Paulist Press Research Articles

Symbol and Sacrament: A Contemporary Sacramental Theology by Michael G. Lawler

732 BOOK REVIEWS Symbol and Sacrament: A Contemporary Sacramental Theology. By MICHAEL G. LAWLER. New York/Mahwah: Paulist Press, 1987. Pp. 290. $11.95. In this book Michael Lawler, Dean of 1the graduate school and pro· fessor of Theology at Creighton University, offers both foundations for a contemporary Roman Catholic sacramental theology (chapters one and two) and presentations of each of the sacraments (chapters three to nine) that summarize the historical evolution of each sacrament's theology and praotice and (most usually) apply insights from the first il:wo chapters that are aimed to present a contemporary theology of each sacrament. In general the foundational presentations on " prophetic symbol" (chapter one) and "sacrament: a theological view" (chapter two) are the more interesting and thought provoking. The later chapters are merely adequate summaries of the :tradition which sometimes rely on dated research and oversimplified understandings of historical periods. Unfortunately therefore, the book's usefulness, especially as a text, is marred. In chapter one Lawler argues that sacraments are most adequately understood as prophetic symbols because through both the sacramental word and sacramental action believers experience God's revelation and continuing action in human life. Lawler often reiterates that those who experience the prophetic symbols of sacraments must live into them and thus experience God through them (p. 19). "To say symbol is not to say not real, but rather fully real, ithat is, representatively and concretely and effectively and personally real. Prophetic symbols realize sacred reality precisely by symbolizing it" (p. 28). In this chapter Lawler offers some intriguing approaches to sacraments and sets up the way he will deal with individual sacraments. The second chapter is much less satisfying because in it the author attempts to do too much: to present the history of the definitions of sacrament in Catholic theology, the nature of sacraments as signs (and then as causes), as signs of faith, and their institution by Christ. Here the absence of any reference Ito the way the Franciscan school understood sacramental causality (when discussing the Scholastic contribution to sacramental theology) , or to the usefulness of the number seven, or to the role of the Spirit in sacramental theology and practice, or to ithe indwelling of the Church in the Trinity through sacraments is disappointing. What is particularly noteworthy, however, is the way the author describes the sacramentality of all of creation, how "sacramentality is a bedrock in the Christian tradition" (p. 60) and how the Church can be undersitood as sacramental. Chapter three on " baptism: ritual of life and death " is particularly BOOK REVIEWS 733 well presented since the author combines the biblical notion of corpo· rate personality with a communal understanding of Church as essen· tial bases for understanding initiation, especially infant baptism. While one could argue that his presentation of infant baptism ought to follow from a theology of adult initiation (thus using more fully his quotation on p. 82 from von Balthasar that " the baptism of in·£ants is not a proper model for the sacramental process ... [and] that it must be considered an exception ..."), his consideration of the pastoral problem of baptized non-believers here and in the chapters on confirmation and marriage is most useful. Where the Rite of Chris· tian Initiation for Adu1ts is discussed most fully is in chapter four on confirmation, where Lawler takes careful, moderate and pastorally realistic positions on what to do with those whose sacramental initia· tion has nol: been followed up with Christian education or practice. Here the author refers in a useful way to the present rite for confirmation as a source for sacramenital theology. The author's emphasis on the role of the church in sacraments is care· fully described in his treatment of penance and reconciliation (chapter five) . Here the church is viewed as the agent of reconciliation, which agency is seen in history most clearly in the early evolwtion of public penance. The author offers good insights about the present rite of penance and carefully critiques it where appropriate. Unfortunately his appreciation of exhomologesis seems not to include praise and thanksgiving in penance; he leaves these joyful aspects of reconciliation to sharing in the eucharist as the term of the process...

Elizabeth Seton: Selected Writings. Edited by Ellin Kelly and Annabelle Melvilll. Sources of American Spirituality. New York: Paulist Press, 1987. vi + 378 pp. $16.95.

Elizabeth Seton: Selected Writings. Edited by Ellin Kelly and Annabelle Melvilll. Sources of American Spirituality. New York: Paulist Press, 1987. vi + 378 pp. $16.95.

Speaking of Silence: Christians and Buddhists on the Contemplative Way Susan Walker, editor Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1987. viii + 328 p

Speaking of Silence: Christians and Buddhists on the Contemplative Way Susan Walker, editor Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1987. viii + 328 p

Beyond Decline: A Challenge to the Churches by Robin Gill. SCM Press, London, 1988. Pp. 146. £6.95. - Theology and Sociology: A Reader, edited and introduced by Robin Gill, Geoffrey Chapman, London and Paulist Press, New York/Mahwah, 1987. Pp. 424.

Beyond Decline: A Challenge to the Churches by Robin Gill. SCM Press, London, 1988. Pp. 146. £6.95. - Theology and Sociology: A Reader, edited and introduced by Robin Gill, Geoffrey Chapman, London and Paulist Press, New York/Mahwah, 1987. Pp. 424.

