Dealing Effectively with Domestic Abuse: The Ministry of Reconciliation and Healing
By Sr. Adaku Helen Ogbuji, CCVI, PhD
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph 5:25).
This work examines the different faces of violence in our society and how a woman’s body is sometimes treated as an object to be used. When one gender dominates and oppresses another, then the system needs to change. Following this line of argument, the African patriarchal society needs transformation.
Many women have suffered abuse at home and in society. Often removed from decisions that affect them, these women live with false stories of violence at home, suffering psychological, sexual, physical, cultural, and economic abuse. Through the grace of God, the reconciliation process starts with the victim of violence. However, the Church must create certain local conditions before reconciliation can take place, including interpreting and using specific gospel passages that refute domestic abuse, emphasizing the recent documents of the Church that promote the dignity of women and family life values, and forming parish support groups to allow victims of abuse to experience healing through rituals, prayers, the sharing of stories, seminars, and workshops.
The recommendations and methods enumerated in this work can be effective and fruitful in giving voice to the voiceless, liberation to the oppressed, and healing to the wounded women seeking redemption from their tragic stories.
Paperback: $14.95 | Kindle: $9.99
TESTIMONIALS
“Lost in the political and economic challenges/upheavals and violence that threaten society at the national and global scenes, most people seldom look down and around them to perceive a worse crime that scourge humanity – Domestic Violence. Sr. Helen Ogbuji in her beautifully and lucidly articulated book draws our attention to the ravages of this monster that dwells among us. Dealing Effectively with Domestic Abuse very importantly is largely a fruit of the author’s ministerial experience that does not end at exposing the cruelty of Domestic Abuse in Africa but proffers universally praxis-based solutions. The application of the theological concept of reconciliation is uniquely ad rem. The thrust that genuine reconciliation precedes true healing is empowering to abused persons and transforming to the social structures that bolster violence. Dealing Effectively with Domestic Abuse is a handy tool for all in ministry, both ordained and non-ordained. It is a ‘must read‘ for all men and women in relationships especially those facing abuse in their relationships. As an advocate of empowerment and emancipation of abused persons, I found the book enriching.” – Rev. Fr. Dr. Henry Ogbuji, author of From Where Shall Come Our Help? The Lament of Abused Persons
“Violence in our society is the antithesis of what it means to be human, and to live like one. Sr. Adaku, in this well-researched and finely articulated book, adds to the moral voice of awareness, caution, and solution. I do recommend this book to those who seek enlightenment and desire to stop domestic violence.” — Rev. Udo Ogbuji, author of The Peace I Know
“Sr. Adaku’s work in this text is a testimony of hope and compassion. Grounded in faith, she believes in the power of the Risen Christ to undo all the wrongs of violence inflicted on the innocent. The book seeks to be a concrete expression of God’s love directed towards those most in need of healing from domestic violence.” – Sr. Collen Mary Mallon, OP, PhD
“This book is appropriate for families who are finding it difficult to come out from their debased life of hatred, violence, and unforgiving heart… It is valid for formators, educators, and those who journey with the vulnerable people as it offers relevant perspectives for an approach to interpreting the domestic life situation in general and the steps to move towards healing and reconciliation. I recommend this book to everyone because we all come from families.” – Sr. Dr. Elizabeth Ngozi Okpalaenwe, MSHR
“A refreshing and reshaping text. Sister Helen invites carefully but energetically to compassionate relations among Christians–the core of our faith: forgive as you breathe. Must read for all concerned leaders.” – Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Foro, SJ
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Sister Adaku Helen (Helena) Ogbuji, CCVI, PhD, belongs to the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Houston, Texas. She is an author of several books: Dealing Effectively with Domestic Abuse: The Ministry of Reconciliation and Healing; Influence of Childhood Experiences on Faith Development: A Journey Towards Wholeness; Out of the Lips of Infants, Wisdom Comes: Retelling the Bible Stories. Recently, she edited and co-authored Incarnational Spirituality: Embodying the Love of the Incarnate Word. She holds a master’s in Theology, Divinity and Psychology and a PhD in Counseling Psychology. Presently, she is the Formation Director and the Novice Director in their formation house in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
OTHER PRACTICAL THEOLOGY BOOKS
Smelling Like the Sheep as We Minister to God’s People by Fr. Bill Waters, OSA
Smelling Like the Sheep as We Minister to God's People by Fr. Bill Waters, OSA When Jesus said to go into the whole world and proclaim the Good News, he meant to incorporate his teachings and our faith into the ordinary aspects of our lives. This book includes...
