101 Questions & Answers on the Sacraments of Healing: Penance and Anointing of the Sick by Paul Jerome Keller, O.P.

Abstract

320 Antiphon 14.3 (2010) discover in A Lyrical Vision a wealth of information from a variety of sources, those both official and personal, those both readily available and obscure. Consequently, Foley’s slim volume deserves a place on the bookshelf of anyone concerned with the function of music in divine worship. David Pitt Loras College Dubuque, IA Paul Jerome Keller, O.P. 101 Questions & Answers on the Sacraments of Healing: Penance and Anointing of the Sick New York: Paulist, 2010 xv + 149 pages. $15.95 Dominican Father Paul Jerome Keller’s volume on the sacraments of healing is a welcome contribution to the field of catechesis and instruction on the sacraments. It is a beautifully written, theologically sound, and readily accessible example of the “question and answer” genre of introductory texts. 101 Questions & Answers on the Sacraments of Healing is divided into three parts, the second and third of which are in turn organized into smaller sections. Part I, “The Sacraments of Healing in General,” consists of a short introduction in four questions. Part II, devoted to the sacrament of penance, occupies the bulk of the volume – from question 5 to question 73. The nine sections of the second part cover, respectively: names of the sacrament of penance, sin, conversion , the priest as minister of penance, the rite of penance, effects of penance, the secrecy of confession, the practice of confession, and special circumstances. Taken cumulatively, these sections constitute a thorough catechesis on the sacrament of penance. Part III, consisting of questions 74 to 101, explores the sacrament of anointing of the sick in four sections: the foundations of the sacrament, the rite, the effects, and special circumstances. The appendix reproduces the suggested examination of conscience found at the end of the Rite of Penance. A three-page bibliography for further reading and an index of the same length close the volume. Following Pope John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation Reconciliatio et paenitentia (1984), Father Keller recognizes a proper theology of sin as a necessary prolegomenon to understanding the sacrament of penance. Therefore he addresses “the Sickness of Sin” in questions 12 to 20. Here the usefulness of 101 Questions & Answers stands out 321 Book Reviews for those of us who strive to teach sacraments according to the mind of the Church, but are wary of much literature on the topic. For comparative purposes, consider Father David M. Coffey’s contribution to Collegeville’s Lex Orandi Series titled The Sacrament of Reconciliation (2001), which Keller unfortunately lists in his limited bibliography. Coffey’s volume is marred from the start by an explicit commitment to fundamental option theory and a rejection of the distinction between mortal and venial sin. For Coffey, that distinction is good enough for St Thomas Aquinas and John Paul II, but “can hardly be tolerated by us” (10). In its place, Coffey champions pet theories involving “mitigated” sin, “imposed necessity,” and “transcendental charity,” alongside a Rahnerian contention that a subject cannot attain certainty about the morality quality of individual actions. In the final analysis, Coffey’s treatment of sin is a muddled mess that undermines any genuine rationale for the necessity, purpose, or effect of the sacrament of penance. In a marked contrast with Coffey, Keller solidly roots his treatment of penance in Catholic explanations of sin championed by the likes of John Paul II and Aquinas. Keller’s jovial predilection for the Angelic Doctor refreshingly shines forth in numerous places throughout the book (e.g., p. 43). Without seeming stilted or pedantic, Keller works into his answers classical teachings that were central elements of the sacrament’s treatment at the Council of Trent and remain significant in magisterial documents. One such classical teaching regards the confessor ’s role as judge, which Keller explains partially as follows: “every instance of merciful forgiveness and welcome is necessarily preceded by the recognition, or judgment, that something or someone was lost. There can be no real grant of mercy without such a judgment” (41). Grounding his exposition in Sacred Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the teachings of councils, popes, saints and doctors, Keller evinces a true Dominican charism for studying and teaching the Faith. The author...