Book Review: Beginning to read the Fathers. By Boniface Ramsey, O.P. Paulist Press 1985. Pp. iv+280. $9.95

Book Review: Beginning to read the Fathers. By Boniface Ramsey, O.P. Paulist Press 1985. Pp. iv+280. $9.95

Pseudo-Dionysius, The Complete Works. Translation by Colm Luibheid. Foreword, notes and translation collaboration by Paul Rorem. Preface by René Roques. Introductions by Jaroslav Pelikan, Jean Leclercq and Karlfried Froehlich. Paulist Press and SPCK, 1987. Pp. x + 312. No price given.

Pseudo-Dionysius, The Complete Works. Translation by Colm Luibheid. Foreword, notes and translation collaboration by Paul Rorem. Preface by René Roques. Introductions by Jaroslav Pelikan, Jean Leclercq and Karlfried Froehlich. Paulist Press and SPCK, 1987. Pp. x + 312. No price given.

A Peace Reader: Essential Readings on War, Justice, Non-violence and World Order. Edited by Joseph Fahey and Richard Armstrong. New York: Paulist Press, 1987. 477 pp. $14.95

Journal Article A Peace Reader: Essential Readings on War, Justice, Non-violence and World Order. Edited by Joseph Fahey and Richard Armstrong. New York: Paulist Press, 1987. 477 pp. $14.95 Get access Judith Wishnia Judith Wishnia State University of New YorkStony Brook, New York Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Church and State, Volume 30, Issue 3, Autumn 1988, Page 606, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcs/30.3.606 Published: 01 October 1988

Meister Eckhart: Teacher and Preacher. Edited by Bernard McGinn. The Classics of Western Spirituality. New York: Paulist Press, 1986. xvii + 420 pp. $15.95 cloth; $12.95 paper.

Meister Eckhart: Teacher and Preacher. Edited by Bernard McGinn. The Classics of Western Spirituality. New York: Paulist Press, 1986. xvii + 420 pp. $15.95 cloth; $12.95 paper.

Priests in Working-Class Blue: The History of the Worker-Priests (1943–1954). By Oscar L. Arnal. New York: Paulist Press, 1986. 239 pp. $11.95

Priests in Working-Class Blue: The History of the Worker-Priests (1943–1954). By Oscar L. Arnal. New York: Paulist Press, 1986. 239 pp. $11.95

The Schillebeeckx Case. Edited by Ted Schoof. Translated by Matthew J. O'Connell. Ramsey, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1984. vi + 158 pp. $7.95.

The Schillebeeckx Case. Edited by Ted Schoof. Translated by Matthew J. O'Connell. Ramsey, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1984. vi + 158 pp. $7.95.

Foundations of Christian Ethics. By John C. Dwyer. New York: Paulist Press, 1987. 227 pp. $8.95, paper

Foundations of Christian Ethics. By John C. Dwyer. New York: Paulist Press, 1987. 227 pp. $8.95, paper

This Ground is Holy: Church Sanctuary and Central American Refugees. By Ignatius Bau. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1985. 294 pp. $9.95 paper

This Ground is Holy: Church Sanctuary and Central American Refugees. By Ignatius Bau. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1985. 294 pp. $9.95 paper

Bernard of Besse: Praises of Blessed Francis (Liber de laudibus Beati Francisci)