Pro-Life, Pro-Woman, Pro-Science: An Integrative Guidebook by Bonita Pratt
Pro-Life, Pro-Woman, Pro-Science: An Integrative Guidebook by Bonita Pratt Feel passionate about defending unborn life, but intimidated by loud pro-choice arguments? This guidebook has over 125 responses to both common and rare pro-choice objections. Read either...
Making the Impossible Possible: It Is All About Who Is With You by Fr. Peter Grover, OMV
Making the Impossible Possible: It Is All About Who Is With You by Fr. Peter Grover, OMV This book explores the transformative power of divine partnership, showing how God works through human imperfections to achieve extraordinary results. Drawing from scripture,...
The Art of Accompaniment: Practical Steps for the Pastoral Mentor by Sr. Marysia Weber, RSM, and Troy Stefano
The Art of Accompaniment: Practical Steps for the Pastoral Mentor by Sister Marysia Weber, RSM, DO, MA, and Troy Stefano, PhD The Art of Accompaniment: Practical Steps for the Pastoral Mentor presents an integral approach to formation during the vocational synthesis...
Magnify Love: Unlocking the Heart of Jesus in Your Marriage and Your Life by Nicole Berlucchi
Check out Nicole's appearance on the Universal Sister Podcast from back when she was still seeking a publisher!Magnify Love: Unlocking the Heart of Jesus in Your Marriage and Your Life by Nicole Berlucchi Uncover the power of the Rosary and Mary’s intercession: how...
Influence of Childhood Experiences on Faith Development: A Journey toward Wholeness by Sr. Adaku Helen Ogbuji, CCVI
Influence of Childhood Experiences on Faith Development: A Journey toward Wholeness by Sr. Adaku Helen Ogbuji, CCVI, PhD This book examines how childhood experiences impact faith development in religious individuals. Drawing from semi-structured interviews with 80...
The Virtue of Affability or Friendliness and its Relevance in Modern Evangelization by Anne Desantis, Th.D.
"An evangelizer must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral! Let us recover and deepen our enthusiasm." - Evangelii Gaudium, 10The Virtue of Affability or Friendliness and its Relevance in Modern Evangelization by Anne DeSantis, Th.D. This book...
Transgenderism: A Question of Identity by Francis Etheredge
Transgenderism: A Question of Identity by Francis Etheredge TBA Paperback: $TBA| Kindle: $9.99 ARTICLES Etheredge, Francis, “We must fight gender ideology to preserve the concept of truth,” LifeSite News (October 25, 2024). Click here to read the review. TESTIMONIALS...
Conscientious Objection in Medical Practice by Eric Manuel Torres, PhD
Conscientious Objection in Medical Practice: A Content Analysis of the Victorian Parliamentary Discussions Establishing the Abortion Law Reform Act 2008 by Eric Manuel Torres This book explores Victoria’s Abortion Law Reform Act (ALRA) 2008 as it relates to health...
Curación y Sanación: Elementos Vitales de la Asistencia Sanitaria Católica por Eric Manuel Torres
Curación y Sanación: Elementos Vitales de la Asistencia Sanitaria Católica por Eric Manuel Torres En este estudio, se explorará la importancia de la curación y la sanación, con énfasis en cómo ambas son vitales para la atención sanitaria católica. Este ensayo tiene...
Freedom and Truth in Suffering: A Moral and Theological Approach for Humanity by Sydney March
Freedom and Truth in Suffering: A Moral and Theological Approach for Humanity by Sydney March, BA (Theology), BSN, MS (Bioethics), MA (Moral Theology), RN, PHN For those who experience suffering and those in the medical profession, this book explores why a proper...
The Father’s Heart: Meet the Real Abba Father–Book One: 10 Spiritual Exercises to Heal from the Wounds of the Heart by Terry A. Modica
The Father's Heart: Meet the Real Abba Father--Book One: 10 Spiritual Exercises to Heal from the Wounds of the Heart by Terry Modica; foreword by Bear Woznick This is the first in a set of three workbooks on The Father’s Heart, all to help you experience the...
Curing and Healing: Vital Elements of Catholic Health Care by Eric Manuel Torres
Curing and Healing: Vital Elements of Catholic Health Care by Eric Manuel Torres In this research, the significance of curing and healing will be explored with an emphasis on how both are vital to Catholic health care. This essay aims to show that only by embracing...
