Many diocesan priests today feel overworked, under-appreciated, and lonely. The problem is a crisis in priestly identity that is rooted in a functional approach to the priesthood, wherein the emphasis lies on "doing" rather than on "being." This "functionalism," describes an approach to life in which a priest derives his identity from his activity, his work, his success, his fidelity to his duties, and other such externally based things. The antidote to functionalism is for the priest to place communion with Christ at the very center of his existence. When the priest is properly grounded in his identity, he will have a clearer sense of mission and a more fruitful ministry. Fr. Eugene Florea explores how priests can move from functionalism to being rooted in communion with Christ.

The Priest's Communion with Christ: Dispelling Functionalism

Religion & Spirituality

Fr Eugene M Florea

Worship & Devotion

Institute of Priestly Formation

Culture, Contemplation, and Seminary Formation

James Keating

Religious Studies

Deacon James Keating's book Abiding in Christ: Staying with God in a Busy World is a how-to-pray resource. This book helps readers to find a quiet space wherein they can be present to God and offers suggestions of how they can be more open to God's movement within them.

Abiding in Christ: Staying with God in a Busy World

This is an important book, and it comes at a crucial moment when there is growing awareness that we are living in a time of reform and renewal in the Catholic Church. The troubles of the Church in our times are not unique. In fact, we see striking similarities between our times and those of St. John of Avila in pre-Reformation Europe. What Pope Francis has said about our times also applies to St. John's times: "We are not living in an era of change but a change of era." As in John's time, the Church carries out her mission today in an emerging global society marked by rapid and profound changes -- technological, economic, political, and cultural. These changes challenge the Church's moral authority and institutional structures and call into question her truth claims in a secularizing society. In every period of the Church's history, the key to her reform and renewal is the reform and renewal of the priesthood.

Shepherding the Family of God: The Spirituality of Diocesan Priests in St. John of Avila

Fr Gustavo Castillo

Christian Books & Bibles

Monsignor David L. Toups's newest book, The Priests We Need: A Rector Speaks to His Seminarians, is a selection of presentations that Monsignor Toups has given to his seminarians over the course of his tenure as the Rector of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary. This book is about the hope, transparency, integration, freedom, spirituality, and selflessness necessary for a man who is called to the very real and demanding life of priesthood.

The Priests We Need A Rector Speaks to His Seminarians

Msgr David L. Toups

Priestly Formation & Integrative Healing

This book aims to study and explain the fundamental insights of Saint John Paul II"e"that the priest is called to be a living image of Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom of the Church. The book studies the nuptial image in the whole Tradition, starting with the Scriptures and paying special attention to the Fathers of the Church. In this book, one can see the nuptial nature of the Sacrament of Holy Orders and come to understand how the image of Christ the Bridegroom inspires the priest to total self-gift.

A Living Image of The Bridegroom: The Priesthood and the Evangelical Counsels

Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens

S.T.D.

D.D.

The real fruitfulness in priestly ministry comes not from the effectiveness of a priest s ministry and influence but through the Cross, the same way it did for Christ. And the Cross is the symbol of ministerial obedience. It is obedience that allows a priest s ministry to be God s ministry and not his own. The mystery of this obedience is explored in these essays, a mystery that first must be appropriated in clerical formation and then guarded throughout ordained life.

A True and Mature Obedience: Seminary Formation and Freedom

Review\n“The insights into the life and ministry of the diocesan priest in this book are profound. The writing style is clear, simple, and precise. These ‘rules’ of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, seen through the eyes of the diocesan priest, are sure to deepen the prayer life any pastor. ‘Father Tom’ is real. Father Tom is you.” --Father Eamonn Bourke, University Chaplain, University College, Dublin, Ireland\n“This book is a ‘Vocation Saver.’ It is a spiritual field guide for a parish priest. As a former pastor, and now seminary formator, I was deeply affected by the truth of this book.” --Father Kenneth Malley, Spiritual Director, North American College, Rome, Italy

The Discerning Priest: Ignatian Wisdom for Daily Life in Priesthood

Timothy M. Gallagher

Being Formed by the Heart of the Father: Saint Matthew Speaks to Seminarians

Steven C. Smith PhD

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Books by Institute of Priestly Formation