Robert Wild

This is the report of two linked research projects: the SSRC Project on Problems and Effects of Teaching about Race Relations, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Project on Teaching About Race Relations through Drama. Its aim is to help teachers who will face race as a theme, whether it arises in the normal course of their subject teaching or is introduced as a separate topic. The project worked with three groups of teachers, each of which adopted a different approach, and the results of the testing programme are given alongside a series of case studies of classroom teaching. The book includes a summary of the findings of the research, express as hypotheses and an account of the teacher-dissemination of the project’s work; it concludes with reflections by the director of the project and a participant teacher.

This is the report of two linked research projects: the SSRC Project on Problems and Effects of Teaching about Race Relations, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Project on Teaching About Race Relations through Drama. Its aim is to help teachers who will face race as a theme, whether it arises in the normal course of their subject teaching or is introduced as a separate topic. The project worked with three groups of teachers, each of which adopted a different approach, and the results of the testing programme are given alongside a series of case studies of classroom teaching. The book includes a summary of the findings of the research, express as hypotheses and an account of the teacher-dissemination of the project’s work; it concludes with reflections by the director of the project and a participant teacher.

As a result of the author's own spiritual and intellectual journey he came to believe that there was something missing in our traditional understanding of the nature of God. In the Scriptures God is presented as clothed with real emotions and feelings such as anger, jealousy, love, compassion, and even a change of purpose and heart. In short, God is presented there as really being influenced and affected by our actions and by the events of history. This book traces this teaching on the feelings of God from the Scriptures to the third century. It tries to show that the gradual loss of these feelings of God in Christian teaching was due to an overemphasis on rational, philosophical knowledge. Certain trends in psychology, the study of language, and philosophy call for a reexamination of this question. The author believes that a clarification of this aspect of God is extremely important and significant for our spiritual life.

As a result of the author's own spiritual and intellectual journey he came to believe that there was something missing in our traditional understanding of the nature of God. In the Scriptures God is presented as clothed with real emotions and feelings such as anger, jealousy, love, compassion, and even a change of purpose and heart. In short, God is presented there as really being influenced and affected by our actions and by the events of history. This book traces this teaching on the feelings of God from the Scriptures to the third century. It tries to show that the gradual loss of these feelings of God in Christian teaching was due to an overemphasis on rational, philosophical knowledge. Certain trends in psychology, the study of language, and philosophy call for a reexamination of this question. The author believes that a clarification of this aspect of God is extremely important and significant for our spiritual life.

Rev. Robert Wild assesses the charismatic movement in the 1980s. He explores in depth the phenomenon of the thousands who have relinquished active involvement in the renewal and seeks to discern what the Spirit is saying to the churches today. An astute appraiser of the renewal since its beginnings, the author forthrightly addresses conditions as they exist. This book is for all actively involved in the charismatic movement who are puzzled by the exodus. It is also for those who feel they have ""passed through"" the renewal, who no longer practice the gifts of the Spirit and who feel a vague disquiet about it. All who have ever been touched by the charismatic renewal will find herein fresh insight, encouragement, and a prophetic challenge in their developing life in the Spirit. Robert Wild is a member of the Madonna House community in Combermere, Ontario. He is the author of Word from Poustinia, Book I and Book II, and Waiting for the Presence.

Rev. Robert Wild assesses the charismatic movement in the 1980s. He explores in depth the phenomenon of the thousands who have relinquished active involvement in the renewal and seeks to discern what the Spirit is saying to the churches today. An astute appraiser of the renewal since its beginnings, the author forthrightly addresses conditions as they exist. This book is for all actively involved in the charismatic movement who are puzzled by the exodus. It is also for those who feel they have ""passed through"" the renewal, who no longer practice the gifts of the Spirit and who feel a vague disquiet about it. All who have ever been touched by the charismatic renewal will find herein fresh insight, encouragement, and a prophetic challenge in their developing life in the Spirit.

From the Introduction: I live in one of the poustinias at the Madonna House. As many people know from Catherine Doherty's book Poustinia, the word means ""desert"" in Russian. A poustinia is a small cabin where people ordinarily go for a day of prayer and fasting, though some, like myself, live there several days a week as a way of life. This book contains ""words"" that I heard the Lord speaking to me. Many of them were shared at the Eucharist in the form of homilies; some were originally in the form of letters sent to my Madonna House family; some few were written for publication elsewhere; still others were jotted down for no particular reason. Writing from the poustinia is one of my ways of preaching the good news of Jesus, the exalted and unmerited privilege for which I was ordained. Fr. Robert Wild is a member of the late Catherine de Hueck Doherty's Madonna House community in Combermere, Ontario, Canada. He lives as a poustinik, spending much of his time in prayer, spiritual direction, and writing. He helped to edit Catherine Doherty's works but has also published several books himself, among which are Desert Harvest, The Post-Charismatic Experience, Journey to the Lonely Christ, and His Face Shone like the Sun. Ordained in 1967, he joined Madonna House in 1971.