Don’t Plant Your Seeds Among Thorns: A Catholic’s Guide to Recognizing and Healing from Domestic Abuse
Don't Plant Your Seeds Among Thorns: A Catholic's Guide to Recognizing and Healing from Domestic Abuse By Jenny duBay In this book, Jenny duBay helps survivors of intimate partner violence identify their situation and begin to heal. With empathy and compassion, she...
Foundational Principles of a Disciple of Jesus by Fr. Peter Samuel Kucer, MSA
Foundational Principles of a Disciple of Jesus by Fr. Peter Samuel Kucer, MSA These foundational principles were written with the intention of delineating how to be a faithful, healthy, charitable, and truthful disciple of Jesus. Each one is intended to be understood...
Improving your Kids’ Body Image through Catholic Teaching: How Theology of the Body and Other Church Teachings Can Transform your Life by John Acquaviva
Improving your Kids' Body Image through Catholic Teaching: How Theology of the Body and Other Church Teachings Can Transform your Life The Second Edition of Raising Kids with a Healthy Body Image: A Guide for Catholic Parents by Dr. John C. Acquaviva Improving your...
The Art of Listening to Young People: A Pastoral and Scientific Guide
The Art of Listening to Young People: A Pastoral and Scientific Guide by Amoris Christi Listening is a form of encounter that allows us to be with another person, to see through their eyes, and to journey with them. The Art of Listening to Young People uniquely blends...
Handbook for Catholic Religious by Fr. Bevil Bramwell, OMI
Handbook for Catholic Religious by Fr. Bevil Bramwell, OMI Reflecting on the theology of the presence of Christ in the world, particularly from the point of view of the aesthetics of religious life as understood from the writings of Hans Urs von Balthasar, John Paul...
Keep the Basket away from the Casket: Seven Indictments against the Collection of Mass offerings in Church
Keep the Basket away from the Casket: Seven Indictments against the Collection of Mass Offerings in Church by Fr. Eugen Nkardzedze Keep the Basket away from the Casket not only poses a challenge to the acquisition and use of money in the Church, but it also offers a...
From Where Shall Come Our Help? The Lament of Abused Persons by Henry Ogbuji
From Where Shall Come Our Help? The Lament of Abused Persons by Henry Onwusoro Ogbuji This work of practical theology offers an alternative framework for addressing the global phenomenon of domestic violence, putting on the table a transformative, compassion-praxis,...
Adicción a la Pantalla: Por Qué no Puedes Colgar ese Teléfono
Adicción a la Pantalla: Por Qué no Puedes Colgar ese Teléfono por Sor Marysia Weber, RSM ¿Alguna vez ha sentido la urgencia irresistible de revisar sus mensajes de texto, publicaciones en los medios sociales o sus emails cada vez que su celular suena? ¿Está aumentando...
Faith and Facebook
Faith and Facebook: Evangelizing a Rural Parish Community in Southeast Missouri through Social Media by Fr. Dominic Ibok, D.Min. In Southeast Missouri, where Catholics are a minority, the challenge of diminishing participation and reduced membership requires an...
Human Sexuality
Human Sexuality: Precious Gift and Perilous Challenge with Particular Reference to the Sexual Abuse Scandal in the Church by Fr. Dominic Anaeto We live in an age when our sexuality speaks loudly and clamors for attention, so it is good that celibate men and women, and...
From Functionalistic Willfulness to Transcendent Willingness by Msgr. Albert Kuuire
From Functionalistic Willfulness to Transcendent Willingness: The Pathway to Formative Healing by Msgr. Albert Kuuire Msgr. Albert Kuuire explains that the formative healing of all life-threatening illness may be expedited through submission of the subject's...
Formation Activities and Catholic Seminarians by Rev. Alfredo I. Hernandez
Formation Activities and Catholic Seminarians: A Practical Theological Study of their Impact on Subsequent Perseverance in Ministry by Rev. Alfredo I. Hernández What can we seminary formators, bishops, and others involved in the formation of seminarians do to help the...
Posttraumatic Abortion-Related Stress in Psychiatric Outpatients
CONGRATULATIONS! Posttraumatic Abortion-Related Stress in Psychiatric Outpatients is the third place winner in the 2021 Catholic Media Book Awards category of "Life and Dignity of the Human Person." Women who were helped by the Pine Rest Study showed up at the late...
Jesus’ Ministry of Liberation: A Companion after the Year of Mercy
Jesus’ Ministry of Liberation: A Companion after the Year of Mercy Fr. Aaron Agorsor (With a Foreword written by Rev. Fr. Dr. Michael Kodzo Mensah) This book offers hope both to those in ministry and to those being ministered to. In the image depicting Jesus’...
