Books

... AND YOU ARE CHRIST'S':The Charism of Virginity and the Celibate Life, Dubay

Br Barry Coldrey

Contents - Aug 2009 - Buy a copy now Editorial: Feast of Our Lady's Assumption, 15 August - Michael Gilchrist Caritas in Veritate: Benedict XVI's social encyclical: public life needs Christian principles - Michael Gilchrist News: The Church Around the World Human rights: Small victories for pro-lifers at the UN - Babette Francis Priesthood: Benedict XVI's Letter to priests: follow example of the Curé of Ars Is this where 'progressive' religious life is heading? - AD2000 REPORT Magisterium: Authentic Catholicism: neither progressive nor conservative - Fr Martin Durham G.K. Chesterton on modernism and orthodoxy Foundations of Faith: Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone): a recipe for doctrinal chaos - Dr Frank Mobbs God's Messengers: Angels: what Scripture and Tradition reveal - Susan McKinley Poetry: Nkosi J - Will Elsin Letters: Pope Pius XII vindicated - Tony Evans Letters: Religious freedom - Fr Brian Harrison OS Letters: Ecumenism? - Moya and Leo Morrissey Letters: Content of faith - Chris Hilder Letters: Moral decline - Frank Bellet Letters: Poems appreciated - Margaret Healy Letters: Appeal - World Congress of Families - Jenny Davies Books: THE WINE OF CERTITUDE: a Literary Biography of Ronald Knox, by David Rooney - Michael Daniel (reviewer) Books: JESUS, THE APOSTLES AND THE EARLY CHURCH, by Pope Benedict XVI - Michael Daniel (reviewer) Books: FLOWERS OF HEAVEN: One Thousand Years of Christian Verse, ed. By Joseph Pearce - Br Barry Coldrey (reviewer) Books: BECAUSE GOD IS REAL: Sixteen Questions, One Answer, by Peter Kreeft - Br Barry Coldrey (reviewer) Books: ... AND YOU ARE CHRIST'S':The Charism of Virginity and the Celibate Life, Dubay - Br Barry Coldrey Books: This month's selection from AD Books Reflection: Mary in God's plan of salvation - Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli

' ... AND YOU ARE CHRIST'S'
The Charism of Virginity and the Celibate Life
by Fr Thomas Dubay
(Ignatius Press, 149pp, $19.90. Available from Freedom Publishing)

Father Thomas Dubay is an American Marist priest whose ministry has focused primarily on teaching Philosophy and Theology to students in seminaries and universities throughout the United States. He has written fifteen books exploring aspects of consecrated religious life and his works, including this small, neat, inexpensive book should be in tertiary libraries and those of religious orders.

This book discusses one of the most important but not fully appreciated or understood charisms of the consecrated life, that of virginity. Although the idea of virginity is unpopular and even despised in modern secular society, Dubay emphasises the importance of evangelical virginity, a concept deeply rooted in both the Old and New Testaments.

The primary focus of his work is female religious life and he stresses that a woman, because of her feminine nature and traits, can image and live the Church's close relationship to Christ.

' ... and you are Christ's' is written in a formal, dignified and generalised style which could make sub- stantial demands on some readers. Moreover, while the book was written twenty years ago, its subject is timeless and its relevance remains. However, since the late 1980s, the child sexual abuse crisis has engulfed the English-speaking Church, especially in the United States.

This crisis has, from one angle, made the book more relevant, but the fact that the work does not mention the issue may give the impression of being a dated piece of writing. A revision and update might be in order.

Dr Barry Coldrey taught in Christian Brothers colleges for many years, is now actively involved in youth ministry and has written and lectured extensively.

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 22 No 7 (August 2009), p. 18