Called on the Way

Discipleship is not a program to be implemented or a goal to be achieved but a lifelong walk with Christ, who is the way.

Our calling by Christ to be his disciples is so fundamental to our faith that we sometimes fail to realize its meaning. What does it mean to be called? What is a disciple? In Called on the Way: The Daily Practice of Discipleship, authors Kathleen Cahalan and Laura Kelly Fanucci explore through personal stories, Scripture readings, and prayer experiences, what it means to be called a disciple “on the way.”

Through our roles and relationships, each person is blessed with many callings to heed God’s invitation to follow the way of Christ. Calling is something we do, someone we are, and someone we become and the image of “the way” is the central biblical theme of our journey together. Called on the Way includes seven practical ways you can understand and live out your own call to discipleship as a follower, worshiper, witness, neighbor, forgiver, prophet, and steward. Each chapter includes a personal story, biblical foundation, and connections to saintly and sacramental practice. Reflection questions help identify how you and your parish community can live the life of discipleship in the time and place where God is leading you and calling you now.

Kathleen A. Cahalan is professor of practical theology at Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary where she teaches courses on pastoral ministry, pastoral care, and spirituality. As senior research fellow at Collegeville Institute, she directed a ten-year collaborative research project that studied various aspects of vocation. She has authored books for church audiences including Introducing the Practice of Ministry and Formed in the Image of Christ: The Sacramental-Moral Theology of Bernard Häring, CSsR, published by Liturgical Press. She served as the coordinator for the Lilly Endowment’s Called to Lives of Meaning and Purpose Initiative from 2018-2022. She practices lectio divina with the lectionary readings on the app Ritual: Well-being.

Laura Kelly Fanucci is an author, speaker, and founder of Mothering Spirit, where she first started writing about parenting and spirituality in 2010. She earned her BA from the University of Notre Dame and her master of divinity from Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary. Laura has authored seven books, including Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting (Liturgical Press) and Grief, Finding Hope in Sorrow; Mercy, God’s Nature, Our Challenge; and Dashed Hopes, When Our Best-Laid Plans Fall Apart with Little Rock Scripture Study. Laura’s work has been featured on the Hallow and Ritual apps, and in popular outlets including NPR’s Morning Edition, On Being, and the Kelly Clarkson Show. She writes frequently for online and print publications including Catholic News Service, Grotto Network, and Give Us This Day.