Reviews for The church with a human face

The average rating for The church with a human face based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-04-04 00:00:00 Paul M. Depascale Cozzens wrote: "The very face of the priesthood - the external cues and customs, the internal hallmarks of identity and function - seemed to be changing..." (P. ix). I read this book seeking these "internal hallmarks" and found them most clearly expressed in Part I. In Part I Cozzens defines his topic for reflection, that is, the human transformation necessary for a priest of Jesus Christ, and then he turns his attention to external cues and customs current in the U. S. Catholic Church. This is, in fact, primarily a book on the deeper concept of spirituality, not a book on the sociological or psychological insights of the spiritual life. The enduring value of this book is that Part I touches on the human psyche and pneuma and effectively introduces the principle of gratia praesupponit naturam (grace builds on nature). In this context, I found it helpful to read Cozzens' book in light of James Forsyth's (1997) work, Faith and Human Transformation: A Dialogue Between Psychology and Theology, which thoroughly elaborates Aquinas's second principle gratia perficit naturam (grace perfects nature). Cozzens' book is about the Catholic Church in the United States which provides the sociological and psychological context for his external cues. However, to my mind, the book's fundamental concern is the appropriate understanding of spirituality of the part of the individual seeking to discern the internal hallmarks of Christian identity.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-07-24 00:00:00 Amy Pyle A penetrating and insightful read into the complexities of the human condition especially for those men who are call to the vocation of the priesthood . Cozzens speaks with honesty and clarity on some of the dangers a man can fall into as in as an individual but also how his ministry as a priest can warp his sense of reality. Recommended for the young priest starting in ministry.