* Winner of a 2021 Catholic Media Association Book Award for Spirituality.
Living Resurrected Lives:
What it Means and Why it Matters
by Veronica Mary Rolf and Eva Natanya
(Wipf & Stock Publishers, Cascade Books Imprint, 2020)
Christ’s bodily resurrection is the foundation of Christian faith; at least, it is supposed to be. But how often do we really consider what that means? Living Resurrected Lives explores what it would take for Christians to understand and believe so clearly in resurrection—both Christ’s glorification and the promise of our own—that our lives would be radically transformed by that faith right now. We take a daringly integrated approach, balancing careful consideration of sacred Scripture with attention to history, theology, and personal contemplative practice. We offer arguments to re-establish a firm bedrock for belief in the Gospel accounts, suggest a new theological perspective that integrates scientific insights into quantum uncertainty with reflections on the malleable nature of identity, and provide heart-stirring guided meditations for daily practice. We elucidate St. Paul’s teachings on the transformation of the body and grapple with age-old conundrums about decaying corpses and the continuity of personal identity: What dies? What lives on? We revisit early Christian intuitions about the sublime qualities of the glorified body and explore how we might cultivate such qualities through our own individual practice. Thus we propose an embodied resurrection mysticism that can permeate every moment of our lives.
Praise for Living Resurrected Lives:
“The case for the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and the bodily resurrection of those who live by faith in him, is presented with clarity and conviction. What it means to believe in the resurrection of the body in the twenty-first century, and to live as those who believe it, is unfolded with gentle erudition, heartfelt passion, and practical wisdom. This labor of love will touch hearts and minds for the better.”
—John Saxbee, former Bishop of Lincoln, United Kingdom
“This is a rooted, readable, entertaining, and encyclopaedic resurrection tour de force, guiding us through antiquity, Scriptures, the church fathers, and the schoolmen to forensically examine their take on the subject. Rolf, an upbeat apologist for the resurrection, intelligently demolishes the views of demythologizing scholars, with Natanya’s Ignatian-style meditations on the Gospel narratives enabling the reader to see their every moment as resurrectable. An Easter treasure trove to cheer every Good Friday.”
—David Wilbourne, Honorary Assistant Bishop of York
“Living Resurrected Lives combines insightful scholarship and practical spiritual wisdom to unpack the meaning of Christ’s resurrection—showing how the promise and possibility of eternal life can bring joy and meaning to our lives today. It will open your mind and nurture your heart.”
—Carl McColman, author of Unteachable Lessons and The Big Book of Christian Mysticism
Living Resurrected Lives:
What it Means and Why it Matters
by Veronica Mary Rolf and Eva Natanya
(Wipf & Stock Publishers, Cascade Books Imprint, 2020)
Christ’s bodily resurrection is the foundation of Christian faith; at least, it is supposed to be. But how often do we really consider what that means? Living Resurrected Lives explores what it would take for Christians to understand and believe so clearly in resurrection—both Christ’s glorification and the promise of our own—that our lives would be radically transformed by that faith right now. We take a daringly integrated approach, balancing careful consideration of sacred Scripture with attention to history, theology, and personal contemplative practice. We offer arguments to re-establish a firm bedrock for belief in the Gospel accounts, suggest a new theological perspective that integrates scientific insights into quantum uncertainty with reflections on the malleable nature of identity, and provide heart-stirring guided meditations for daily practice. We elucidate St. Paul’s teachings on the transformation of the body and grapple with age-old conundrums about decaying corpses and the continuity of personal identity: What dies? What lives on? We revisit early Christian intuitions about the sublime qualities of the glorified body and explore how we might cultivate such qualities through our own individual practice. Thus we propose an embodied resurrection mysticism that can permeate every moment of our lives.
Praise for Living Resurrected Lives:
“The case for the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and the bodily resurrection of those who live by faith in him, is presented with clarity and conviction. What it means to believe in the resurrection of the body in the twenty-first century, and to live as those who believe it, is unfolded with gentle erudition, heartfelt passion, and practical wisdom. This labor of love will touch hearts and minds for the better.”
