Conformed to Christ Crucified, Volume One

Meditations on Priestly Life and Ministry

In Conformed to Christ Crucified, Father Carola presents a collection of his homiletic meditations covering various aspects of the life and ministry of the priesthood.  Each meditation is composed with a focus on the priest’s sacramental conformity to Christ Crucified, drawing from Sacred Scripture and the spirituality of the Church’s bi-millennial Tradition.

The collection of homilies has two parts:

• Holy Orders which contain sermons preached with explicit reference to the life and ministry of deacons and priests
• The Paschal Mystery which treats similar themes preached generally within the context of Lent and Holy Week

Conformed to Christ Crucified can serve as inspiration to both clergy and the lay faithful. Father Carola’s homilies reflect on the immeasurable love of God and the sacramental gift of the priesthood.

“Father Carola’s homilies will lead priests and seminarians to identify themselves more completely with Christ crucified and so make their hearts one with the glorious pierced Heart of Jesus. For all of the faithful, study of these homilies will mean growth in knowledge of the great gift of the ordained priesthood and love of priests. We owe a great debt of gratitude to Father Carola for his homilies and for their excellent presentation in his book. His homilies uncover anew for us the immeasurable love of God Who calls men to be priests and consecrates them to act in the person of His Incarnate Son, Head and Shepherd of the Church in every time and place, unceasingly offering His life for the sake of the flock and, in a special way, for the sheep who have wandered from the fold.”

+ Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura

“Father Joseph Carola with these meditations offers a strongly Ignatian view of Holy Scripture. The vocation to the priesthood is above all a call to live a life totally conformed to the poor, suffering, and crucified Christ. Jesus Christ leads his disciples on the road to Emmaus to understand their life and their ministry for the Risen Lord.”

Christoph Cardinal Schönborn Archbishop of Vienna