Both Ephesians 4:11 and I Corinthians 12:29 attest to the distinctiveness of the roles of pastor and teacher; and Nicholas claims that for the majority of recent history, since the rise of Scholasticism, this distinction has been strictly adhered to. Therise of the Scholastic method within theological discourse radically transformed the way theology was envisioned, from its bases and method to its purpose and sources. This change had a far-reaching effect on theology which would contribute to the discipline's self-understanding. Whereas theology was initially more of a meditation on and exposition of God's self-disclosure in the Word, in the new style of theological discourse practiced by the schoolmen, theology increasingly became the methodical parsing of abstract truth which was dissociated from the concrete realities of an embodied Christianity. However, one need not maintain the possibility of distinct roles to the detriment of seeing both offices in a single individual. Indeed the New Testament and the early Fathers consistently exhibit a complete naivete concerning such a divide. The writers of the New Testament and the early Fathers were seen as 'complete personalities', who were unable to envisage the separation of theology and spirituality. Jean Danielou's Doxological Humanism is primarily a discussion of the ways in which academic theology can reacquaint itself with spirituality and the reasons it should. Nicholas turns to the writings of Jesuit theologian, historian and cardinal Jean Danielou and finds an understanding of who we are that necessitates this union. Further, for Danielou, an essential aspect of this unified view of the human person is its doxological nature. To attain the fullest expression of humanity is to participate in the adoration, worship and contemplation involved in the life of prayer.

Do you wish to understand something of the contemporary Catholic Church? If you do, then this book is for you. It offers a careful overview of the history of the church from the mid-nineteenth century, with Pope Pius IX, until the present day, with Pope Francis. It deals with two major councils of the church, Vatican I (1869–70) and Vatican II (1962–65). Furthermore, it provides a detailed and accurate summary of the major theological movements in the church during this period.

This work explores the influential Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola, the sixteenth-century Spanish soldier, saint, mystic, and founder of the Jesuit Order. The Ignatian Exercises, including the Examen, are brought into dialogue with the psychologies of C.G. Jung and Viktor Frankl, the philosophies of Eric Voegelin and Bernard Lonergan, as well as the thought of Teilhard de Chardin, von Balthasar, and Eastern philosophy. Their enduring relevance and implications for the Recovery and wellness movement are also articulated. Drawing on key themes such as gratitude, forgiveness and consciousness as a springboard for reflection and interpretation, the mystical dimension of Ignatian spirituality is emphasised throughout. This book will benefit the beginner, serious scholar, spiritual seeker and anyone intent on gaining an understanding of this unique 'way of proceeding'.

With contributions from some of today’s most significant theologians, Engaging Catholic Doctrine is an expression of gratitude to Matthew Levering for his generous collegiality and tireless work to chart a sure path for contemporary Catholic doctrine. Essayists significantly advance the work of Matthew Levering in the areas of Aquinas as a biblical theologian, the doctrine of the Trinity, the significance of sacrifice for authentically Christian worship, the recovery of virtue in moral theology, the theology of Joseph Ratzinger, and much more. In addition to celebrating and honoring Levering’s work, this volume offers new contributions in some of the key areas of theological research today. Matthew Levering is the James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology at Mundelein Seminary and serves as the co-editor of both Nova et Vetera and the International Journal of Systematic Theology. He completed an M.T.S. from Duke University and a Ph.D. from Boston College. A leading proponent of Thomistic ressourcement, he has authored over thirty books and edited or co-edited thirty more on topics in dogmatic, moral, spiritual, and historical theology. These include a nine-volume work of Catholic Dogmatics, as well as: Christ’s Fulfillment of Torah and Temple, Scripture and Metaphysics, Participatory Biblical Exegesis, The Betrayal of Charity, Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?, An Introduction to Vatican II as an Ongoing Theological Event, The Theology of St. Augustine, Dying and the Virtues, The Oxford Handbook of the Trinity, and Newman on Doctrinal Corruption.

The Holy Spirit who worked on the first Christian Pentecost continues to work in the church and the world today. This being so, the field of pneumatology--the theology of the Holy Spirit--should pique the interest of both the "average" Christian and the academic theologian, perhaps more than it has in recent times. This collection of chapters brings pneumatology into conversation with a wide variety of disciplines, including scripture, patristic and medieval theology, and history. The result is a scholarly monograph that enriches both pneumatology and the fields with which each contributor engages. Furthermore, with its attention on the work of the Spirit in the sacraments and the life of the church, Pneumatology at the Beginning of the Third Millennium will help pastors and catechists in their ministries to understand more deeply the riches of the theology of the Third Person of the Trinity.

