Christ and the Altar Fire

"Joseph Ratzinger expressed his original theology of Revelation and biblical interpretation over a span of six decades, through a wide variety of genres, in writings that partly remain untranslated. Father Mauro Gagliardi's mastery of the immense Ratzingerian corpus and pedagogical skill allow him to introduce in an effective way beginners and young scholars to the thought of this giant of twentieth-century Catholic theology."Bernhard Blankenhorn, O.P. University of Fribourg"In this volume, Fr. Gagliardi provides readers with a sophisticated yet crystal-clear presentation of Joseph Ratzinger's Christocentric fundamental theology. Briskly written, the book offers a penetrating analysis of pivotal themes in Ratzinger's thought—revelation, tradition, hermeneutics, and development—dogmatic themes that are crucial for advancing theology in service to the Gospel and to the Catholic Church. Highly recommended."Thomas G. Guarino Seton Hall University"In this careful and lucid study Father Mauro Gagliardi explores the heart of Joseph Ratzinger's theological vision: his Christocentric understanding of divine Revelation. At the same time, he shows its continued importance as the Church newly wrestles with issues of synodality and doctrinal development. For synodality is most fundamentally the Church's 'walking with' its Lord Jesus Christ. And authentic development is ever to enter more fully into the inexhaustible riches of the mystery of Christ."Robert Imbelli Boston College"This a timely work on a theologian whose legacy is yet to be fully appreciated, by a theologian who brings a fresh take on Ratzinger's fundamental theology. A seasoned and holistic theologian in his own right, Rev. Dr. Gagliardi not only knows Ratzinger's corpus, but approaches it with his characteristically catholic and synthetic approach (et-et) to dogmatics. The result is an interpretation of Ratzinger's thought that is sympathetic, but not sycophantic. This is not simply an exposition and commentary on Ratzinger's works, but a constructive contribution to contemporary theological discourse."Andrew Meszaros St. Patrick's Pontifical University"Upon the death of Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), there have been a number of edited books of essays that have treated various aspects of his theological corpus. However, Mauro Gagliardi's Revelation, Hermeneutic, and Doctrinal Development in Joseph Ratzinger is the first work to assess almost the entirety of Ratzinger's work. Gagliardi has mastered Ratzinger's theology, and he presents it in a manner that is clear and yet scholarly. He creatively and insightfully allows the reader to appreciate the thought of the twentieth-century's most brilliant theologian."Thomas G. Weinandy, O.F.M., Cap. Former member of the Vatican's Internation Theological Commission"In this book, Mauro Gagliardi offers access to some important themes in Joseph Ratzinger's theology—namely, Revelation and hermeneutics and the question of the development of the Church's doctrine. Gagliardi's presentation of these themes culminates in a reflection in which he not only offers perspectives for further reflection starting from Ratzinger's theology, but also ventures to offer a constructive critique of points that seem to him to leave room for improvement. "Ratzinger saw Revelation not so much as what God said in the past, but as God's current speaking to man; through the Church, Scripture becomes a living proclamation. Scripture and Tradition thus form one stream emanating from Revelation. According to Ratzinger, the Tradition of the Church is always an interpretation of Scripture. Ratzinger stressed that Scripture should not be read as a 'dead historical book' but understood as part of the Revelation that continues today through the Church in the hearts of the faithful. "Gagliardi appreciates Ratzinger's explicit fidelity to Scripture and his view of the Church's Tradition based on a hermeneutic of reform in continuity. However, according to Gagliardi, in Ratzinger's way of thinking about the Tradition, the role of the Magisterium was not always sufficiently clear. How exactly do Tradition and Magisterium relate? After all, both interpret Scripture. And how can a sufficient distinction be made between what is truly revealed and is therefore binding and what is related to the Revelation but not part of the Revelation itself ? That question was left open by Ratzinger. Moreover, Gagliardi fears, the emphasis on the present of Revelation could be misunderstood as if it were a priority for today's fashionable ideas, rather than the presence of the liturgy and the