The Unchanging Heart of the Priesthood
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
In The Unchanging Heart of the Priesthood: A Faith Perspective on the Reality and Mystery of Priesthood in the Church, Father Thomas Acklin presents an apologetic for that which is immutable—that which cannot change since it is found in the unchanging heart of Christ. Father Acklin refutes modern misconceptions and false understandings of the priesthood, while uncovering the beauty, strength, and hope that is found in God’s plan. This book will encourage the heart of every priest and help the laity to understand and appreciate the reality and mystery of the priesthood in the Church.
In the Logos edition, this volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.
This volume is part of the Catholic Church and Ecclesiology Collection (6 vols.).
- Refutes misconceptions about the priesthood
- Examines the nature of priesthood in God’s plan
- Written by a priest and scholar of psychoanalysis
- The Unchanging Heart beneath the Changing Face
- The Servant Heart of the Priest
- The Human Heart in the Divine Plan
- The Afflicted Priestly Heart: Sexual Misconduct and Homosexuality
- The Unchanging Priestly Heart: Celibacy and Intimacy
- The Ever-Expanding Priestly Heart: Priestly Spirituality and Renewal
Top Highlights
“In fact, priestly consecration is not being set aside from love but is being set aside for love” (Page 105)
“ true pedophilia, that is, sexual abuse of prepubescent children.” (Page 82)
“The particular vulnerability in which a priest finds himself, without any particular ‘other’ of his own, is greatly exacerbated by the fact that by his priesthood he is in a position in which people can expect him to be everything for them.” (Page 49)
“Celibacy lived authentically is a witness to the way God loves us—the love of one who is set aside, yet who thereby is in a position to be ‘everything to every one’ (1 Cor. 15:28).” (Page 105)
“The danger of secularized understandings of priesthood lies in suspicion of what is spiritual. Cries that priestly formation has been too ‘monastic’ and now must be secularized often relegate intense prayer and conversion to merely subsidiary roles, disregarding the supernatural power that is essential to any vocation, and surely to priestly vocation. This leads to a tendency to diminish certain essential elements of priestly life, such as the sacramental, ascetic, and contemplative, in favor of a more pastoral ministry that emphasizes preaching.53 Indeed, the communion given to the Body of Christ is at once a supernatural gift and a continuing task over which the priest has a shepherding role.” (Page 21)
Father Acklin dispels many of the great clouds of confusion that have gathered about the priesthood. And he does this in the most effective way: by revisiting the biblical foundations of Holy Orders, in both the Old and New Testaments.
—Scott Hahn, professor of theology and Scripture, Franciscan University of Steubenville
Father Acklin’s timely analysis of the challenges to authentic priestly life and ministry is reflective of the great insights of Pope John Paul II. . . . A true understanding and appreciation of the unchanging heart of the priesthood will attract priestly vocations, help priestly renewal, and ultimately invigorate the Church.
—Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Immensely helpful to anyone trying to contextualize the abuse scandals within the Church, while at the same time holding a profound love and reverence for the priesthood.
—Msgr. Steven P. Rohlfs, STD, rector, Mount St. Mary’s Seminary
Fr. Acklin makes his own statement—clear and solid—about ordained, ministerial priesthood. Any change in the face of the priesthood, however responsive it may seem to contemporary challenges, must be legitimated by a rooting in a clear appreciation of the unchanging heart of the priesthood.
—Fr. George Aschenbrenner, SJ, cofounder, Institute for Priestly Formation, Creighton University
Thomas Acklin, a Benedictine monk, first professed vows in 1976 at Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He was ordained a priest in 1980 and studied theology and psychology of religion at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, where he earned the STD (doctorate of sacred theology). He undertook psychoanalytic training at the Belgian School of Psychoanalysis and graduated from the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic Institute. Father Acklin then served as master of junior-professed monks for four years and as president-rector of Saint Vincent Seminary for 12 years. He is a member of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic Society and Foundation, the American Psychoanalytic Association, and the International Psychoanalytic Association. He is certified in the psychoanalysis of adults by the International Board of Accreditation and Certification in psychoanalysis and the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis. Currently, Father Acklin is professor of theology and psychology at Saint Vincent College and Saint Vincent Seminary, where he has taught since 1982, and is a faculty member of the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic Institute and Foundation.
Reviews
1 rating
Br Damien-Joseph OSB
1/13/2015
A good analysis of the theological and psychological aspects of the celibate life expressed through the priesthood. Especially timely for the issues of the 21st century. Fr. Acklin goes into extensive detail about the psychological and physiological issues related to celibacy (the sexuality--not a-sexuality--of the priest), but often I find his historical theology wanting. His premise (that the "heart," or purpose and duty, of the priesthood hasn't changed despite the reforms of Vatican II and the sex abuse scandal of the early 2000s) could use some more historical evidence, but he does an excellent job of analyzing the state of the priesthood and its mission for the 21st century. THAT is what is unchanging. A good read overall. If you're thinking about reading it, just read it already.