Counting the Cost
Financial Decision-Making, Discipleship, and Christian Living
Clemens Sedmak author Kelli Reagan Hickey author
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Liturgical Press
Published:11th May '23
Should be back in stock very soon
What difference would Catholic Social Tradition make if it guided our personal and communal financial decision-making? The Sermon on the Mount reminds us of this fundamental decision-making when it comes to questions of faith and money: “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:24). In Counting the Cost, Clemens Sedmak and Kelli Reagan Hickey suggest a theological and spiritual discernment process for the everyday reality of budgeting and financial planning that explores the status of money and monetary values by reflecting on this gospel call.
Counting the Cost explains how Catholic Social Teaching provides a framework for our thinking around finances by answering questions such as: What does this fundamental decision look like in times of financial scarcity and stewardship responsibilities? How do the attitudes that Jesus invites us into shape the ways we make financial decisions? And how can budgeting be and become a way of discipleship for individuals, parishes, and dioceses? The book includes a range of financial decision-making examples and reconstructs them as decisions about priorities, values, and commitments to respond to the world and its material realities in a gospel-inspired way.
“Don’t tell me your values, show me your budget! A great line in this book! To be credible in its social teaching, the church must apply it to itself. This book is an important milestone in this endeavor. The faithful have every right to expect that their donations are spent wisely, according to best business practices, and in the spirit of Catholic social teaching.”
Msgr. Martin Schlag, Moss endowed Chair for Catholic Social Thought, University of St. Thomas
"Counting The Cost is a source of great inspiration and practical ideas for everyone looking to lead their company or organization to create value through values. One often hears that Catholic Social Teaching is the church's best kept secret. I believe that with this book, Sedmak and Reagan Hickey have created a very readable and actionable book to change that."
Andreas Widmer, The Catholic University of America
"Readers will find significant thought-provoking material that can stoke positive and useful conversations about the relationship of faith and finance especially in Catholic institutions."
Catholic Books Review
“This book provides both theoretical frameworks and practical insights into financial decision-making as a moral process, supported by concrete examples from survey respondents. It creatively applies Catholic Social Teaching and would make a fitting gift for incoming CEOs of church organizations or bishops.”
Catholic Media Association Book Awards
"It should be in the hands of everyone involved in making financial decisions for Catholic institutions, and it will hopefully inspire those readers to 'enlarge the tent' in terms of which stakeholders are included in those decisions. I have already ordered a copy for my university’s chief financial officer."
Theological Studies
ISBN: 9780814669334
Dimensions: 216mm x 140mm x 13mm
Weight: 227g
192 pages