The Anointing of the Sick is possibly the most underappreciated and understudied sacrament. In To Die Is Gain, Roger Nutt seeks to bring greater attention to and appreciation for the Anointing of the Sick. Beginning with an examination of cultural perceptions of dying, death, and burial, To Die Is Gain exposes the ways in which contemporary atheism and physicalism mark a clear divergence from ancient attitudes. In contrast to contemporary hopelessness, the Anointing of the Sick is a powerful counter witness that highlights the great dignity of the human person and the depth of Christian hope. Unlike the cures to particular ailments facilitated by modern medical science, in Holy Anointing Jesus gives his dying followers the healing graces that they need to pass from this life to the next in loving union with Him. As Nutt exposes the biblical and traditional foundations of this sacrament, he corrects common misconceptions and malpractice of this sacrament, especially the ways in which Vatican II is often misleadingly enlisted to support a broadening of the sacrament from end-of-life situations to non-life threatening illnesses. Finally, Nutt carefully describes the graces and effects of the Anointing of the Sick and richly expounds the theological depth of the rite of the Anointing of the Sick. The result is that readers can confidently say with St. Paul that “To die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

Paul famously challenges his readers in 1 Corinthians, “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.” What does it mean to hope in Christ for the life to come? How can we intellectually defend such hope in the midst of secularist and materialist trends so prevalent in contemporary society? Even if we believe as Christians in eternal life, how do we find meaning in such hope when the injustices of the world and our own suffering often loom so large? Drawing primarily upon the witness of biblical revelation and its reception and formulation in the teachings of Thomas Aquinas, the essays in Hope & Death: Christian Responses answer contemporary questions related to how Christians might face suffering and death with hopeful minds and hearts. The essays recover Christian hope in three main parts: what hope reveals about God’s nature and his providence, how hope responds to and clarifies the meaning of human suffering, and the way in which all hope draws human beings to an end beyond this world. CONTRIBUTORS GUY MANSINI, OSB ANDREW D. SWAFFORD MATTHEW J. RAMAGE WILLIAM M. WRIGHT IV ROGER W. NUTT MICHAEL A. DAUPHINAIS JEFFREY M. WALKEY JOHN RZIHA ROMANUS CESSARIO, OP STEVEN A. LONG ADAM VAN WART TAYLOR PATRICK O’NEILL BRYAN KROMHOLTZ, OP

Dogma is one of those words. Many people see dogma as a bad thing-as the unreasonable, unthinking adherence to a belief, even in the face of contrary evidence. But when the Catholic Church presents some of her teachings as dogmas, she does not mean that these tenets are irrational or to be thoughtlessly embraced. Dogma is the bedrock of truth, an inexhaustible feast for the mind, not an impediment to thinking. Why? Because dogmas rest on the Word of God, Truth Himself, who can neither deceive nor be deceived, and who wants his Word to be known. The great theologian Charles Journet explores the meaning of dogma in his classic work What is Dogma? In what sense are dogmas an object of faith? How do reason and faith relate to dogmas? How are dogmas both essentially unchangeable and yet open to development? Are dogmas accessible only in learned theological language or are there common-sense ways of understanding them? Journet addresses these and other important questions. He also discusses examples of dogmatic development: the dogmas of the Trinity, of Christology, and of Mariology. And he explores the relationship of dogma and mystical contemplation. In short, Journet shows why "dogma" is a subject of which Catholics need not be afraid.

Charles Journet, the great Swiss theologian and cardinal of the Church, first wrote this work on the Mass over 40 years ago; yet his ever-ancient-ever-new insights into the sacrificial nature of the Mass are most needed today, when this aspect of the sacrament is so often misunderstood or neglected. The Mass is the "unbloody presence of the one unique bloody sacrifice of the Cross". This is the fundamental principle upon which Journet develops his theology of the Mass. Guided by the teachings of the Fathers, St. Thomas Aquinas and the Magisterium of the Church, and supported by his own rich spiritual life, Journet plumbs the depths of this unfathomable Mystery and presents It to the reader with a clarity rarely equaled. Journet also presents an historical survey of explanations of the Mass - both orthodox and heterodox; and against this backdrop he brings out in bold relief the identity of the sacrifice of Calvary with that of the altar. Such an identity, Journet notes, is perfectly expressed in the Church's own liturgical prayer: "As often as the memorial of this Victim is celebrated, the work of our redemption is wrought." This classic in sacramental theology is now made available to English readers for the first time ever. Journet's original format - with its many subsections - has been retained for easy reading. Also included is a wealth of footnotes for the scholar. This English edition includes a Preface by Bishop Salvatore Cordileone, Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego, CA. The translator, Fr. Victor Szczurek, is a Norbertine priest from St. Michael's Abbey in Orange Country, California. He is presently on the faculty of St. Michael's Abbey Seminary and is the Dean of Students of St. Michael's Preparatory School. He recently also published an English translation of Journet's Theology of the Church.