Since her founding by Christ, the Church on earth has recognized and sought to preserve her identity as “one complex reality” (Lumen Gentium 8) formed of both the invisible and the visible, the charismatic and the institutional. Yet within modern Catholic life and theology the ordered unity of these dimensions is increasingly obscured and undermined by distortive tendencies toward democratization, bureaucratization, and secularization. Such contemporary errors threaten not only the Church’s self-understanding but also her mission to restore all things in Christ. In Unconformed to the Age, renowned Australian theologian Tracey Rowland addresses the theological and ecclesiological deviations underlying the present ecclesial disorder, including the prioritization of praxis over truth, the occlusion of the Cross from its central position in the Church’s life, and the substitution of a secular, corporate vision of the Church for its true construal as Christ’s Body and Bride—“Catholic Inc.” versus communio. Engaging especially with the thought and writings of Joseph Ratzinger as well as other twentieth-century theological luminaries, Rowland provides both insightful diagnosis of these current pathologies and a multifaceted illumination of the mystery of the Church, underscoring the Church’s divinely given vocation to bring all people into communion with the Trinity, imbuing human actions, lives, and cultures with the grace of the Incarnation.

The best clerical formation today prepares men to be divinely loved in their humanity. In Configured to Christ: On Spiritual Direction and Clergy Formation, Deacon James Keating shares what makes a priest or deacon peaceful, personally happy, and—to the extent he keeps receiving the love of God in prayer as a man of interiority and sacrament—a minister of God’s love to his people.

What does beauty have to do with healing the fragmentation within our churches? According to Michael Pasquarello, everything. Amid the cacophony of ugly political invective that dominates nearly every space today—including church—only God has the power to unify and heal through his truth and goodness, revealed in his beauty. And every Sunday, those in the pulpit have the opportunity and responsibility to share this beauty with their parishioners. Tapping into a long tradition that can be traced back to Augustine, Michael Pasquarello explores a theological definition of beauty that has tremendous revelatory power in a post-Christendom world. A church manifesting this beauty is not merely a gathering of people, but a place where God’s new creation appears in the midst of the old creation, ushered in by a pastor willing to make God the primary actor within the doxological craft of preaching.

The works of Marcin Czechowic (1536–1613), a leader of a Polish Radical Protestant sect known as the Arians, are often referred to as proof for the Jews’ close contacts with Radical Christians and the tolerant character of interreligious debates in early-modern Poland. In “Politics of Polemics,” Magdalena Luszczynska explores Arian-Jewish relations focusing on Czechowic’s two polemics that utilise contrasting images of the Jew. The first features an invented interlocutor, a spiritually blind, tradition-bound ‘hermeneutical Jew,’ while the second engages in depth with Jewish texts, beliefs, and practices drawing on the Christian Hebraist perception of the Jews as potential teachers of ‘sacred philology.’ The works are analysed in the context of Radical Protestant theology, the tradition of Christian-Jewish polemics, and Arian leadership contest. “Politics of Polemics,” providing an English-speaking reader with an unprecedented access to this unique polemical material, is a valuable source for the historians of the Radical Reformation and of Christian–Jewish relations in early-modern Poland.

It is surely not coincidental that the term 'soul' should mean not only the centre of a creature's life and consciousness, but also a thing or action characterised by intense vivacity ('that bike's got soul!'). It also seems far from coincidental that the same contemporary academic discussions that have largely cast aside the language of 'soul' in their quest to define the character of human mental life should themselves be so bloodless, or so lacking in soul. The Resounding Soul arises from the opposite premise: that the task of understanding human nature is bound up with the more critical task of learning to be fully human. The papers collected here are derived from a conference in Oxford sponsored by the Centre of Theology and Philosophy and explore the often surprising landscape that emerges when human consciousness is approached from this angle. Drawing upon literary, philosophical, theological, historical, and musical modes of analysis, these essays remind the reader of the power of the ancient language of soul over against contemporary impulses to reduce, fragment, and overly determine human selfhood.