Customer Reviews

Naming Grace: Preaching and the Sacramental Imagination

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Having taken approximately 30 courses at St. Bernard's Institute in fulfillment of my M.A. and M.Div degrees, I have rarely become excited over required texts. A notable exception is "Naming Grace" by Mary Catherine Hilkert. While there are certainly other high quality books on the market that deal with preaching in a general sense, "Naming Grace" is one of the rare gems that deal more specifically with the art of preparing and delivering a homily in a Catholic liturgical setting. With a combination of wit and serious scholarship, Dr. Hilkert urges anyone who is brave enough to enter into the risky world of homiletics to utilize skills inclusive of both sacramental and prophetic imaginations. In addition, she gives practical advice that is instructive toward avoiding what amounts to 'replacement theology' (an occasional hazard of trying to harmonize the Old and New Testaments). I found Dr. Hilkert's text to be highly stimulating. I therefore highly endorse "Naming Grace."

I say read with caution due to the nature of this book. In the act of naming grace, Hilkert makes one major mistake; she neglects to actually name grace. Trapped within her Thomistic and Kantian structures, Hilkert fails to grasp that grace has a name rather than existence as a disembodied, ethereal noun. Grace is the Word made flesh-Jesus Christ. Thus, from the outset, her system and thoughts on preaching are flawed due to a limited understanding of what he Word is that is proclaimed as well as its relationship to the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist. While there are glimmers of beneficial material, overall one should take this book with a grain of salt.