Table of Contents
In Grateful Appreciation ix
Introduction 1
Part 1 Revisioning the foundations
Chapter 1 The Evolutionary Context of Religious Life 5
Why an Evolutionary Perspective? 6
Religious Life as an Evolutionary Process 10
Theological Foundations Reconsidered 13
Spirituality and the Vowed Life 15
The Consecrated Life 17
Evolutionary Becoming 18
Study Questions: Revisioning the Foundations 20
Chapter 2 The Parable and the Paradigm 21
Shifting the Paradigm 23
The Notion of Refounding 25
Discerning the Archetype 26
The Communal Dimension 32
A Critique of the Prevailing Paradigm 34
Embracing a New Paradigm with Parabolic Creativity 35
Study Questions 37
Chapter 3 Parable and Paradigm: The Christian Context 39
The Monastic Archetype and the New Reign of God 40
Shifting Allegiance 43
Enter the Prophetic 47
Discernment: Our Primary Task 50
Discernment for Refounding 53
Study Questions 56
Conclusion to Part 1: The Discerning Process 57
Part 2 Reclaiming Our Subverted History
Chapter 4 Parable and Paradigm in the History of Religious Life 61
The Underside of History 62
Toward a New Historical Paradigm 64
Revisiting the Bedrock Inspiration 68
The Apotactic Movement 69
The Male Tradition 73
Returning to the Archetype 76
Study Questions 78
Chapter 5 Overcoming the Monastic-Apostolic Split 79
Structured Monasticism 80
The Mendicant Era 82
Apostolic Zeal 86
Discerning through History 90
Study Questions 91
Chapter 6 The Parable of Paradigmatic Foundresses 93
Historical Precedent 94
The Great Foundresses 96
Reclaiming the Subverted Vision 114
Study Questions 117
Conclusion to Part 2: The Discerning Process 119
Part 3 Religious Life and Value Radiation
Chapter 7 Liminality: The Core Value of Every Paradigm 123
The Liminal Paradigm 124
Liminality and the Vowed Life 126
Witnessing to Liminal Values 128
Liminality and the Prophetic 132
Within the Church and beyond It 134
Liminality and the Task of Refounding 136
Study Guide 138
Chapter 8 Revisioning the Vows in a Refounding Model 139
The Expansive Vision 140
Value Orientation 141
Three Vows 143
Celibate Relatedness 145
Liminal Relatedness 146
Liminality and Contemporary Sexuality 149
Androgenous Liminality 152
Celibacy as an Androgynous Call 154
Celibacy: The Future? 156
Study Guide 158
Chapter 9 Vows for Mutual Empowerment 159
The Vow for Mutual Sustainability (Poverty) 160
The Vow for Mutual Collaboration (Obedience) 164
All the Talk about Leadership 167
Vows for the Future 169
Study Guide 172
Conclusion to Part Three: The Discerning Process 173
Part 4 Revitalization for Refounding
Chapter 10 Community and All It Signifies 177
Community as an Archetypal Value 178
An Alternative Option 181
Communal Discernment 183
Some New Developments 185
Study Guide 197
Chapter 11 The Vitality Curve and the New Paradigm 199
The Foundational Phase 201
The Utopian Flaw 204
The Downward Curve 205
Extinction 208
Revitalization 209
Formation for the Paradigm Shift 213
Study Guide 215
Chapter 12 Refounding Is Possible 217
The Process of Refounding 218
Plow to Discern Our Way to the Future 221
Skilled for Mission 224
Closure without Ending 229
Study Guide 231
Works Cited 233
Index 241
