Joan Chittister is a Benedictine sister and author of 20 books. She is Executive Director of Benetvision, a resource and research center for contemporary spirituality, and has served as past president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. A theologian, social psychologist, and communication theorist, she takes seriously her teaching ministry.
This Festschrift in honor of Joan Chittister is edited by Mary Hembrow Snyder and contains essays by 25 contributors including Daniel Berrigan, Elizabeth A. Johnson, Richard Rohr, and Rembert G. Weakland. They all respond to the question: "What is the significant spiritual question of our time?" As Snyder points out in the introduction, Chittister "inspires us to honor our own questions and to trust that it is the Energy of God that gives them birth." Other spiritual practices by this charismatic and prolific Christian that form a backdrop for these essays are listening, openness, justice, vision, and meaning.
The most hard-hitting selections all deal with the lineaments of an energized spirituality: Christine Vladimiroff's "God and Rice Bowls in a New Age," Sandra M. Schneiders's "God Is the Question and God Is the Answer," Kenneth A. Briggs's "Guess Who's Missing at Dinner," Patricia M. Mische's "Finding the Face of God in an Age of Globalization," and Thomas J. Gumbleton's "War . . . Never Again!" As one would expect, Matthew Fox's questions about mysticism, prophecy, ecojustice, and feminine wisdom set the stage for Joan Chittister's stirring autobiographical reflection "The Power of Questions to Propel." This is a soul-stretching volume filled with visions of the future for socially engaged Christians.