Prophets in Their Own Country

Overview

Based on a series published in The National Catholic Reporter, these reflections on religious life were inspired by the Vatican's announcement of an "Apostolic Visitation" of U.S. women religious from 2009-2011. Given the unmistakable imputation of guilt, the launch of this investigation was troubling to many women religious.

Sandra Schneiders uses this occasion to articulate anew the meaning of religious life, the biblical theology underlying it, the reasons for the renewal undertaken after Vatican II, and the forms of apostolic religious life that have developed since. While her introduction tells the story of the visitation and the response it has generated, the chapters that follow offer an eloquent and inspiring assessment of and apologia for religious life today and in the future.

Prophets in Their Own Country is a book addressed to all members of the church, calling us to live our faith in a spirit of integrity, freedom, and courage.

Sandra M. Schneiders, IHM, is professor emerita of New Testament Studies and Christian Spirituality at the Jesuit School of Theology/Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California. She has served as president of the Society of Biblical Literature, president of the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality, and on the board of directors of the Catholic Theological Society of America, which also awarded her the John Courtney Murray Award for Excellence in Theology. Her many books include Selling All (Paulist, 2001), Finding the Treasure (Paulist, 2000), and Written That You May Believe: Encountering Jesus in the Fourth Gospel (Crossroad, 2003).