The Beating of Great Wings: A Worldly Spirituality for Active, Apostolic Communities

by Bernard J. Lee

"Bernard Lee's insights touch the core of what it means to be a Christian Catholic community centered on Word and Eucharist. This is a timely, thoughtful, and accessible work about the experience of apostolic religious community life today".--Marygrace Peters, O.P., Associate Professor of Church History, Aquinas Institute, St. Louis University The Beating of Great Wings is not about recovering religious life, or renewing religious life, but also about rebuilding it or perhaps even reinventing it, setting it upon different, non-traditional foundational stones. In this groundbreaking work, Bernard Lee reflects on the nature of charism and what he calls the "deep story," the inheritance that members of a religious community receive from the founder or foundress. He emphasizes the need for giving Scripture and the Eucharist places of privilege in the community and suggests ways for doing so that help religious be more open to the presence of the Spirit. Father Lee goes on to consider the topics of community-in-mission and vows-in-mission as other essential elements of active, apostolic communities. The Beating of Great Wings is a thought-provoking, must-have read for all religious, especially those called to an active ministry in the service of the church. We guarantee that it will lead to challenging and invigorating conversations about the role of religious priests, brothers, and sisters today.

184 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2004