Bøger udgivet af The Catholic University of America Press

Examines the two main insights that govern Claude Bruaire's ontology of gift (ontodology). First, gift is being in its spiritual way of being. Second, being itself (ipsum esse) is gift only because the fullness proper to pure act is first of all an absolutely free donation in itself and to itself before being donation to another (creation).

Tells the story of Robert of Arbrissel (ca 1045-1116). Robert was a parish priest, longtime student, reformer, hermit, wandering preacher, and founder of the abbey of Fontevraud. This book narrates the course of Robert's life and his relationships with others along the way, and includes notes, a bibliography, and an introduction to the book.

This new translation of Origen's Homilies on Leviticus may be read as a companion to Ronald E. Heine's translation of Origen's Homilies on Genesis and Exodus, volume 71 in the Fathers of the Church series. Both volumes reveal Origen's tenacious belief that, although the meaning of Scripture was threefold, that is, literal, moral, and spiritual, the most important interpretation was the spiritual.The Homilies on Leviticus were delivered during a three-year cycle between 238 and 244 in Alexandria where Origen was a brilliant teacher, theologian, churchman, and exegete until his imprisonment and torture under Decian and his reluctant death in Tyre in 253/254. They were translated by Rufinus, who admitted to having changed the text by condensing the homilies and, at the same time, expanding some of the explanations. Nevertheless they provide valuable insights on the third-century Church, touching on topics of conversion from sin, works of piety, baptism, Lent and fasting, the ordination of a priest, and the process of Christian discipline. Perhaps Origen's most significant theological contribution, however, is his doctrine of the Trinity which influenced the Trinitarian debates of the fourth and fifth centuries.Origen was the most prolific write of all the writers of the Early Church. Eusebius numbers his books at 2000, and St. Jerome writes of 786 works. But Origen's chief aim, as an interpreter of the Scriptures, was to draw out the historical meaning of the text and communicate that wisdom of perception to his flock. It was this that inspired his profound spiritual interpretation in the Homilies on Leviticus so finely translated in this volume.

Wilfrid Ward was a leading Catholic voice in English society during the early twentieth century. Friend to many of its major intellectual figures and a frequent writer in its most prestigious journals, he was also the editor of the ""Dublin Review"". This book offers an opportunity to view the best of the Catholic mind in an extraordinary period.

This first volume in Jean-Pierre Torrell's set of books on Thomas Aquinas has been revised to include a new appendix. The appendix consists of additions to the text, the catalogue of Aquinas's work, and the chronology. Each item in the appendix is called out in the original part of the book with an asterisk in the margin.

Tells the story of the link between Ulster and the United States. Presenting the general history of the US Consulate in Belfast, this book also highlights the profound impact the United States has had on Ulster. It spans the two hundred years since the opening of the Consulate General in 1796.

Caesarius, Bishop of Arles in post-Roman Gaul from 503 to 543, served as the spiritual and administrative leader of an ecclesiastical province that placed twenty-seven bishops under his supervision. During most of his episcopacy Caesarius was subjected to Arian rulers, Visigothic and Ostrogothic, but his vigorous adherence to Catholic doctrine was not weakened. His concern in these translated sermons is the spiritual and moral welfare of ordinary lay folks. This collection comprises the first of five categories established by Dom Morin, the editor of the Latin texts: namely, the category of admonitions.

As significant as his contribution was to history, Leo the Great had an even greater impact on theology. Pope Leo developed the most explicit and detailed affirmations known up to that time of the prerogatives enjoyed by successors if St. Peter. This volume presents the first English translation of the complete sermons.

The Christian funeral oration is one of the most elaborate of Christian literary forms. It represents an attempt to adapt to Christian use a pagan Greek form with many hundreds of years behind it. . . . The Christian masterpieces presented in this volume reflect a long, rich, and varied pagan literary tradition in East and West, and at the same time exhibit modifications and new elements which give them their specific Christian character.(From the Introduction by Martin R. P. McGuire)The volume presents the most generally admired ancient Christian funeral orations--four from the Greek (those of St. Gregory Nazianzen), four from the Latin (those of St. Ambrose of Milan). From the Bishop of Nazianzen, we have words spoken in honor of three kinsmen, his father, a brother, and a sister, and of the great St. Basil, Bishop of Caesarea. Two of the orations from the lips of St. Ambrose are likewise for a kinsman, his brother Satyrus, while the other two are for wearers of the purple, the youthful Valentinian II and the emporor Theodosius.

