Thomas Aquinas The Liturgy

Over the past century, the liturgy has been a flashpoint of theological interest. Few scholars, however, have examined what St. Thomas Aquinas has to say about the Liturgy. In this concise volume, David Berger ably takes on this task. A member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas, Berger approaches his theme from a perspective in accord with Cardinal Ratzingers recent call for a "reform of the reform." Drawing together St. Thomas's life and theology, Berger illumines the role in St. Thomas's theology of his youthful training at the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino and his devotion to the Eucharist. Rightly renowned for his articulation of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist by transubstantiation, St. Thomas deserves also to be regarded as a master of liturgics. Berger demonstrates that liturgy belongs to the heart of St. Thomas's speculative theological syntheses: For St. Thomas, lex orandi truly is lex credendi. As Berger shows, St. Thomas provides a supremely incamational view of the Christian liturgy, in which man. As a body-soul unity, is drawn with the angels into Christ's redemptive sacrifice.

In this volume, Fr. Francis Quoëx responds to Joseph Ratzinger's call for a renewed appreciation of liturgical rite. A student of Pierre Gy, OP, he brings to this study of Aquinas's liturgical theology a rare combination of expert knowledge of liturgical sources and history and the best of mod-ern historical-critical research guided by sound theological judgment. Fr. Quoëx frames his study with an overview of the problem of rite in modern theological-anthropological discourse, before turning to Aqui-nas' theory of worship in the treatise on the virtue of religion. He then explores Aquinas' doctrine on the cultic dimensions of the Eucharist and other sacraments in his sacramental theology more broadly, finishing with a close study of the mass commentary of the Tertia Pars Although there has been increasing attention to Thomas's treatment of religion as a virtue, none have approached him from an anthropolog-ical angle with a focus on the nature of liturgical rite, or fully exploited the perspectives of liturgical scholarship to shed light on sacramental theology. Quoëx's work, as the work of a Thomist, liturgist, and medi-evalist well versed in medieval liturgical development and in the genre of often-allegorical liturgical commentary, opens up this crucial but ne-glected facet of Aquinas' theological synthesis. Few books have been pub-lished on Aquinas's liturgical theology. Now that interest in Aquinas's vir-tue theory and sacramental theology is growing rapidly, Quoëx's studies are an invitation to further reflection on the topic of Aquinas's liturgical theology with its manifold ramifications for and connections with other theological topics in his Summa, including his theological anthropology, his soteriology, his treatment of the Old and New Laws, and his account of the virtue of religion in connection with the other virtues.

St. Thomas Aquinas of the Sacraments offers a brief and readable essay on each of the seven sacraments as presented by St. Thomas Aquinas, in addition to chapters on his theology of worship and his understanding of liturgical devotion. The essays are written for students, scholars, and pastors who seek to learn more about Aquinas's sacramental theology. Each chapter introduces certain aspects of Aquinas's approach and opens up avenues for further reflection. In recent years, philosophical and theological interest in Aquinas's sacramental theology and theology of the liturgy seems to be significantly increasing in ecumenical circles. This unique collection, featuring the new research of some of expert sacramental theologians sheds new light on the little-known the contributions of Aquinas to sacramental theology, and the medieval tradition to which he belongs.

This book attempts to resolve some of the oldest and most bitter controversies between the Eastern and Western Christian churches: those concerning the doctrine of God, the nature of salvation, and theological method, all of which converge in the doctrine of deification. Deification was the dominant patristic model of salvation and remained the essential paradigm in the East but was thought to have disappeared from Western theology by the Middle Ages. A. N. Williams examines two key thinkers, each of whom is championed as the authentic spokesman of his own tradition and reviled by the other side. Taking Thomas Aquinas as representative of the West and Gregory Palamas for the East, she presents fresh readings of their work that both reinterpret each thinker and show an area of commonality between them much greater than has previously been acknowledged.

Jan-Heiner Tück presents a work that explores the sacramental theology, lived spirituality, and Eucharistic poetry of the Church’s doctor communis, St. Thomas Aquinas. Although Aquinas’ Eucharistic poetry has long occupied an important place in the Church’s liturgical prayer and her repertoire of sacred music, the depth of these poems remains hidden until one grasps the rich sacramental theology underlying it. Consequently, Tück first offers a detailed but approachable primer of Aquinas’ theology of the sacraments, before diving deeply into the Angelic Doctor’s theology and poetry of the Eucharist. The Scriptural accounts stand at the heart of the systematic framework developed by Aquinas, and thus significant attention is devoted to showing the harmony between the accounts of Christ’s passion and the detailed exposition of the Summa theologiae. Moreover, the Eucharistic controversies of the ninth and eleventh centuries provide the contrapuntal context in which Aquinas did his thinking, praying, and writing. Not surprisingly, therefore, the response he crafts to these controversies draws upon both speculative powers and contemplative prayer, brought together in the unity of Aquinas’ theology and spirituality. The net result is a twofold treasure for the Church: a careful systematic presentation of Eucharistic theology and the lived devotional expression of the same in the carefully constructed—and now much beloved—stanzas of Pange lingua gloriosi, Lauda Sion, Adoro te devote, etc. By revealing the lively interplay of the saint’s powerful speculative intellect and a heart steeped in love for the Eucharistic Lord, Tück offers a sophisticated exposition of Aquinas’ Eucharistic poetry and the roots it sinks into a wider theological framework. Finally, the contemporary significance and power of Aquinas’ work is drawn out, not only in the rarefied realm of intellectual inquiry but also in the everyday expanse of ordinary life.

This book provides a critical study of the main Christian doctrines as understood and explained by Thomas Aquinas. The whole Thomistic revival of the last century focused almost exclusively on Aquinas as the Christian philosopher. Thus books and articles developed his understanding of being, his epistomology, natural theology, etc. However little has been done, even to this day, by way of examining Aquinas' teaching on the major Christian doctrines. This book of essays by an international team of recognised scholars will help fill this gap. Such a book will be indispensable in every theological library.

According to Thomas Aquinas, the Eucharist is meant to build up the unity of the church. This desired ecclesial unity is, however, not often given adequate treatment. In Speaking with Aquinas, David Farina Turnbloom seeks to describe the relationship between the celebration of the Eucharist and the unity of the church. By examining Aquinas's treatment of grace and virtues, this book allows the reader to understand Aquinas's eucharistic theology within the context of the spiritual life of the church. In the end, Turnbloom retrieves a Thomistic theology of the Eucharist that arises from Aquinas's concern for the virtuous life of the church, rather than a eucharistic theology that too narrowly focuses on theories of transubstantiation.

Medieval masters Thomas Aquinas and Meister Eckhart considered problems inherent to speaking of God, exploring how religious language might compromise God's transcendence or God's immanence ultimately hindering believers in their journey of faith seeking understanding. Going beyond ordinary readings of Aquinas and building a foundation for further insights into the works of both theologians, this book draws out the implications of the thought of Eckhart and Aquinas for contemporary issues, including ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue, liturgy and prayer, and religious inclusivity. Reading Aquinas and Eckhart in light of each other reveals the profound depth and orthodoxy of both of these scholars and provides a novel approach to many theological and practical religious issues.