Called to Question: A Spiritual Memoir [Hardcover]

Joan D. Chittister (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 27, 2004

Called to Question is Sr. Joan Chittister's most personal and intense writing to date. Centered around a series of conversations with spiritual writers featured in her private journal, Sr. Joan looks at the common questions or dimensions of life as we know them in our daily lives-not answers as we've been given them-in an attempt to unravel their many meanings, to give them flesh, to honor their spiritual import now and here, in our time and in our own lives. By sharing the questions, doubts, and convictions in her own heart, Chittister explores the heart of faith itself and nurtures a spirituality that pushes readers beyond superficial questioning and unexamined faith. The paperback edition includes a new Prologue about the power of questions in today's society. Following a moving prologue on the nature of faith, Called to Question is broken into six parts that explore key themes- the inward life, immersion in life, resistance, feminist spirituality, ecology, dailiness. Within each theme is a wide array of topics that embody Sr. Joan's life's work as a sociologist, theologian, Benedictine nun, rights activist, and spiritual guide to countless people throughout the world. 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. Called to Question is a rare and powerful invitation to look into the center of our own souls, name our questions about God and life, admit the worst, and pursue the best—even when we are unsure where that pursuit will take us.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In this hopeful book, best-selling author and Benedictine sister Chittister asks tough questions, some of which have dogged her for years. There came a point in her life when customary answers to big questions didn't speak to her anymore, but left her at a spiritual crossroads. She learned to ask questions no one wanted her to ask, such as, What does it mean to live a spiritual life? and Where do women fit in the iconography of a male-dominated religion? Her journal of that time is the basis of this book focused on seeking answers to life issues and mundane matters that haunt us daily, but which few take time to consider. Besides the questions, 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. June Sawyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

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, O.S.B. )

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, Ph.D. )

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, Ph.D. )

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. (Armstrong, Karen )

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 book maps Chittister's 'conscious, perilous journey from religion to spirituality.' (Shirley Ragsdale )

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

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 )

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 )

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 )

Sister Joan's book is an inner journey of the soul. (Owen Phelps Messenger )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Sheed & Ward (April 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580511430
• ISBN-13: 978-1580511438
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #361,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #91 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Monasticism

More About the Author

Joan Chittister, OSB (1936- ) is a Benedictine Sister of Erie, PA. She is the author of over 40 books--ten of which have won Catholic Press Association Awards (the latest 2011: God's Tender Mercy). Her book, The Monastery of the Heart: an invitation to a meaningful life, is prelude to a movement for all seekers: Monasteries of the Heart, recently begun by her Benedictine community. Sister Joan is an international speaker who inspires both her audiences and readers with her passion for justice, for equality and for peace, especially for women in both society and the church. Her PhD is from Penn State University in Speech-Communication Theory. She serves as Executive Director of Benetvision, a research and resource center for contemporary spirituality.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

118 of 127 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Called to Question moved me to deepen spiritual growth!, February 2, 2005

By 

Fred W Hood "barbara377" (Fayetteville, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Called to Question: A Spiritual Memoir (Hardcover)

Upon hearing about Sister Joan from Sir Walter Brueggemann and Patricia Hallum who are both avid readers, I tackled her two latest treasures. Bruegge's awesome evaluation after speaking in Mississippi Conference last year with Marcus Borg, Bishop Spong plus Sister Joan was simply "She is a fearless Lady!" All of her writing has great simplicity, profoundity, richly mined metaphor plus an awesome collection of Epiphanies. Some of her numerous quotations by Teresa of Avila, Julian of Norwich, May Sarton, Sue Monk Kidd, Donna Schaper and Marie Fortune: "In the midst of profound suffering, God is present and new life is possible." As personal response in her Journal: "Why is God in suffering? Maybe because, in those moments, there is little of anything else there! Only in God can we come to see the broader view of suffering....Suffering pares us to the core, strips us of our complacencies, and leaves us naked of ourselves. Suffering exposes us to ourselves!"

Other than Karen Armstrong, who provides her personal accolades on the book cover, Walter Brueggemann, and Barbara Brown Taylor, no one else inhabits my ballpark as equally inspiring, noteable writers! These and others often gift me with courage, Faith and spiritual endurance to guide me through those deeper waters of spiritual growth! Retired Chaplain Fred W Hood

126 of 138 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How well do you question?, August 27, 2004

By 

veronica (Kansas City, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Called to Question: A Spiritual Memoir (Hardcover)

If you have questions or doubts or strong feelings about spiritaul matters that are pertinent particularly to women or you are a man who recognizes that the Catholic Church does not think women exist you must read this book. Her spirituality is sound, her questioning of herself and her church are sound. She challenges herself and her life, would that all of us would do the same.

76 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why men don't get it!, November 20, 2004

By 

Ellen England "inquiring mind" (Damascus, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Called to Question: A Spiritual Memoir (Hardcover)

Please note that the previous reviewer, DS in NJ, did not disclose with "his" opinions, that "his" views are colored by "his" natural gender bias. It is commendable that he recommends Sr. Joan's book, despite his obvious disagreement with her contention that it is time for an open dialog about the role of women in the Catholic church. Hopefully, DS's suggestion that readers skip the section of the book he found objectionable will draw more attention to ideas sorely missing from open discussion between men and women of Catholic faith. DS contends that feminism is dead. Sr.'s serious presentation of long ignored issues concerning women's roles in Catholisism are an indication that feminism has matured and has grown long reaching roots. It is crucial this book is read completely, in order to initiate debate, discourse and deliberation, as Sister obviously intended. My suggestion? Read, think, express your views, listen to others, think more and talk!