Screen Addiction: Why You Can’t Put that Phone Down
Screen Addiction: Why You Can't Put That Phone Down by Sister Marysia Weber, RSM Have you ever had an irresistible urge to check your texts, social media posts or email updates when your cell phone rings, beeps or buzzes? Is the amount of time spent on your cell phone...
Spiritual Direction: Principles and Praxis, authored by Fr. Dominic Anaeto
Spiritual Direction: Principles and Praxis by Fr. Dominic Anaeto When Pope Benedict XVI called for the year of faith (October 11, 2012, until November 24, 2013), he invited the people of God to seek spiritual direction, for even the most devout Catholics have...
The Art of Accompaniment: Practical Steps for the Seminary Formator by Sister Marysia Weber, RSM
The Art of Accompaniment: Practical Steps for the Seminary Formator (2nd Edition) by Sister Marysia Weber, RSM The role of a seminary formator is to accompany the seminarian in the external forum and to discern with him, the seminary community, and larger Church...
Social Media Magisterium: A No-Nonsense Guide to the Proper Use of Media, authored by Shaun McAfee
Social Media Magisterium: A No-Nonsense Guide to the Proper Use of Media by Shaun McAfee The positive influence of the media, new and old, is seen through the expansion of Catholic networks that span over 150 countries, and more, allowing the gospel and Christian...
Memorize the Latin Mass! How to Remember and Treasure its Rites, authored by Kevin Vost, Psy.D.
Memorize the Latin Mass! by Kevin Vost, Psy.D. In Memorize the Latin Mass! Dr. Kevin Vost harnesses the powerful memory methods of Sts. Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas to help readers learn and remember all the parts and rites of the Traditional Latin Mass as they...
Memorize the Mass!: How to Know and Love the Mass as if your Life Depended on It
Memorize the Mass!: How to Know and Love the Mass as if your Life depended on It by Dr. Kevin Vost A downed U.S. fighter pilot survived nearly eight years in a brutal North Vietnamese POW camp by repeating the Mass to himself each day, in Latin and in English. A...
Taming the Lion Within: 5 Steps from Anger to Peace
Taming the Lion Within: 5 Steps from Anger to Peace by Dr. Ronda Chervin Five steps to help people overcome uncontrolled or over-reactive anger. Steps include admitting being angry person: identifying the anger: physical, psychological and spiritual perspectives about...
Missionary Priests in the Homeland: Our Call to Receive
Missionary Priests in the Homeland: Our Call to Receive by Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, and Bishop Richard Henning International priests have served the Roman Catholic Church in the United States since its inception. With congregations consisting largely of immigrants...
The Obligation of Perfect and Perpetual Continence and Married Deacons in the Latin Church
The Obligation of Perfect and Perpetual Continence and Married Deacons in the Latin Church by Rev. Anthony McLaughlin, J.C.D. Through the reception of diaconate a man becomes a cleric. Canon 277 §1 states: “Clerics are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual...
Bereavement Miracles
Bereavement Miracles by Michael Frey The Bereavement Miracles program was designed to play a quintessential role in evangelizing the “spirit of mission” to individuals who are suffering from the death of a loved one by relating eternal realities in a systematic...
How to Flourish in a Fallen World
How to Flourish in a Fallen World by Dr. Donald DeMarco How to Flourish in a Fallen World, by Donald DeMarco, engages the reader in an understanding of our common human nature and the problems it faces in a culture that actively pursues, to put it in Saint John Paul...
Feminine, Free, & Faithful
Feminine, Free and Faithful by Dr. Ronda Chervin Should women be feminine and forget about liberation? Or should they reject femininity as a euphemism for slavery? Women seeking fulfillment, says Chervin, aren’t faced with this either-or, but with the challenge to be...
Eyewitnesses: Biblical Foundations in Christian Spirituality
Eyewitnesses: Biblical Foundations in Christian Spirituality – Ed. by Fr. John Horn, S.J. St. Paul prays with ardent desire that “the eyes of our understanding would be enlightened, that we might know what is the hope of the risen Jesus’ calling, and what are the...
Fun is Not Enough
Fun is Not Enough by Fr. Francis Canavan, SJ Fun Is Not Enough collects all the prophetic insights catholic eye readers loved, so that Canavan may inspire a new generation with his contributions to contemporary debates on religious and political liberty, the dignity...