Enflamed By The Sacramental Word [Hardcover]

Christian proclamation, says Dietrich Bonhoeffer, is the living Christ walking among the people. Preachers know that Jesus is the living Word, and that the Spirit of Jesus animates the preaching event. Preaching is an epiclesis, an invocation of the Holy Spirit over God's holy people. As such, it must touch their imagination. Pastro proposes that preaching is the living ecclesial presence of Jesus Christ, Sacramental Word of the God of the poor. The Word speaks from the imagination of the poor-the economic poor, but also the new poor of the twenty-first century: entire indigenous cultures, women, those marginalized because of their sexuality, undocumented immigrants in dominant cultures, and many others. All Christian preachers in every context are called to solidarity with the poor. If your preaching companions include Mary Catherine Hilkert, Walter Breuggemann, or Paul Janowiak, include Vince Pastro's Enflamed by the Sacramental Word: Preaching and the Imagination of the Poor. The thread of the Sacred Preaching allows Pastro to bring together disparate pieces of history as he traces the work for justice and the influence from the early Spanish Dominicans to Dietrich Bonhoeffer today. A must read for anyone interested in theological reflection and preaching. --Sharon Casey, OP Leadership Team, Dominican Sisters of Tacoma, WA Vince Pastro gives us, in an original and a confident way, the passion for the Word of God and enthusiasm and responsibility for communicating it. In Latin America, this passion arises from the life and daily reality of the common and ordinary people. The life of the poor expresses a faith that constantly erupts in thought, words, and, particularly, in popular songs. The message of the good news is preached not just by the official ministers of the different religious traditions; rather, the Word comes as the daily bread of the people. --Fr. Jose Marins Theologian and mentor to the base ecclesial communities Vincent Pastro hasl³/