Ressourcement: Retrieval and Renewal in Catholic Thought (RRRCT)

An original argument for the recovery of a robust notion of reason and truth in response to modern rationalism and postmodern skepticism The Catholicity of Reason explains the "grandeur of reason," the recollection of which Benedict XVI has presented as one of the primary tasks in Christian engagement with the contemporary world. While postmodern thinkers -- religious and secular alike -- have generally sought to respond to the hubris of Western thought by humbling our presumptuous claims to knowledge, D. C. Schindler shows in this book that only a robust confidence in reason can allow us to remain genuinely open both to God and to the deep mystery of things. Drawing from both contemporary and classical theologians and philosophers, Schindler explores the basic philosophical questions concerning truth, knowledge, and being -- and proposes a new model for thinking about the relationship between faith and reason. The reflections brought together in this book bring forth a dramatic conception of human knowing that both strengthens our trust in reason and opens our mind in faith.

Marked by growing freedom and equality, today's families are also dogged by brokenness and loss of faith. And while the theology of marriage has developed remarkably under the impetus of the Second Vatican Council and Pope John Paul II, the theology of the family remains in its infancy, only beginning to meet the challenges of contemporary society. In Divine Likeness Marc Cardinal Ouellet points the way to a much-needed theology of the family grounded in the doctrine of the Trinity. Cardinal Ouellet understands family life to be a sacrament of Trinitarian communion, a crucial source for revealing and inspiring a new sense of God's presence in the faith community. This book will help theologians, pastors, and believers to develop fruitfully the legacy of Pope John Paul II, carrying forward the quest to let the Trinity and the family illuminate each other for the good of today's world.

Translated by Michelle K. Borras The idea of love pervades our society, yet it is nearly impossible to answer the question What is love? especially as we witness the divorce of love from sexuality and of sexuality from procreation. Aware that many people today are skeptical about marriage, Angelo Cardinal Scola nevertheless suggests that only in the category of nuptial mystery do we find a way to adequately describe the phenomenon of love. A bright new leader in the Catholic Church, Cardinal Scola argues that the male-female relationship lies near the heart of what it means to bear the image of God. Scola's book explores the essential sexual differences that both separate and unite men and women, and it shows how men and women can realize their purpose in marriage or celibacy. Conversant with papal teaching and Catholic writers from Aquinas to von Balthasar, Cardinal Scola writes with a deep regard for marriage and the family. His Nuptial Mystery will leave readers with a thoroughly Christian appreciation for incarnate love.

French philosopher Maurice Blondel had a tremendous impact on both philosophy and religion over the first half of the twentieth century. He was at once a postmodern critical philosopher and a devout traditional Catholic, trying not only to reconcile these two seemingly disparate factors in his own mind, but also to prove to others that the two must go together. / In the first critical examination of the philosopher's life Oliva Blanchette tells the story of Blondel's stormy life confronting an Academy dismissive of religion and a Religion uncomfortable with rational philosophy. This book not only follows his biographical history, but also presents his systematic philosophy, from the beginning of his journey to the culmination found in Philosophical Exigencies of Christianity, the book for which he signed the publishing contract the day before he died. / Maurice Blondel is part of the Ressourcement: Retrieval and Renewal in Catholic Thought series, edited by David L. Schindler.

In this volume Livio Melina attempts to overcome the deadlock in which moral theology can easily find itself due to the false alternative between moralism, with its emphasis on external rules, and antimoralism, with its insistence on freedom from all norms. The key, Melina argues here, is not to regard morality as a simple list of principles directing our choices and helping us to make correct moral judgments. Rather, we must step back and begin to comprehend the dynamic mystery of Christian action. Only in the light of Christ can the proper correlation between faith and morality, freedom and truth, be clearly understood. True morality springs from a synergistic relationship with God, born of faith in Christ, nurtured in the church, and made manifest in that which inspires all authentic goodness -- the epiphany of love.

Originally published in French as Exégèse médiévale, Henri de Lubac's multivolume study of medieval exegesis and theology has remained one of the most significant works of modern biblical studies. Available now for the first time in English, this long-sought-after volume is an essential addition to the library of those whose study leads them into the difficult field of biblical interpretation. The first volume in de Lubac's multivolume work begins his comprehensive historical and literary study of the way Scripture was interpreted by the church of the Latin Middle Ages. Examining the prominent commentators of the Middle Ages and their texts, de Lubac discusses the medieval approach to biblical interpretation that sought "the four senses" of Scripture, especially the dominant practice of attempting to uncover Scripture's allegorical meaning. Though Bible interpreters from the Enlightenment era on have criticized such allegorizing as part of the "naivete of the Middle Ages," de Lubac insists that a full understanding of this ancient Christian exegesis provides important insights for us today.

In four superb homilies and a concluding essay, Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, provides a clear and inspiring exploration of the Genesis creation narratives. While the stories of the world's creation and the fall of humankind have often been subjected to reductionism of one sort or another, literalists treat the Bible as a science textbook whereas rationalists divorce God from creation, Ratzinger presents a rich, balanced Catholic understanding of these early biblical writings and attests to their enduring vitality. Beginning each homily with a text selected from the first three chapters of Genesis, Ratzinger discusses, in turn, God the creator, the meaning of the biblical creation accounts, the creation of human beings, and sin and salvation; in the appendix,he unpacks the beneficial consequences of faith in creation. Expertly translated from German, these reflections set out a reasonable and biblical approach to creation. 'In the Beginning...' also serves as an excellent homiletic resource for priests and pastors.