The present book is the first work to highlight Catherine Doherty's vocation to spiritual motherhood. Drawing upon primary archival sources, the author traces Catherine's development as a staritsa, or spiritual mother in the Russian-Eastern tradition. Of particular interest are the chapters dealing with Catherine's exercise of spiritual motherhood for priests and laity alike. Previously unpublished letters of spiritual direction between Catherine and her major spiritual directors offer the reader a privileged glimpse into the soul of this servant of God and her spiritual children, as she grows in her vocation as staritsa. For example, in one striking letter, Catherine describes how she guided a disillusioned young priest who was struggling with a drinking problem and temptations involving young women, and was bordering on despair: ""With clenched teeth I sailed into him, first gently, almost caressingly calling him back to Christ he once loved, then more sternly, then quietly. . . . He left full of thanks and some hope . . . ."" ""How rare it is to find a work of theology that's both groundbreaking and readable. Guglielmi examines a neglected gift, spiritual motherhood, as practiced by an underappreciated figure of the last century, Catherine Doherty. He provides substantial historical context for understanding both, but the narrative never bogs down. This book will be rewarding for academic readers as well as those who wish to grow in the spiritual life, following the way of a holy and unusual American Catholic woman."" --Mike Aquilina, Author of The Witness of Early Christian Women ""My life was changed by the spiritual motherhood of Catherine de Hueck Doherty. Through the careful selection of her words and his own deep insights, Guglielmi invites anyone who reads this book to be challenged, nurtured, and molded by the spiritual motherhood of this extraordinary woman."" --Lorene Hanley Duquin, Author of They Called Her the Baroness ""In Staritsa, Guglielmi brings to life the treasure of a remarkable woman. Unique and insightful, this book will inspire anyone who cares deeply for the life of the mystical body of Christ--the church. Catherine Doherty, a pioneer in the lay apostolate, will be of particular interest to laywomen who identify their vocation in the context of lay ecclesial ministry today."" --Donna Eschenauer, Associate Dean, St. Joseph's Seminary, New York ""Staritsa is a gift from a spiritual father who clearly has been inspired by Catherine De Hueck Doherty, a spiritual mother who lived her love of the church with a passionate and pastoral heart. This is a book that can easily be shared and used for priestly convocations, women's retreats, days of recollection, and self-reflection, pondering not only Catherine's life, but the question, 'How can I, too, carry the Spirit of God in my life and work'"" --Dianne Traflet, Associate Dean, Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, Seton Hall University Donald A. Guglielmi is a priest of the Diocese of Bridgeport, and currently serves as a spiritual director and Professor of Spiritual Theology at St. Joseph's Seminary (Dunwoodie) in Yonkers, NY.

The present book is the first work to highlight Catherine Doherty's vocation to spiritual motherhood. Drawing upon primary archival sources, the author traces Catherine's development as a staritsa, or spiritual mother in the Russian-Eastern tradition. Of particular interest are the chapters dealing with Catherine's exercise of spiritual motherhood for priests and laity alike. Previously unpublished letters of spiritual direction between Catherine and her major spiritual directors offer the reader a privileged glimpse into the soul of this servant of God and her spiritual children, as she grows in her vocation as staritsa. For example, in one striking letter, Catherine describes how she guided a disillusioned young priest who was struggling with a drinking problem and temptations involving young women, and was bordering on despair: ""With clenched teeth I sailed into him, first gently, almost caressingly calling him back to Christ he once loved, then more sternly, then quietly. . . . He left full of thanks and some hope . . . ."" ""How rare it is to find a work of theology that's both groundbreaking and readable. Guglielmi examines a neglected gift, spiritual motherhood, as practiced by an underappreciated figure of the last century, Catherine Doherty. He provides substantial historical context for understanding both, but the narrative never bogs down. This book will be rewarding for academic readers as well as those who wish to grow in the spiritual life, following the way of a holy and unusual American Catholic woman."" --Mike Aquilina, Author of The Witness of Early Christian Women ""My life was changed by the spiritual motherhood of Catherine de Hueck Doherty. Through the careful selection of her words and his own deep insights, Guglielmi invites anyone who reads this book to be challenged, nurtured, and molded by the spiritual motherhood of this extraordinary woman."" --Lorene Hanley Duquin, Author of They Called Her the Baroness ""In Staritsa, Guglielmi brings to life the treasure of a remarkable woman. Unique and insightful, this book will inspire anyone who cares deeply for the life of the mystical body of Christ--the church. Catherine Doherty, a pioneer in the lay apostolate, will be of particular interest to laywomen who identify their vocation in the context of lay ecclesial ministry today."" --Donna Eschenauer, Associate Dean, St. Joseph's Seminary, New York ""Staritsa is a gift from a spiritual father who clearly has been inspired by Catherine De Hueck Doherty, a spiritual mother who lived her love of the church with a passionate and pastoral heart. This is a book that can easily be shared and used for priestly convocations, women's retreats, days of recollection, and self-reflection, pondering not only Catherine's life, but the question, 'How can I, too, carry the Spirit of God in my life and work'"" --Dianne Traflet, Associate Dean, Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, Seton Hall University Donald A. Guglielmi is a priest of the Diocese of Bridgeport, and currently serves as a spiritual director and Professor of Spiritual Theology at St. Joseph's Seminary (Dunwoodie) in Yonkers, NY.