—John Saxbee, former Bishop of Lincoln, United Kingdom
“This is a rooted, readable, entertaining, and encyclopaedic resurrection tour de force, guiding us through antiquity, Scriptures, the church fathers, and the schoolmen to forensically examine their take on the subject. Rolf, an upbeat apologist for the resurrection, intelligently demolishes the views of demythologizing scholars, with Natanya’s Ignatian-style meditations on the Gospel narratives enabling the reader to see their every moment as resurrectable. An Easter treasure trove to cheer every Good Friday.”
—David Wilbourne, Honorary Assistant Bishop of York
“Living Resurrected Lives combines insightful scholarship and practical spiritual wisdom to unpack the meaning of Christ’s resurrection—showing how the promise and possibility of eternal life can bring joy and meaning to our lives today. It will open your mind and nurture your heart.”
—Carl McColman, author of Unteachable Lessons and The Big Book of Christian Mysticism
* Winner of a 2020 Catholic Media Association Book Award for Scripture.
Suddenly There is God:
The Story of Our Lives in Sacred Scripture
by Veronica Mary Rolf
(Wipf & Stock Publishers, Cascade Books Imprint, 2019)
"Veronica Mary Rolf has written a series of beautifully clear and direct meditations on how the biblical story traces our own developmental history and invites us to understand ourselves more deeply by reading ourselves into the text and the text into ourselves.” Foreword by Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury
"Good literature introduces you to yourself. These insightful reflections do just that. Clear and compassionate. This book belongs on your coffee table where your friends and your children can chance upon it. Veronica Mary Rolf is a trustworthy mentor.”
-- Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, President, Oblate School of Theology, Texas
“Suddenly There is God is deeply scholarly, deeply accessible, deeply faithful, deeply scriptural, deeply poetic, deeply personal, deeply integrated, deeply readable, deeply converting, deeply catholic, and deeply connecting. For thirty years I have been selecting and forming people for ordination; if all they did was to read and digest this soigné book, their ministry and spirituality would be remarkable, and their sermons absolutely stunning!” -- Rt. Rev'd David Wilbourne, Honorary Assistant Bishop of York, England
“Martin Buber said that the Bible is not a theology for us but an anthropology for God. With insightful interpretation of the texts, Veronica Mary Rolf shows us that it is an anthropology for us as well, revealing how God deals with humanity, from biblical characters to our own lives.”
---Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ, Fischer Professor of New Testament, Emerita, Brite Divinity School
"Veronica Mary Rolf has become known to readers of Christian spirituality through two excellent books on Julian of Norwich. She has now gifted us with a powerful book of meditations on scripture themes. Throughout, she uses the stories and insights of scripture to illuminate our everyday lives. The principle ways she does this is by using a developmental approach. The Creation narratives are explored in tandem with our own entry into the world. The wonder of coming to be, of course, is something we only gradually come to realize over a lifetime. Following chapters take us through the Fall (Broken Trust) and adolescence (the Flood.) Forgiveness comes towards the end of the book as it takes maturity to learn forgiveness. Late maturity is connected with self-giving. The opening chapter is sort of like a literary Big Bang as the wonder of our being unfolds in Rolf's powerful and poetic prose. This sense of wonder takes many turns through the various struggles in life with its pains and the challenge of commitment and life's pains teach us how hard the trust of commitment can be. By the end of the book (Resurrection) we have had a lifetime's worth of strengthening that we can put to use for the rest of the days given us. For anyone looking for a book on spirituality, this book should be at the top of the list. Highly recommended." -- Fr. Andrew Marr, author and Abbot of St. Gregory's Benedictine Monastery, Three Rivers, Michigan