In the past eight hundred years, it is possible that no other theologian has shaped our understanding of God, man, and the Church more than St. Thomas Aquinas. While many people are familiar with his most famous work, the Summa Theologiae, fewer know of his important role as a biblical theologian. But in fact, Aquinas’ primary work was biblical theology. His biblical commentaries remain invaluable in the ongoing work of Scripture study. The essays in Thomas Aquinas, Biblical Theologian explore some of Aquinas’ most important contributions within his biblical commentaries and the ongoing work of Scripture study. A dozen contributors explore Aquinas’ thought on faith and revelation, the study of the Sacred Page, and other dogmatic and moral considerations.

“The Church today demands a profound renewal of celibate priesthood and the fatherhood to which it is ordered.” Priestly celibacy, some say, is an outdated relic from another age. Others see it as a lonely way of life. But as Fr. Carter Griffin argues in Why Celibacy?: Reclaiming the Fatherhood of the Priest, the ancient practice of celibacy, when lived well, helps a priest exercise his spiritual fatherhood joyfully and fruitfully. Along the way, Griffin explores: the question of optional celibacy some pitfalls of celibate paternity the selection and formation of candidates for celibate priesthood why biological fathers are also called to spiritual fatherhood the powerful impact of celibacy on the Church and the wider culture In a critical moment for the Catholic priesthood, Fr. Griffin brings light and hope with a new perspective on the Church’s perennial wisdom on celibacy.

General Principles of Sacramental Theology addresses a current lacuna in English language theological literature. Bernard Leeming’s highly respected book Principles of Sacramental Theology was published more than sixty years ago. Since that time, there has been a noted decrease, especially in English language sacramental theology, in treatments of the basic topics and principles – such as the nature of the sacraments of signs, sacramental grace, sacramental character, sacramental causality, sacramental intention, the necessity and number of the sacraments, sacramental matter and form, inter alia – which apply to all of the sacraments. This book will be of use in seminary, graduate, and undergraduate courses. The sacraments play an irreplaceable role in pursuing a Universal Call to Holiness that is so central to Vatican II’s teaching.

The development of ideas in Thomas Aquinas's philosophical thinking has been the subject of numerous smaller studies, but no contemporary work in the English-speaking world covers his every single work in chronological order in terms of philosophical development, influences, manuscript evidence, and historical setting. In Thomas Aquinas: A Historical and Philosophical Profile, Pasquale Porro has provided a complete landscape of Thomas's corpus that will give Thomistic scholars and students an invaluable reference point for research, discussion, and debate.

In On Divine Revelation—one of Garrigou-Lagrange’s most significant works, here available in English for the very first time—he offers a classic treatment of this foundational topic. It is an organized and thorough defense of both the rationality and supernaturality of divine revelation. He presents a careful yet stimulating account of the scientific character of theology, the nature of revelation itself, mystery, dogma, the grace of faith, the powers of human reason, false interpretations thereof (rationalism, naturalism, agnosticism, and pantheism), the motives of credibility, and much more. Though written a century ago, On Divine Revelation will restore confidence in theology as a distinct and unified science and return focus to the fundamental questions of the doctrine of revelation. It also serves as a salutary corrective to contemporary theology’s anthropocentrism and concern with what is relative in revelation and religious experience by reorienting our theological attention to what is most certain, central, and sure in our knowledge of divine revelation: the Triune God who has revealed his inner life and salvific will. Readers will see the great splendor of the gift of divine revelation: radiant with credibility before the gaze of reason and drawing our supernatural assent to the mysteries through the gift of faith. As Fr. Cajetan Cuddy, O.P. observes, “On Divine Revelation . . . is a stunning work of inestimable value. No other subsequent work on this topic has come close to meeting it (much less surpassing it).”

Considers the history and theology of the sacraments in their intimate relationship to the liturgy.