A Theology of Migration: The Bodies of Refugees and the Body of Christ

By: Rev. Daniel G. Groody

$36.00

Overview

Catholic Media Association Award Winner - 1st place - Theology

"Readers will be compelled by G.'s indignant, compassionate text to discover how deeply in God's heart is the commitment to all people forced to flee their homes and how universally God's Incarnate Word is addressed to all humanity. G. is stirringly persuasive in showing us that the Christian story cannot be told without the immigrant story. Reading his book will call you to a truer, indeed blessed relationship to God, your neighbor and your very self." --Leo J. O'Donovan, S.J., Jesuit Refugee

"This book could not come at a more opportune time, with more than three million refugees streaming out of Ukraine and hundreds of thousands of migrants crossing borders in search of safety and life. With his trademark spirituality and pastoral heart, Dan Groody teaches us to see the crucified body of Christ in the broken bodies of refugees and how their bodies are transubstantiated into the Eucharistic Body of Christ to give new life to us all. A Theology of Migration is an absolute must-read.”--Peter C. Phan, Georgetown University

“Weaving migrant stories, Scriptural reflections, and church documents around the various dimensions of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, A Theology of Migration is profound, yet practical. This significative contribution to Groody’s already important work is a timely word for all Christians.” -M. Daniel Carroll R. (Rodas), PhD, Scripture Press Ministries Professor of Biblical Studies and Pedagogy, Wheaton College and Graduate School

“This book is singularly powerful in its location of migrants, their dreams, cries, and relationship with God within the structure of the mass. It is ultimately about our faith: how we, in our understanding of and hospitality to migrants, make our own migration back to God.” —Carolyn Y. Woo, Distinguished President’s Fellow for Global Development, Purdue University; author, Rising: Learning from Women’s Leadership in Catholic Ministries

"Groody explores both the “outer journey of migrants and the inner journey of faith,” framed by the eucharistic liturgy. He moves fluidly between the painful realities that migrants and refugees experience—hunger, thirst, violence, incarceration, rejection—and the body of Christ present at Mass, creating a “Eucharistic hermeneutic of migration directed toward the redemption of the world.” His description of the Mass Pope Francis celebrated in Lampedusa reveals parallels between the broken bodies of migrants and the Eucharist. This book serves as a powerful companion in understanding migration through the eyes of faith. "—Rhonda Miska, U.S. Catholic Magazine

“Dan Groody has a very natural gift of theological wholeness. He intuits the whole picture. You do not need to be involved in immigration or refugee work to find great inspiration in this book. It is about community, a very full theology of church, and a foundation for mystical service and practical prayer in a deeply suffering world.”—Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, Center for Action and Contemplation

This book is a systematic theology of migration that seeks to reframe the operative political, social and cultural narratives through a Eucharistic narrative. The heart of it revolves around the outer journey of migrants, the inner journey of faith, and the divine journey into our world. Drawing on accounts of migrants and refugees around the globe, the book explores the relationship between faith and justice, theology and migration, and Christian spirituality and the challenges of the modern world. From a theological perspective, it is about the God who first migrated to our world in the Incarnation and the God who calls people to migrate back to our spiritual homeland as citizens of the Kingdom. It explores the body of Christ as encountered inside of a church building in the sacrament of the Eucharist and the body of Christ as encountered outside of it in the least and the last of our world today (Mt. 25:31–46). In the context of the global migration and refugee crisis, it examines ways the divine and human intermingle on our earthly pilgrimage and transform us into the image and likeness of God to become bread for the world through the works of mercy.

Daniel G. Groody is a Holy Cross priest, Vice President and Associate Provost of Undergraduate Education, and professor of theology and global affairs at the University of Notre Dame. He has authored many books and articles, translated into seven languages, including Globalization, Spirituality, and Justice, and is host of a podcast, “Heart’s Desire and Social Change” (heartsdesiresocialchange.com).

Click Here For The Book Introduction

Click Here For The Table Of Contents