Finding God in the World: An Introduction to Josef Pieper’s Sacramental Worldview

by Fr. Christopher Seith

Testimonials

“Through the lens of Josef Pieper, Fr. Seith speaks to hearts that have become disoriented by a society obsessed with productivity, efficiency, and instant gratification, reorienting them to Beauty.  This isn’t a book to simply read.  It’s a book to pray with.” – Mother Natalia, Byzantine Catholic Nun and Co-host of the podcast “What God is Not”

“Quoting André Gide, a most unlikely and indeed suspect source, Josef Pieper affirms that “the terrible thing is that we can never make ourselves drunk enough”. In this at once provocative and comforting book, Fr Christopher Seith shows magisterially how Josef Pieper takes seriously the tragedy of Gide’s insight as representative of a frantic secularism, which devolves into a cynical anti-humanism. Yet Seith also shows how Pieper responds to Gide’s despairing sobriety by flipping its grim self-referentiality, and proclaiming the sobria ebrietas or “sober drunkenness of the Spirit” awaiting us just beyond all our most extravagant dreams. This is the cosmic Banquet, the great Eucharistic festivity perpetually lifting all of creation into the ecstatic joy of God’s Heart, and making all things shine with a sacramental splendor.” – Fr. Simeon Leiva-Merikakis, OCSO, Catholic theologian, translator, Trappist monk, and current Secretary for the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance

“Finding God in the World is a contemplative treasure. Fr. Seith draws us into a vision where divine presence saturates every moment. His prose illumines the ordinary with grace, guiding hearts toward wonder, gratitude, and the quiet joy of encountering God everywhere.” – Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, author of The Narrative Spirituality of Dante’s Divine Comedy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fr. Christopher Seith is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington and currently serves as the Coordinator of Spiritual Formation at St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, DC. He is the author of Rekindling Wonder: Touching Heaven in a Screen Saturated World.

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This accessible introduction explores the life, thought, and theological method of Bernard Lonergan, SJ. It traces his biography, intellectual influences, and major works—especially Insight and Method in Theology. Cush explains Lonergan’s functional specialties, conversion theory, and impact on Catholic theology. Designed for students and newcomers, the book offers a clear roadmap to Lonergan’s approach, underscoring its value for contemporary theological reflection and pastoral practice.

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TESTIMONIALS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Father John P. Cush, STD, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, is the Editor-in-Chief of Homiletic and Pastoral Review. Fr. Cush serves as a full-time Professor of Dogmatic and Fundamental Theology, Director of Seminarian Admissions and Recruitment, and Formation Advisor at Saint Joseph’s Seminary and College in New York. Before that, he served in parochial work and in full-time high school teaching in the Diocese of Brooklyn and had served as Academic Dean/Assistant Vice-Rector and Formation Advisor at the Pontifical North American College Rome, Italy. Fr. Cush has taught theology and Church History at the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum), and the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Santa Croce), all in Rome, Italy.

Fr. Cush holds the pontifical doctorate in sacred theology (STD) from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy in the field of fundamental theology, He had also studied dogmatic theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum), Rome, Italy, on the graduate level. Fr. Cush is the author of The How-to-Book of Theology (OSV Press, 2020) and Theology as Prayer: a Primer for Diocesan Priests (with Msgr. Walter Oxley), as well as being a contributor to the festschrift Intellect, Affect, and God (Marquette University Press, 2021). He is also the author of Nothing But You: Reflections on the Priesthood and Priestly Formation through the Lens of Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire, July 2024).

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TESTIMONIALS

“Contemporary studies of religious practice and belief consistently show Catholics performing similar to the general population in terms of religious devotion and even knowledge of their faith. Dr. Arguello shows that if we want to draw people closer to the Eucharist, one indispensable route to do this, which has been championed by the Church through many challenges, is to unite our catechesis and spirituality to the veneration of sacred images. A tour de force drawing on history, liturgical theology, aesthetics, and even politics, this book offers a fascinating argument worthy of serious consideration.” – Luke Arredondo, PhD, Executive Director of the St. Brendan Center for Evangelization and Spirituality, Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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