Invitation to Practical Theology: Catholic Voices and Visions ed. by Claire E. Wolfteich (review)

In her Introduction, Claire Wolfteich explains the aims of this edited volume to be “a Catholic contribution to practical theology and to explore the import of practical theology for Catholic theology.” I was raised Roman Catholic, but have been Presbyterian for over forty years. Wolfteich’s aims for the Catholic voice are clearly met, and the text also achieves the same general aims for the broader, ecumenical context of practical theology. It is an important contribution to the field.

I found the chapters engaging, informative and challenging. The scope of the text is broad, including topics of interest to the academic guild, various methods of practical theology, and practices that shape the person and the Christian community. Although it is tempting to address three or four articles deeply, my decision is to describe ideas and themes found throughout the book. The value of this wonderful collection is that each chapter provoked deeper consideration of another chapter, making the whole greater than its parts.

The articles in Part I provide useful historical and contextual analyses, as well as approaches to practice and method. Kathleen Cahalan and Bryan Froehle lay out the historical development of Catholic theology, including the emergence of that which is called “practical.” They describe that, preceding Vatican II, “formal theology became knowing about God more than knowing God [so that] spirituality and mysticism naturally remained central to Catholic life and practice, but simply shifted location. This integrated, dialogical reality explains the continuing focus within the Catholic practical theological voice on ecclesiology, liturgy, spirituality, pastoral care, and ethics” (34). This chapter excellently places movements in Catholic theology into a larger historical setting. One gains a deep appreciation for both the continuity of tradition and the diversity of approaches through the centuries. What is most helpful is the recognition of how Vatican II is still being addressed within the various strands of Catholic theology and practice today. This tension is described by the authors as a “back-and-forth relationship between reform and preservation” (35).

Colleen Griffith’s essay defines Christian spiritual practices as “intentional activities engaged in by Christians who see a more meaningful and faith-filled way of living in their concrete circumstances.” As practice is central to the conversation in this text, Griffith’s chapter attends to the understanding of embodied theology. She also lays out an epistemological and theological framework that makes evident that these practices are integral to the “sensus fidei, a sense for the faith, embodied in persons, and the sensus fidelium, the sense of the faithful as a whole” (53).

David Tracy reflects on his early correlational model, explaining how he now understands “a further need for correlational practical theology: a theological correlation with the aesthetic, the contemplative metaphysical, and the several spiritual traditions of Christianity” (71). I would recommend reading these foundational chapters before others; they give the context, vocabulary and complexities that other chapters develop more deeply.

The nine chapters in “Part II: Practices, Contexts and Conversations” bring to life Wolfteich’s focus on context and culture in practical theology. Grouping the chapters by theme, I begin with the nourishment of faith by practice. Terrence Tilley argues that, as practices are the context for theory to develop, so practical theology is the context for the development of systematic theology. This flips the argument usually made that all begins with systematics, and the practice (“application”) comes later. Edward Foley points to liturgy, in particular the Eucharist, as the foundational practice for Catholics. Janet Ruffing’s focus is spiritual direction, an ancient practice of Catholic practical theology. She describes spiritual direction as “a kind of lay practical theology that follows an experience-theology-experience rhythm and is highly attentive to the grace of experience as theological source” (192).

Moving to the larger context of church development and relationships, Bradford Hinze invites an exploration of ecclesiology and practical theology through the emphasis on dialogue that emerged out of the Second...