BERNARD OF BESSE: PRAISES OF BLESSED FRANCIS (LIBER DE LAUDIBUS BEATI FRANCISCI) INTRODUCTION I Bernard's Life.1 The Chronica XXIV Generalium Ordinis Minorum (Chronicle of the XXIV Generals) completed in 1378, is the earliest source to mention Bernard, calling him "Bernard of Besse of the Province of Aquitaine."2 In the seventeenth century, Luke Wadding notes that Bernard was a member of the Franciscan Custody of Cahors of the Province of Aquitaine, and also was a travelling companion and secretary to the Minister General, St. Bonaventure (1257-1274).» It is difficult to determine exactly Bernard's place of origin. Sbaralea in his Castigatio lists several places in France as possibili1 This study and translation was made possible by a grant from the Younger Scholars Program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The following abbreviations have been employed throughout: AF, Analecta Franciscana; AFH, Archivum Franciscanum Historicum; AP, Anonymous of Perugia, ed. Lorenzo di Fonzo, O.F.M. Conv., L'anonimo perugino tra Ie fonti francescane del sec. XIII (Roma: Ed. Miscellanea Francescana, 1972) 435-65, trans. Anonymous of Perugia by Eric Kahn in Damien Isabell, Workbook for Franciscan Studies (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1979); LM, St. Bonaventure, Legenda maior AF 10: 555-652, trans. Ewert Cousins, Bonaventure (New York: Paulist Press, 1978) 117-327; MF, Miscellanea Francescana; 1 CeI, Thomas of Celano, Vita prima s. Francisci, AF 10: 1-117, trans. Placid Hermann in Marion A. Habig (ed.) St. Francis of Assisi: Writings and Early Biographies: English Omnibus..., 4th rev. ed. (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1983) 225-356; 2 CeI, Thomas of Celano, Vita secunda s. Francisci, AF 10: 127-160, trans. Hermann in Habig, Omnibus, 357-543; 3 CeI, Thomas of Celano, Tractatus de miraculis beati Francisci, AF 10: 269-331, excerpts trans. Hermann in Omnibus, 545-54. 2 AF 3: 262. The Province of Aquitaine refers to the Franciscan Province. 3 Luke Wadding, Annales Minorum (Ad Claras Aquas [Quaracchi], 1931) 5:55 (references to Wadding indicate marginal numbers). A Franciscan custody is a subdivision of a province. 214DAVID AMICO ties.4 The most likely of these is "a town called Besse in the Province of Aquitaine," that probably corresponds to a present-day town called Besse in the Department of Puy de Dôme, part of the Aquitaine of earlier days. This town is very near Cahors, to which custody Bernard belonged, and it seems logical that he would have entered the Order near his place of origin. We know little of Bernard's early days in the Order. Jacques Cambell in his article on Bernard in the New Catholic Encyclopedia says that he was probably residing in the convent of Limoges in January, 1250, but he does not cite his source for this.8 We do know, however, that Bernard held a significant office in the Order as a secretary to the Minister General, St. Bonaventure, one of the most briUiant theologians of his day. That he had the confidence of St. Bonaventure speaks well both for Bernard's competence and his access to information concerning the history he narrates. Indeed, as SaUmbene remarks in his Chronicle, secretaries to the Minister General were known to be "intelligent, well-read, good speakers, excellent writers, good walkers to accompany the General on his visitations, and men of great authority.6 Bernard, therefore, must have possessed many of these characteristics. As secretary, he probably carried out the normal duties of the office, and in fact he himself says that he "travelled through parts of Germany and Flanders with the distinguished Minister General." Beyond this, though, we are not sure of any specific activities. The early sources do not give a date for Bernard's death, but modern scholars place it sometime between 1300 and 1304.7 II Bernard's Works. The Chronicle of the XXIV Generals lists all but one of the six works ascribed to Bernard of Besse.8 It notes, first of all, that Bernard "wrote a Chronicle"—sometimes called a 4 Joannes H. Sbaralea, Supplementum et castigatio ad scriptores trium Ordinum ed. Attilio Nardecchia (Rome, 1908) 2: 141-42. 8 Jacques Cambell, "Bernard of Besse," New Catholic Encyclopedia (1967). • Salimbene de Adam, Crónica ed. Giuseppe...

Between God and Caesar: Priests, Sisters and Political Office in the United States. Edited by Madonna Kolbenschlag. New York: Paulist Press, 1985. 468 pp. $10.95

Between God and Caesar: Priests, Sisters and Political Office in the United States. Edited by Madonna Kolbenschlag. New York: Paulist Press, 1985. 468 pp. $10.95

T. CALLAN, Forgetting the Root. The Emergency of Christianity from Judaism, Paulist Press, Mahwah N.J. 1986, vii and 131 pp., paper $ 5.95

T. CALLAN, Forgetting the Root. The Emergency of Christianity from Judaism, Paulist Press, Mahwah N.J. 1986, vii and 131 pp., paper $ 5.95

Love Is the Measure: A Biography of Dorothy Day. By Jim Forest. New York: Paulist Press, 1986. x + 224 pp. $14.95.

Love Is the Measure: A Biography of Dorothy Day. By Jim Forest. New York: Paulist Press, 1986. x + 224 pp. $14.95.

Book Review: Christian Biblical Ethics. From Biblical Revelation to Contemporary Christian Praxis: Method and Content. Edited by Robert J. Daly, S.J., with contributions from James A. Fischer, C.M.; Terence J. Keegan, O.P., Anthony J. Tambasco, John L. Topel, S.J., Frederick E. Schuele, New York and Ramsey: Paulist Press, 1984. Pp. iv+332. $9.95 paperback

Book Review: Christian Biblical Ethics. From Biblical Revelation to Contemporary Christian Praxis: Method and Content. Edited by Robert J. Daly, S.J., with contributions from James A. Fischer, C.M.; Terence J. Keegan, O.P., Anthony J. Tambasco, John L. Topel, S.J., Frederick E. Schuele, New York and Ramsey: Paulist Press, 1984. Pp. iv+332. $9.95 paperback

Book Review: Ultimate Questions: A Theological Primer

Book Review: Ultimate Questions: A Theological Primer

Book Review: Encounters with Christ. By William P. Roberts, Paulist Press, New York, 1985, pp. x + 243. $8.95

Book Review: Encounters with Christ. By William P. Roberts, Paulist Press, New York, 1985, pp. x + 243. $8.95

John Ruusbroec: The Spiritual Espousals and Other Works. Translated by James A. Wiseman, OSB. New York: Paulist Press, 1985. xvii + 286 pp. $9.95.

John Ruusbroec: The Spiritual Espousals and Other Works. Translated by James A. Wiseman, OSB. New York: Paulist Press, 1985. xvii + 286 pp. $9.95.