"Veronica Mary Rolf is a master teacher of the dramatic arts and playwright who brings this background to her exploration of sacred Scripture. Here she employs a dramatic method of interpretation to some of these sacred stories. . . . Rolf seeks to get under the skin of the sacred texts, seeking for her reader to experience and pray these stories imaginatively, emotionally, and spiritually. She is true to her word. . . . Each chapter begins with a touch point. For example, in the chapter on “Struggle for Freedom,” she begins with “Freedom is never free” (69). She then moves into a very readable exploration of the biblical story pertinent to each chapter, grounded in solid scholarship. She weaves Old Testament and New Testament stories seamlessly with current realities, inviting the reader to see portions of our personal struggles reflected in these ancient stories. Rolf suggests an answer to the “so what” question in each chapter, namely, what is the relevance of the ancient stories to our own lives. As the book progresses from chapter to chapter I see an intentional progression of human growth into maturity, both emotional and spiritual—from creation (and our own personal creation) to resurrection. Each chapter is an excellent example of extended lectio divina—in the very best sense of the word. While most of us would appreciate Suddenly There is God, as a Postulant/ Novice Director and spiritual director, I value this as a tool for those I might work with who are new to any consistent study of Scripture and to lectio divina. The book helpfully includes footnotes, a bibliography, and an index. -- Laura Swan, OSB, St. Placid Priory, Washington (Reviewed in Cistercian Studies Quarterly, 55:3)
Suddenly There is God:
The Story of Our Lives in Sacred Scripture
by Veronica Mary Rolf
(Wipf & Stock Publishers, Cascade Books Imprint, 2019)
"Veronica Mary Rolf has written a series of beautifully clear and direct meditations on how the biblical story traces our own developmental history and invites us to understand ourselves more deeply by reading ourselves into the text and the text into ourselves.” Foreword by Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury
"Good literature introduces you to yourself. These insightful reflections do just that. Clear and compassionate. This book belongs on your coffee table where your friends and your children can chance upon it. Veronica Mary Rolf is a trustworthy mentor.”
-- Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, President, Oblate School of Theology, Texas
“Suddenly There is God is deeply scholarly, deeply accessible, deeply faithful, deeply scriptural, deeply poetic, deeply personal, deeply integrated, deeply readable, deeply converting, deeply catholic, and deeply connecting. For thirty years I have been selecting and forming people for ordination; if all they did was to read and digest this soigné book, their ministry and spirituality would be remarkable, and their sermons absolutely stunning!” -- Rt. Rev'd David Wilbourne, Honorary Assistant Bishop of York, England
“Martin Buber said that the Bible is not a theology for us but an anthropology for God. With insightful interpretation of the texts, Veronica Mary Rolf shows us that it is an anthropology for us as well, revealing how God deals with humanity, from biblical characters to our own lives.”
---Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ, Fischer Professor of New Testament, Emerita, Brite Divinity School
"Veronica Mary Rolf has become known to readers of Christian spirituality through two excellent books on Julian of Norwich. She has now gifted us with a powerful book of meditations on scripture themes. Throughout, she uses the stories and insights of scripture to illuminate our everyday lives. The principle ways she does this is by using a developmental approach. The Creation narratives are explored in tandem with our own entry into the world. The wonder of coming to be, of course, is something we only gradually come to realize over a lifetime. Following chapters take us through the Fall (Broken Trust) and adolescence (the Flood.) Forgiveness comes towards the end of the book as it takes maturity to learn forgiveness. Late maturity is connected with self-giving. The opening chapter is sort of like a literary Big Bang as the wonder of our being unfolds in Rolf's powerful and poetic prose. This sense of wonder takes many turns through the various struggles in life with its pains and the challenge of commitment and life's pains teach us how hard the trust of commitment can be. By the end of the book (Resurrection) we have had a lifetime's worth of strengthening that we can put to use for the rest of the days given us. For anyone looking for a book on spirituality, this book should be at the top of the list. Highly recommended." -- Fr. Andrew Marr, author and Abbot of St. Gregory's Benedictine Monastery, Three Rivers, Michigan