presence of Christ who is and remains always the same. The present book by Gagliardi is worth reading because it offers an orderly introduction to themes in the thinking of the great theologian Joseph Ratzinger and identifies questions that require further reflection."Wilem Jacobus Cardinal Eijk Archbishop of Utrecht"One of the most promising developments in modern Catholic theology has been the resurgence of interest in the work of the great German Catholic theologian Matthias Scheeben. Among the worthy first-fruits of this resurgence now comes David Augustine's luminously insightful book on what is surely an architectonic theme in Scheeben's theological edifice, the deifying sacrifice of Christ. The urgent current need to retrieve a theology of sacrifice, combined with the many benefits to be gained from renewed attention to the work of Scheeben, make this book a timely and most welcome intervention in the contemporary forum of Catholic theology."Khaled AnatoliosUniversity of Notre Dame"Especially in America, Catholics have lately rediscovered the great nineteenth-century German theologian Matthias Scheeben. In him they find a biblically resonant and speculatively rigorous engagement with the truths of Christianity unequaled in the theology of our own time. Scheeben's bold use of the Old Testament altar fire to unfold some of the deepest Christian mysteries takes center stage in David Augustine's fine book, which makes an important addition to the now-growing literature on Scheeben in English. It is especially welcome for its focus on Scheeben's theology of sacrifice—Christ's on Calvary and ours in the Eucharist—which provides a needed antidote to the disregard and outright neglect from which this central Catholic teaching has suffered for too long."Bruce D. MarshallSouthern Methodist University"A major work of Christology which centers on the nature of atonement, reconciliation, and sacrifice, this book is also one of the most profound and compelling studies of the theology of Matthias Scheeben written to date. Marked by erudition and clarity, this work introduces the reader into a wealth of significant theological topics and controversies in regard to nature and grace, the anthropology of sacrifice, and the mystery of the Incarnation. It functions in its own right as a work of fundamental orientation in Christology. A superb work of speculative theology."Thomas Joseph White, O.P.Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas"Here, finally, is a work on Matthias Scheeben that is worthy of him and reflects something of his theological acumen and careful scholarship. Not only is David Augustine's Christ and the Altar Fire a scholarly work of the highest order, it also takes us to the heart of Scheeben's theology, leading us to a deeper understanding of Christ's sacrifice, prefigured in the altar fire of the Old Testament, as both atoning and deifying. Augustine has done the modern Church a great service, reminding us that Christ's sacrifice is, in post-Reformation terms, not just justifying, but sanctifying—purifying and transforming those who share in it."John R. BetzUniversity of Notre Dame"David Augustine's retrieval of Matthias Scheeben's soteriology restores Scheeben's voice in Catholic dogmatics and at the same time explores how it speaks to— and corrects—contemporary biblical and systematic studies. More importantly, we learn how the fire of the sacrificial transformation of creation in its return to God in the rites of the Old Testament passes into the fire of the charity of Christ in the New, which gathers up the Church into his priestly return to the Father. David Augustine's patient and detailed presentation of this reality as beheld by Matthias Scheeben will fascinate his readers as well and enrapture them with the charity of God acting in the charity of Christ, consummated at Calvary and manifest at Easter."Guy Mansini, O.S.B.Ave Maria University"David Augustine presents the renowned nineteenth-century dogmatic theologian Matthias Joseph Scheeben, as a modern Cyril of Alexandria, contending with the various Christological issues of our own times, including the resurgent Nestorian disposition. With a high level of theological dexterity he unpacks Scheeben's account of deification as 'kindling a fire from God in our hearts so that, our lives reformed, we can rise above our nature to God and cling to him through deifying union in love.' This work is a treasure for those interested in scriptural typology, theological anthropology, Eucharistic and liturgical theology, and the ressourcement movement in Germany."Tracey RowlandUniversity of Notre Dame Australia