All time belongs to him
The Editor

Making sense of God-made man
John McDade SJ
In a culture which has experienced the 'collapse of the shared "grand narratives" about God and history', how is it possible to make sense of the traditional beliefs concerning the Incarnation and how can it be said that God is present in our world? John McDade, Principal of Heythrop College, University of London, looks here to Buber and Aquinas to provide insights which can enlighten our times.

Mary: virgin and mother
Tina Beattie
The virgin birth is a non-negotiable doctrine of the Church. Tina Beattie, mother of four, theologian and author of the forthcoming book The Last Supper According to Martha and Mary, discusses the implications of this teaching. 'It is not susceptible to analysis and reason, but invites us to go beyond the narrow confines of rationalism and scientific literalism to discover our capacity for new ways of knowing and to conceive new ways of being in the world.'

What difference has Christ made?
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto

Liturgy for the third millennium
M.Francis Mannion
What are we to do with the liturgy? Mgr M. Francis Mannion, who is president of the (US) Society for Catholic Liturgy and administrator of the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Salt Lake City, here explains some of the deficiencies of today's liturgies, and offers these positive proposals: 'a renewal of the eschatological vision, a widening of liturgical scope to include the cosmos, and a revitalisation of a practice of glory'.

The 'Second Spring' revisited
Christopher Lightbound
The year 2000 will see the commemoration of the restoration of the hierarchy in England and Wales in 1850. Mgr Christopher Lightbound, who is Vicar General of the diocese of Shrewsbury and parish priest of St Mary of the Angels at Childer Thornton, South Wirral, looks back on the wonderful growth of those years and then points out to those who sense a present malaise 'the many green shoots to lift the spirits of priest and parishioner'.

Where is the new mission of the Church?
Raymond Hickey OSA
Where has the Church been most active over the last hundred years? With what effect? Mgr Raymond Hickey, an Augustinian who has served in the Church's diplomatic service and is now in Nigeria, looks around the world and suggests where the Church may be 'at the dawn of a much brighter future'.

PASTORALIA

A year of Jubilees
Rosemary Read and Deborah Jones

Preaching and teaching the Word
Gilbert Márkus OP
Gilbert Márkus, the Catholic chaplain to Strathclyde University, offers some reflections on the lectionary readings for the Sundays and Solemnities of January of the Holy Year. These follow the Scottish lectionary.

Book review

Postscript:Basil and Diana
Bruce Herbert

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