"Veronica Mary Rolf is a master teacher of the dramatic arts and playwright who brings this background to her exploration of sacred Scripture. Here she employs a dramatic method of interpretation to some of these sacred stories. . . . Rolf seeks to get under the skin of the sacred texts, seeking for her reader to experience and pray these stories imaginatively, emotionally, and spiritually. She is true to her word. . . . Each chapter begins with a touch point. For example, in the chapter on “Struggle for Freedom,” she begins with “Freedom is never free” (69). She then moves into a very readable exploration of the biblical story pertinent to each chapter, grounded in solid scholarship. She weaves Old Testament and New Testament stories seamlessly with current realities, inviting the reader to see portions of our personal struggles reflected in these ancient stories. Rolf suggests an answer to the “so what” question in each chapter, namely, what is the relevance of the ancient stories to our own lives. As the book progresses from chapter to chapter I see an intentional progression of human growth into maturity, both emotional and spiritual—from creation (and our own personal creation) to resurrection. Each chapter is an excellent example of extended lectio divina—in the very best sense of the word. While most of us would appreciate Suddenly There is God, as a Postulant/ Novice Director and spiritual director, I value this as a tool for those I might work with who are new to any consistent study of Scripture and to lectio divina. The book helpfully includes footnotes, a bibliography, and an index. -- Laura Swan, OSB, St. Placid Priory, Washington (Reviewed in Cistercian Studies Quarterly, 55:3)
* First Place Winner of a Catholic Press Association Book Award.
* First Place Winner of the Nautilus Gold Medal for Spirituality.
* First Place Winner of the Indie "Excellence" Award for Religion.
Julian's Gospel:
Illuminating the Life & Revelations of Julian of Norwich
by Veronica Mary Rolf
(Orbis Books, 2013)
"Certainly one of the best books on Julian of Norwich I’ve ever read. With a vast amount of research and a great deal of passion, Veronica Mary Rolf successfully recreates the world of the great mystic, provides careful explanations of Julian’s rich experiences in prayer, and, overall, paints a convincing portrait of one of the most remarkable women ever to have lived—and believed."
Fr. James Martin, SJ, best-selling author & Editor-at-Large of America: The Jesuit Review
"It is possible that Veronica Mary Rolf’s book will become the definitive work on Julian of Norwich. Her book is a masterpiece of scholarly historical research and amazing theological insight into Julian’s Revelations, one of the classics of medieval spirituality." Catholic Library World
"The prizes that her volume has garnered to date indicate that it has already been well-received as a popular introduction to the medieval anchoress and her work. That a new book about Julian should find such an audience speaks to the continuing capacity of her writings to reassure her readers that “al shal be wel, and al shal be wel, and al manner of thyng shal be wele.”
London Times Literary Supplement
* First Place Winner of the Nautilus Gold Medal for Spirituality.
* First Place Winner of the Indie "Excellence" Award for Religion.
Julian's Gospel:
Illuminating the Life & Revelations of Julian of Norwich
by Veronica Mary Rolf
(Orbis Books, 2013)
"Certainly one of the best books on Julian of Norwich I’ve ever read. With a vast amount of research and a great deal of passion, Veronica Mary Rolf successfully recreates the world of the great mystic, provides careful explanations of Julian’s rich experiences in prayer, and, overall, paints a convincing portrait of one of the most remarkable women ever to have lived—and believed."
Fr. James Martin, SJ, best-selling author & Editor-at-Large of America: The Jesuit Review
"It is possible that Veronica Mary Rolf’s book will become the definitive work on Julian of Norwich. Her book is a masterpiece of scholarly historical research and amazing theological insight into Julian’s Revelations, one of the classics of medieval spirituality." Catholic Library World
"The prizes that her volume has garnered to date indicate that it has already been well-received as a popular introduction to the medieval anchoress and her work. That a new book about Julian should find such an audience speaks to the continuing capacity of her writings to reassure her readers that “al shal be wel, and al shal be wel, and al manner of thyng shal be wele.”
London Times Literary Supplement