This volume features twenty essays written by Servais Pinckaers, O.P., one of the pre-eminent Catholic moral theologians. Rather than taking a simply historical approach to Aquinas, Pinckaers seeks the basis of the intelligibility of the moral life, providing spiritual and theological insights along the way.

Steeped in Greek Christian writings, Ambrose, Bishop of Milan in the fourth century, is known for (among other achievements) his allegorical exegesis of the Old Testament. This volume offers English translations of Ambrose's interpretations of three stories in the Old Testament: of the six days of creation, of the Fall (Adam and Eve's loss of Paradise), and of the brothers Cain and Abel. From these stories are drawn lessons on morality and God's will for humankind.

This title brings together texts by and about Thomas More - poet, scholar, statesman, educational reformer, philospher, historian and saint. The writings focus upon More's views of education, political theory, church-state relations, love and friendship, practical politics and conscience.

For traditional theology, the Bible was divine revelation, for critical history, it is a collection of writings from the past. This book comes to the issues through sustained examination of contemporary writers committed to the faithful practice of both theology and history.

This is an introduction to the philosophy of the 13th century Franciscan John Duns Scotus. The text brings together key insights of Scotus's theory of cognition, metaphysics and ethics in a comprehensive and unified manner.

Agnellus' ""Book of Pontiffs of the Church of Ravenna"", written in the ninth century, is a source for the study of Italian history from the fourth to the ninth centuries. This translation makes this text accessible for the first time to an English-speaking audience.

St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan A.D. 373-397, enjoyed a great contemporary reputation for his sermons and homilies, to whose eloquence St. Augustine of Hippo himself gives witness. But, while we have from Augustine hundreds of sermons in virtually their original form, Ambrose's pulpit oratory has not come down to us as delivered. However, Ambrose would often recast his sermons as treatises, and seven of these are presented in this volume. These works are mainly an exegesis of many parts of the Bible, particularly of portions of Genesis, Deuteronomy, Job, and the Song of Songs (on which Issac, or the Soul is in large part a commentary). The Psalms make their echo on nearly every page, as do the Gospels. In special contexts, two apocryphal writings receive attention, IV Esdras and IV Machabees. Ambrose's primary interest is in the moral sense of the Scriptures, and he attains his results through insistent allegorical interpretation. Detailed indices of subjects and of Scripture citations facilitate consultation of Ambrose's thinking on the moral and scriptural problems upon which he, in his time, thought it important for Christians, lay and clerical, to be informed.

Do human rights apply only to a certain culture group or can they be demanded of all cultures and religions? Presenting a new theological theory of natural law, this discussion about a common world ethos demonstrates how relevant and explosive that question is.

Dag Norberg's analysis and interpretation of medieval Latin versification, which was published in French in 1958 and remains the standard work on the subject, appears in here English, with a detailed, scholarly introduction by Jan Ziolkowski that reviews developments since its initial publication.

Jacques Maritain was a preeminent interpreter of the thought of Thomas Aquinas and author of more than 50 books in metaphysics, the philosophy of science, aesthetics and social and political philosophy. In this book, Dougherty shares his lifetime interest in and study of Maritain with readers.

Rich in captivating narratives, the four books of Dialogues of Gregory the Great (Pope, 590-604) present hagiographical accounts of the lives of Italian saints whose holiness remained intact during tumultuous times. Of these, the most famous is the monastic founder Benedict, whose life story occupies all of Book Two. These stories, along with Book Four's mixture of expository and narrative assurances of the immortality of the soul, must have been encouraging to its contemporary Italian readers, especially since Gregory wrote these books at a time when Italy had been ravaged by barbarian invasions, floods, plagues, and famines.

During the years between the Council of Nicaea (325) and the Council of Constantinople (381), imperial opposition to Nicene theology sent several of its supporters into exile. One of these supporters was Hilary, the Bishop of Poitiers. Begun during its author's exile (356-360), Hilary's De Trinitate provides a comprehensive discussion of the relationship between God the Father and God the Son: they are consubstantial, co-eternal, and fully equal. This work was a trailblazer in its day because, apart from Tertullian's relatively brief remarks on the Trinity, it is the earliest study of Trinitarian doctrine in the Latin language.

An examination of the nature of religion from a philosophical perspective, canvassing classical, mediaeval and modern authors for their views. Even among those who find no evidence for the existence of God, we encounter discussions of the nature of religion and its function.

