Called to Question: A Spiritual Memoir

by Joan D. Chittister, Sister Joan Chittister author of Called to Quest

Overview

Called to Question: A Spiritual Memoir is Sr. Joan Chittister's most personal and intense writing to date. Alive with the raw energy of a journal and polished with the skill of a master storyteller, each chapter is an engaging dialogue between Sr. Joan and many different wisdom sources about such topics as God's existence and call, experience, struggle, justice, the role of women and men in society and church, living through doubt, and celebrating life. The paperback edition contains a new Preface by the author.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580512190
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	01/16/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	252
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Joan Chittister is a Benedictine sister, best-selling author, and a well-known national and international lecturer. In 2007 she was awarded the Outstanding Leadership Award from The Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Prologue: The Journey From Religion to Spirituality
Chapter 2 Religion: A Finger Pointing at the Moon
Chapter 3 Spirituality: Beyond the Boundaries of Religion
Part 4 The Inward Life: A Discovery of the Obvious
Chapter 5 The God Within: Whom Shall I Say Sent Me?
Chapter 6 The Presence of God: The Truth That Sets Us Free
Chapter 7 Prayer: Every Time I Do Get Time
Chapter 8 The Call of God: An Echo in the Heart
Chapter 9 Insight: The Alchemy of Experience
Chapter 10 Solitude: The Balm of the Soul
Chapter 11 The Self: The Ground of our Becoming
Chapter 12 Commitment: The Place of Change in the Spiritual Life
Chapter 13 Balance: Going Through Life Whole and Holy
Chapter 14 Darkness: A Way to Light
Part 15 Immersion in Life: The Other Side of Inwardness
Chapter 16 Relationships: To Know and Be Known
Chapter 17 Friendship: A Gift of Independence
Chapter 18 Listening: The Beginning of Wisdom
Part 19 Resistance: The Gospel Imperative
Chapter 20 Justice: Passion for the Reign of God
Chapter 21 Power in the Powerless: The Courage to Refuse Evil
Part 22 Feminist Spirituality: The Coming of a New World
Chapter 23 Society and Women: The Loss of the Soul
Chapter 24 Men and Women: The Discovery of the Adult
Chapter 25 The Church and Women: Speaking in the Name of God
Part 26 Ecology: The Other Side of the Spiritual Life
Chapter 27 Nature: The Voice of God Around Us
Chapter 28 Creation: The Process That Never Ends
Part 29 Dailiness: The Gifts of the Mundane
Chapter 30 Struggle: The Search for God in Darkness
Chapter 31 Joy: The God who Loves Laughter
Chapter 32 Sanctity: The Task of Growing into God
Part 33 Epilogue

What People are Saying About This

Shirley Ragsdale

The book maps Chittister's 'conscious, perilous journey from religion to spirituality.'

Editorial Reviews

In Called to Question, Joan Chittister calls us to enter deeply into ourselves as she enters into herself in this memoir that bears the compelling marks of a spiritual classic of our time. Already one of the true voices of the post-Vatican II age, she speaks to us as Woman, as Church, as Spiritual Guide but, most of all, following the mystical poet Blake, in a voice that cleanses the doors of perception so that we may see the universe as it is, infinite. Joan understands that religion is not the work of the will but of the imagination and that the Church is the sacrament of the world, just as it is. Read this to know Joan Chittister better, to know yourself more truly, and to grasp the meaning of sacramental faith more deeply.

Eugene Kennedy

The book maps Chittister's 'conscious, perilous journey from religion to spirituality.'

Shirley Ragsdale

Inspiring and edifying spiritual memoir. Consider this work as an example of the growth and transformation that can come from reading and savoring the spiritual words of others.

Spirituality and Health

This spiritual memoir is not only the story of how Chittister discovered that she was 'called to question,' but a prompting for all of us to discover that vocation within ourselves as well.

U.S. Catholic - Heidi Schlumpf

Sister Joan's book is an inner journey of the soul.

Messenger - Owen Phelps

This candid memoir takes us immediately back to the challenging spirit of the gospels. Sister Joan reminds us that we have a religious duty to question any authority, however august, and to overturn the idols of orthodoxy. This wise, charitable, and humane book will give hope to anybody who has felt diminished by institutionalized religion.

