A Banqueter's Guide to the All-Night Soup Kitchen of the Kingdom of God

by Patrick T. McCormick

Book Overview

When Jesus spoke at the tale he provided instructions for his disciples to follow. A Banqueter's Guide to the All-Night Soup Kitchen of the Kingdom of God views those teachings as a set of guidelines for us to follow in all areas of life. Through the study of metaphors commonly used to describe the Eucharist, this book connects the Eucharist and Jesus' words and actions with current issues in society. Each chapter defines a metaphor associated with...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814629555
• ISBN13: 9780814629550
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Length: 147 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A PROPHETIC PREVIEW OF LATER EXHORTATION BY HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI, PUBLISHED BY THE BENEDIC

Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI in his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation reminds us strongly and clearly: "We cannot remain passive before certain processes of globalization which not infrequently increase the gap between the rich and the poor worldwide. We must denounce those who squander the earth's riches, provoking inequalities that cry out to heaven (cf Jas 5:4)." "The Lord Jesus, the bread of eternal life spurs us to be mindful of the situations of extreme poverty in which a great part of humanity still lives: these are situations for which human beings bear a clear and disquieting responsibility." " . . .less than half of the huge sums spent worldwide on armaments would be more than sufficient to liberate the immense masses of the poor from destitution. This challenges the human conscience." "The food of truth demands that we denounce inhumane situations in which people starve to death because of injustice and exploitation, and it gives us renewed strength and courage to work tirelessly in the service of the civilization of love." This present work of Patrick McCormick, longtime columnist for the mainstream magazine US Catholic, professor of Christian Ethics at Gonzago, and author of numerous books on Catholic ethics, including Facing Ethical Issues: Dimensions of Character, Choices & Community, offers supplement and application of His Holiness's words of solidarity with the poor. As many Catholics in the United States have acquired increased material socio-economic status we have forgotten our hunger as living beings. We have forgotten the unfulfilled hunger of the desperately poor. We have forgotten compassion and solidarity, and focus instead on extraneous issues. Who hungers hunts not "heretics" but food. Therefore our Holy Father with greatest compassion and mercy calls our attention back to the plight of most human beings in the world today and our Eucharistic compulsion to action; therefore McCormick develops fully here a theology of hunger and our ethical requirement to act. The great Benedctine Catholic publishing house the Liturgical Press based in Collegeville Minnesota offered us this treatise in the year 2004; the situation has grown only more critical since. McCormick calls us to Remember Hunger, and the hunger of the poor. Then, just as Our Holy Father indicates our Eucharistic compulsion to alter the unjust economic and social structures which promote hunger and starvation for the world's majority, McCormick draws us from "Memory to Mission" and calls us to "Dismantle the Hierarchies" of hunger. Just as Jesus Christ said "This is my Body" McCormick offers us communion with the Body of the Poor. He quotes the great theologian Monika Hellwig who points out how in our wealth and comfort and immediate gratification "we can easily forget that there is hunger at all. It does not intrude itself." and that the result of this constant physical satisfaction is the deeper spiritual hunger that we are "unlikely to ha

So, What WOULD Jesus Do?

This is a book about the Eucharist and justice, that examines the moral implications of the Eucharist by connecting Jesus' words and actions with current issues in society. McCormick approaches the subject in four categories: bread, table, body, and sacrifice. Take and Eat, addresses such topics as recognizing ourselves in hungry eaters and America's dis-ease with food. The section on body includes a discussion of solidarity with the bodies of the poor, the bodies of women, and the bodies and body of creation. Any of these topics would be a good discussion starter for a faith-sharing community with special interest in Catholic social teaching.