This volume contains fifty-nine homilies preached by St. Jerome on selected Psalms. Jerome's knowledge of the "three Sacred Languages," Latin, Greek and Hebrew, his acquaintance with the exegetical methods of Antioch and Alexandria, his use of Origen's Hexapla and his work on the Psalter are impressive credentials for the quality of these works.As far as can be determined now these homilies were intended primarily for the instruction and edification of the monastic community that Jerome had established in Bethlehem where he spent the closing years of his life. They were recorded by scribes in the audience, and consequently the text may at times reflect the inadequacies of the listener.Whether all the homilies that appear here are extemporaneous products of Jerome's vast erudition and eloquence is a question that still awaits a satisfactory answer. Some scholars believe that an affirmative answer is correct, others citing the evidence of Homily 69 on Psalm 91, think that the content of some homilies is too deeply theological to be an impromptu composition. In any event, some patristic scholars have been bold enough to declare Jerome the most learned Latin Father of the Church.

Langland's ""Piers Plowman"", his life's work, most often sounds like an odd mixture of dream-vision, satire, sermon, and allegory, as if its purpose were aggressively didactic. This study provides a reading of the poem that addresses most of the central issues current in Langland criticism.

A highly educated imperial official of northern Italy, Ambrose famously received baptism shortly before his consecration as Bishop of Milan in 373. This collection of translated letters has been arranged in categories according to the recipients: to emperors, to bishops, to priests, to his sister (a consecrated virgin), and to laymen, in addition to synodal letters. Two of his letters to his sister, Marcellina, are a useful source for examining Ambrose's management of church-state relations.

During the years between Augustine's ordination to the priesthood (391) and his consecration as the Bishop of Hippo (395 or 396), he took an intense interest in biblical exegesis. One of the fruits of his penetrating investigations is his two-volume Commentary on the Lord's Sermon on the Mount, of which a lucid English translation is presented in this volume. Also included are Augustine's subsequent, self-critical remarks (Retractationes 1.19) on this commentary, as well as seventeen selected sermons on topics relevant to the commentary.

Pope Pius XII's alleged silence in the face of the destruction of the European Jews during World War II has been the subject of a fierce controversy. This work discusses the reasons given for Pius' behaviour by the authors who have contributed to the dispute and evaluates their findings.

In Christian Latinity, the tractate is a specific type of sermon, delivered as part of a liturgy, which combines scriptural exegesis, preaching, spiritual commentary, and theological reflection. This volume contains the first ten of the 124 tractates on the Gospel of John delivered by St. Augustine, the world-renowned fourth-century bishop of Hippo Regius in North Africa. As sermons they exemplify the theory of preaching he outlined in his De doctrina Christiana (On Christian Instruction) --to preach in a simple and direct style accessible to all without compromising the theological knowledge and spiritual experience of the message.Because John's Gospel particularly emphasized the divinity of Jesus, the identity of the historical Jesus with the Messianic Christ, the Trinitarian Word, these sermons necessarily involve much Trinitarian and Christological theology. They explain and defend the orthodox position established at the councils of Nicea (A.D. 325) and Constantinople (A.D. 381). Their major theme is that Jesus Christ is the center of the Christian life, the Son of God and the Son of Man.Beyond contemplation of John's Gospel, the Tractates reveal much about the heresies to which Augustine's congregation was exposed: Manichaeism, with its dualistic logic; Donatism, a schismatic, puritanical, and sacramental movement which involved the intervention of the state in the affairs of the Church; and Pelagianism, with its doctrines of original sin, grace, free will, and predestination.Augustine delivered these sermons in Ciceronian oratorical style, having as his purpose to teach, to please, and to persuade. Through his allegorical exegesis, his audience was led to an understanding of the meaning of Scripture that would so affect their souls as to help them grow spiritually and bring them to eternal salvation.

Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop of the Holy City in the middle of the fourth century, delivered eighteen catechetical lectures during Lent to his candidates for baptism at Easter; actually, there were nineteen including the preliminary instruction, or Procatechesis. An earlier volume of the Fathers of the Church series contains the preliminary material and the first twelve lectures. The present volume contains Catechetical Lectures 13-18 and Cyril's five Mystagogical Catecheses, which, delivered during the week after Easter, describe and explain the rites of Baptism, Chrismation, and Eucharist, all of which Cyril's newly baptized adult listeners have just experienced. In addition, this volume includes Cyril's only extant sermon (on the paralytic of John 5) and a letter to the newly crowned Emperor Constantius, in which Cyril interprets the apparition of a shining cross in the sky over Jerusalem.

The arresting poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins arises from philosophical engagement with the Trinity, the Incarnation, and other mysteries of Christian revelation. With explications of more than 29 of Hopkins' poems and prose works, this study traces the writer's engagement with his age.