As we continue celebrating our 75th year as Notre Dame’s academic publisher, we think of foundational authors and their contributions to the scholarly and literary writing traditions. January 28th marks the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas, who is one of the most groundbreaking theologians in Church history, a canonized saint to whom many miracles are attributed, and a Doctor of the Church.
St. Thomas Aquinas was born to a wealthy family in Sicily and began his early studies at Monte Cassino before being moved to Naples to continue his education. Here, he was introduced to the philosophical principles of Aristotle, which would later influence some of his greatest works such as Summa Theologica and Summa Contra Gentiles. These works have had a profound impact on the fields of philosophy, theology, and Church doctrine.
In addition to his deeply profound scholarly works, St. Thomas Aquinas also wrote stunning hymns on the mystery and beauty of the Eucharist that have been equally influential in the tradition of liturgical music. Works such as Adoro te devote and Pange lingua are still used in eucharistic adoration and processions today.
Below are titles that highlight the themes of the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas, his work, and his love for the Eucharist.
Aquinas and the Infused Moral Virtues
by Angela McKay Knobel
How are we to understand the relationship between the virtues God infuses at the moment of grace and virtues that are gradually acquired over time? In this important book, author Angela McKay Knobel provides a detailed examination of Aquinas’s theory of infused moral virtue, with special attention to the question of how the infused and acquired moral virtues are related.
“A masterpiece of careful, insightful analysis and respectful but forthright critique…a major contribution to both Thomistic scholarship and virtue theory more generally.” —Speculum
Summa Contra Gentiles, Book 1: God
by St. Thomas Aquinas
translated by Anton C. Pegis
The first book of this series studies God’s existence, nature, and substance, his perfect actuality, the autonomy of his knowledge, the independence of his will, the perfection of his life, and the generosity of his love.
The Eucharistic Form of God
by Jonathan Ciraulo
This multifaceted work dives deep into Hans Von Balthasar’s theology of the Eucharist and shows its significance for contemporary sacramental theology. Author Jonathan Ciraulo has compiled the scattered writings of Balthasar’s expansive corpus and provides a rich study into its complexity. In doing so, Ciraulo offers the first book-length study on Balthasar’s eucharistic theology which demonstrates the ways that Balthasar is a eucharistic theologian of the highest caliber, and that his contributions to sacramental theology, although little acknowledged today, have enormous potential to reshape many discussions in the field.
“This fine book, by a most promising young scholar, is not only intellectually rewarding, it is prayerfully pondered—from cover to cover.” —America
The Eucharistic Sacrifice
by Sergius Bulgakov
translated by Mark Roosien
This award winning work represents Sergius Bulgakov’s final, fully developed word on the Eucharist. Here, he provides insights that counter and cut through the many polemics towards the Eucharistic sacrifice, offering a uniquely insightful theological approach that sheds light on God’s self-giving sacrifice. This is Bulgakov’s concluding volume of three works on the Eucharist. The other two, The Eucharistic Dogma and The Holy Grail, were translated and published together in 1997. This third volume was only first published in the original Russian version in 2005 and has remained unavailable in English until now.
“With this translation, we have another key piece available to the English-speaking world of the work of one the most creative theological authors of the previous century.” —Modern Theology