Compassionate Christ, Compassionate People

Book excerpt: 2020 Association of Catholic Publishers first place award, resources for liturgy 2020 Catholic Press Association first place award, liturgy soft cover Spirituality is a motion, a responsive movement of heart, mind, and spirit to the life of God moving within us. Starting from his Roman Catholic roots but working ecumenically, Bob Hurd explores this notion of spirituality in two parts. Part 1 places it in the theological framework of Creation-Grace-Incarnation, concluding that its specific form is participation in Christ’s self-emptying love of God, humankind, and creation. Part 2 investigates this kenotic spirituality liturgically, exploring how it comes to expression in the ritual stages of Gathering, Word, Eucharistic Prayer, Communion, and Sending. Comparing and contrasting each stage with corresponding patterns in various Protestant traditions, Hurd lays out the possibility of a spirituality common to Christians of various confessions.