A friend sent me this picture, which looks like a recipe for beating the midwinter blues if ever there was one. I’m pleased that a number of reviews of Baptism of Desire and Christian Salvation have started to appear. And, though I haven’t seen them all–sometimes it takes a while for parcels and periodicals to arrive in Rome–it is humbling to see some really topnotch scholars engaging with my work. As far as I know, reviews have recently appeared in Antiphon, the Nouvelle Revue Théologique (in French), Hekima Review, Ephemerides Liturgicae (in Italian), and on João Vila-Chã’s page (in Portuguese). More news is collected here.
And in case you missed it in November, consider checking out my discussion of the book with Dr. Larry Chapp on his podcast Gaudiumetspes22.com. It was really an enjoyable interview, also available on YouTube:
Baptism of Desire and Christian Salvation is now in orbit after an excellent turnout at the official book launch at the Gregorian last Thursday. More good news: the code CT10 still gives you a 20% discount if ordering the book directly from Catholic University of America Press. At the presentation of the book, Fr. Joseph Carola gave an overview of its content and shared some stories from personal experience to illustrate its pastoral relevance. Fr. Bob Imbelli drew on other contemporary thinkers, such as Khaled Anatolios, Charles Taylor, and William Cavanaugh to demonstrate its relevance. I hope to have video of the presentations up on the Baptism of Desire page soon.
Fr. Joseph Carola, S.J., Fr. Robert Imbelli, Fr. Anthony Lusvardi, S.J.
On another note, in this month’s First Things I return to an issue I raised a few years ago in an article in America magazine, the effects of technology on the liturgy. Here’s the new article: “Screens and Sacraments.” The original from 2020 is here.
And, finally, if you’re looking for some pre-election reading that isn’t about either Donald or Kamala, but instead about the way voting functions as a civic ritual, check out my latest at The Catholic Thing: “Rites (and Wrongs) of Democracy.“
I am pleased to see Baptism of Desire and Christian Salvation in the news. Ralph Martin mentioned the book in his recent video Are All Religions a Path to God? As Dr. Martin points out, the research and arguments the book offers are highly relevant to some of the most difficult theological questions the Church faces today. As I’ve said before, perhaps the most urgent question the book raises has to do with whether we should still understand salvation to be at the heart of the Church’s mission. (Spoiler alert: Yes.)
With Dr. George Ceremuga at St. Isaac Jogues this summer.
I was also delighted to have a thoroughly enjoyable conversation a few weeks ago with Dr. George Ceremuga, friend and parishioner at St. Isaac Jogues parish in South Dakota, for the inaugural episode of his new Lead With Love podcast. We talked about Baptism of Desire and Christian Salvation as well as Dr. George’s new book My 50 Day Pentecost in the Holy Land, in which he recounts some of the encounters and insights he had on an amazing journey through the Holy Land last year. UPDATE: the podcast is now out here. I’m collecting info and reviews about baptism of desire here.
And finally, as you can see from the flyer at the top of this post, I’m pleased to announce that we will have a book launch for Baptism of Desire and Christian Salvation later this month at the Gregorian University. If you are in Rome, please come on Thursday October 24 to hear Fr. Robert Imbelli (coming all the way from New York!) and Fr. Joseph Carola discuss the book’s significance. The event will take place at 5:00 PM in room F007 of the Frascara Building at the Gregorian University. I’ll try to get the talks posted here, too, since it promises to be an interesting discussion.
And for something just a little bit different, you might want to check out the November issue of First Things. Just saying.
Last month I had an interesting discussion with Jesuit scholastic David Inczauskis about the sacraments–what they are, why we have them, how they and the theology surrounding them developed through time, what are the challenges for sacramental theology today. David produces an in-depth podcast on liberation theology, so my general introduction to sacramental theology was the lead-in to some of his reflections on liberation theology and the sacraments, which are also included in the podcast. Here’s the Apple version of the episode:
Tony Lusvardi, S.J. 