Nourished with His Body and Blood

Arthur Drevlow: Listen and Cling to the Word

Dennis C. Ahl: Called and Freed for Obedience and Service

Armand J. Boehme: Christian Living in the World

Abbrreviations
Notes

This blog post is offered by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com.

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS TAndreas Andreopoulos Book Review

The Sign of the Cross
The Gesture, The Mystery, The History

Andreas Andreopoulos, Author

Foreword by Frederica Mathewes Green

Paraclete Press, PublisherISBN 978-1-55725-496-2165 pages

Retail Price: $19.95

Having spent my formative and early adult years in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and then moving to a protestant denomination after marriage, one part of my faith practices that has never changed has been using the faith profession of making the sign of the cross. In this small book Andreas Andreopoulos has explained a lot of my unanswered questions. The Sign of the Cross is not a book only for Eastern Orthodox, Catholics, or any other Christians who use this gesture. It is for all Christians.

Andreopoulos, in every day language readily understandable to all, gives the background history for how this symbol of faith came into existance, the meanings of the various ways it is practiced, the related history of its development, and what it still means to Christians today. He covers how and why it is used by clergy and lay people. In essence, this book gives those who do not want to delve into deep theological writing or would have difficulty understanding such, a theological dissertation in a way that will be a learning experience giving deeper meaning to their Christian faith.

I found a lot that I didn't know, some information that affirmed what I believe, and a whole lot that I didn't know that I can put into practice. For example, why do Eastern Orthodox Christians shape their hand differently than others to make the cross? Why do Catholics go to the left shoulder first and the Orthodox to the right shoulder first? What does the cross symbol mean when I use it?

Although the facts about the initial use of the cross sign are sketchy, Andreopoulos presents what is known, and presents why different thoughts about its origins may or may not be true. He does not make any judgement about one denomination against another, nor does he say one practice is right and another wrong. If I might have one criticism, it is that Andreopoulos comes from the perspective that all Christians use the sign of the cross. Perhaps that will be his next book--how for some Christians this practice fell out of use and why.

I highly recommend this book.

From the Publisher

Millions of Christians around the world use the sign of the Cross—and have done so for centuries—as a gesture of blessing. It is practiced when alone, during worship, before sleep, upon waking, before eating, before travel, and many other times throughout the day. But, what does it mean? Where did it originate? What did the sign of the Cross mean to the first Christians, and how has this simple movement of the hand evolved over the centuries?

The sign of the Cross is literally a tracing of the Cross of Christ onto the body. By so doing, Christians invite the mystery of the Cross into their everyday lives. Now and for the first time, young Greek scholar Andreas Andreopoulos explains the tremendous meaning, mystery, and history of this dramatic gesture shared by Christians worldwide. This readable account will fascinate and inspire all who desire to know more about the inherited spiritual practices of everyday life.

Andreas Andreopoulos was born in Greece in 1966 and is recognized throughout the world as one of the most eloquent young scholars of Christianity. He earned his Ph.D. in theology at the University of Durham under Fr. Andrew Louth and has taught in Toronto, Montreal, and Philadelphia. He is currently Lecturer of Christian Theology at the University of Wales.

Reviewed by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com.