Karen Armstrong

Chittister expertly and succinctly discusses the differences between religion, which she sees as an institution, and spirituality, which transcends dogma and creed, she says, and dwells in the heart. She reflects upon love and friendship, solitude and contemplation, power and evil, ecology and nature, and ultimately promotes a feminist spirituality to save the world from looming mass destruction.

Booklist

The powerhouse sister may come packaged like a powder puff—a powder-blue suit matching her powder-blue eyes. But her out spoken ways challenge any tired stereotypes of women religious, as catholic sisters and nuns are known.

Norwich Bulletin - Cathy Grossman

For Sister Joan Chittister, defiance is a form of obedience. And silence in the face of injustice is a sin.

USA Today

Some leading figures (like the Pope) never say, 'I don't know;' others (like the Dalai Lama) say it surprisingly often. Joan Chittister admirably demonstrates the sparkling wisdom which springs from befriending our uncertainty. Page after page, her spirited questioning makes us feel joyfully alive.

Brother David Steindl-Rast

Chittister expertly and succinctly discusses the differences between religion, which she sees as an institution, and spirituality, which transcends dogma and creed, she says, and dwells in the heart. She reflects upon love and friendship, solitude and contemplation, power and evil, ecology and nature, and ultimately promotes a feminist spirituality to save the world from looming mass destruction.

For Sister Joan Chittister, defiance is a form of obedience. And silence in the face of injustice is a sin.

In Called to Question, Joan Chittister calls us to enter deeply into ourselves as she enters into herself in this memoir that bears the compelling marks of a spiritual classic of our time. Already one of the true voices of the post-Vatican II age, she speaks to us as Woman, as Church, as Spiritual Guide but, most of all, following the mystical poet Blake, in a voice that cleanses the doors of perception so that we may see the universe as it is, infinite. Joan understands that religion is not the work of the will but of the imagination and that the Church is the sacrament of the world, just as it is. Read this to know Joan Chittister better, to know yourself more truly, and to grasp the meaning of sacramental faith more deeply.

Inspiring and edifying spiritual memoir. Consider this work as an example of the growth and transformation that can come from reading and savoring the spiritual words of others.

Sister Joan's book is an inner journey of the soul.

Some leading figures (like the Pope) never say, 'I don't know;' others (like the Dalai Lama) say it surprisingly often. Joan Chittister admirably demonstrates the sparkling wisdom which springs from befriending our uncertainty. Page after page, her spirited questioning makes us feel joyfully alive.

The book maps Chittister's 'conscious, perilous journey from religion to spirituality.'

The powerhouse sister may come packaged like a powder puff-a powder-blue suit matching her powder-blue eyes. But her out spoken ways challenge any tired stereotypes of women religious, as catholic sisters and nuns are known.

This candid memoir takes us immediately back to the challenging spirit of the gospels. Sister Joan reminds us that we have a religious duty to question any authority, however august, and to overturn the idols of orthodoxy. This wise, charitable, and humane book will give hope to anybody who has felt diminished by institutionalized religion.

This spiritual memoir is not only the story of how Chittister discovered that she was 'called to question, ' but a prompting for all of us to discover that vocation within ourselves as well.

From the Publisher

For Sister Joan Chittister, defiance is a form of obedience. And silence in the face of injustice is a sin.

USA Today

Chittister expertly and succinctly discusses the differences between religion, which she sees as an institution, and spirituality, which transcends dogma and creed, she says, and dwells in the heart. She reflects upon love and friendship, solitude and contemplation, power and evil, ecology and nature, and ultimately promotes a feminist spirituality to save the world from looming mass destruction.

Booklist

Sister Joan's book is an inner journey of the soul.
— Owen Phelps

Messenger

The powerhouse sister may come packaged like a powder puff—a powder-blue suit matching her powder-blue eyes. But her out spoken ways challenge any tired stereotypes of women religious, as catholic sisters and nuns are known.
— Cathy Grossman

Norwich Bulletin

Inspiring and edifying spiritual memoir. Consider this work as an example of the growth and transformation that can come from reading and savoring the spiritual words of others.

Spirituality & Health

This spiritual memoir is not only the story of how Chittister discovered that she was 'called to question,' but a prompting for all of us to discover that vocation within ourselves as well.
— Heidi Schlumpf

U. S. Catholic

For Sister Joan Chittister, defiance is a form of obedience. And silence in the face of injustice is a sin.

Usa Today