Kirjahaku

Material Eucharist interprets the Eucharist through its material elements of bread and wine. Drawing upon a rich variety of biblical, patristic, medieval, and modern texts and traditions, David Grumett brings together theological reflection and liturgical action and shows their mutual dependence. For both theologians and liturgists, a central concern is the matter out of which the created order has been made, from which issues of community and social justice are inseparable. The ingredients of bread and wine anticipate, in their harvesting and manufacture, the formal church liturgy, which is extended back into the world by the transformative priestly action of laypeople. Indeed, the transforming presence of Christ in the Eucharist as flesh and substance is theologically grounded in his transformative presence in the wider created order, as expressed in eucharistic giving and exchange between churches and their wider communities. Rooting the Eucharist in materiality suggests its primary context to be the death and resurrection of Christ in the power of the Spirit, in which its recipients may share. The many aspects of theology and liturgy with which the book deals have large implications for how the Eucharist is understood in a range of academic disciplines, and for how it is celebrated in churches today.

Henri de Lubac is a dominating figure in the renewal of catholic theology in the twentieth century, opposing neo-Thomist orthodoxy with a pluriform and historical notion of tradition based on the creative reappropriation of patristic sources. De Lubac's adult life encompasses the whole of what Eric Hobsbawm has called the 'short' twentieth century, extending from the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, in which he fought, to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the year in which he died. De Lubac commenced his theological training in exile in England, played a key role in the nouvelle theologie associated with the Jesuit scholasticate at Fourviere in Lyons, assumed a leading part in Catholic resistance to the Vichy regime, was silenced in the aftermath of Humani generis in the 1950s, rehabilitated as a peritus (theological adviser) to the Second Vatican Council, and raised to the cardinalate in 1983. This introduction to De Lubac will therefore provide an overview of the whole of twentieth century French Catholic theology. De Lubac's work extends beyond narrow theological boundaries. Because of this breadth of interest, some areas of his work, such as his political theology and study of Buddhism, have previously received little attention. In bringing figures from other intellectual disciplines into dialogue with Christian scripture and tradition, however, De Lubac reveals the theological significance of their positions as well as demonstrating the insufficiency of their ambivalent attitudes to faith. "Continuum's Guides for the Perplexed" are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging - or indeed downright bewildering. Concentrating specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to grasp, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material.

The French Jesuit Henri de Lubac (1896-1991) lived through the most pivotal events of twentieth-century Europe. He fought in the First World War, worked for the French Resistance during the Nazi occupation of France, and observed the rise and the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. Being well acquainted with political theory and philosophy, he diagnosed the pathologies of modern materialist ideologies and presented a Christian alternative. Within the Church, too, de Lubac was a witness of his times. A leading ressourcement theologian, he brought patristic and medieval texts to bear on doctrinal questions. In the 1950s, he experienced internal exile within the Church, forbidden to publish theological writings. After de Lubac's rehabilitation, however, Pope John XXIII asked him to serve as a consultant for the Second Vatican Council. In 1983 Pope John Paul II named him a cardinal. De Lubac's theological writings are voluminous and wide-ranging, and this is the first time his most important texts have been combined into a single book. Annotated and arranged by theme, these passages address God, Christian faith, the Church, grace and nature, Scripture, the Eucharist, Buddhism, and the renewal of theology. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including some only recently made available, the introduction sheds new light on de Lubac's work--its intellectual, social, and political contexts--and on his life, especially his later years. An extended postscript appraises the most important scholarship on de Lubac regarding the key themes covered by the texts.