Naming Grace

By Mary Catherine Hilkert

Book Overview

It is not a lack of training in the art of rhetoric that accounts for the ineffectiveness of preaching within Christian churches. More significant is the lack of adequate theological foundations. While recognizing the great contribution that neo-orthodoxy and the "dialectical imagination" have made, Hilkert's major contribution is a scholarly examination of the resources of the "sacramental imagination."This examinations shifts the focus from the divine-human gap and the sinfulness of humanity to the grace discovered in everyday life, and the word entrusted to the entire community of faith. With particular attention to what constitutes "women's experience," the final chapters engage the issue of how social location shapes the experience of both hearers and preachers of the word.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 082641060X
• ISBN13: 9780826410603
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Continuum
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Should be part of any homilist's library

Having taken approximately 30 courses at St. Bernard's Institute in fulfillment of my M.A. and M.Div degrees, I have rarely become excited over required texts. A notable exception is "Naming Grace" by Mary Catherine Hilkert. While there are certainly other high quality books on the market that deal with preaching in a general sense, "Naming Grace" is one of the rare gems that deal more specifically with the art of preparing and delivering a homily in a Catholic liturgical setting. With a combination of wit and serious scholarship, Dr. Hilkert urges anyone who is brave enough to enter into the risky world of homiletics to utilize skills inclusive of both sacramental and prophetic imaginations. In addition, she gives practical advice that is instructive toward avoiding what amounts to 'replacement theology' (an occasional hazard of trying to harmonize the Old and New Testaments). I found Dr. Hilkert's text to be highly stimulating. I therefore highly endorse "Naming Grace."