Christian Faith and Human Understanding: Studies on the Eucharist, Trinity, and the Human Person

335 Pages·2006·1.52 MB·English

by  Robert Sokolowski

CHRISTIAN FAI TH &
HUMAN UNDERSTANDI NG
Robert Sokolowski
CHRISTIAN FAI TH &
HUMAN UNDERSTANDI NG
Studies on the Eucharist, Trinity, and
the Human Person
+
The Catholic University of America Press
Washington, D.C.
Copyright © 2006
The Catholic University of America Press
All rights reserved
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standards for Information Science—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library materials, ansi z39.48–1984.
∞
library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
Sokolowski, Robert.
Christian faith and human understanding : studies on the Eucharist, Trinity,
and the human person / Robert Sokolowski.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn-13: 978-0-8132-1444-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
isbn-10: 0-8132-1444-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Faith and reason. 2. Catholic Church—Doctrines.
3. Lord’s Supper—Catholic Church. 4. Trinity.
5. Man (Christian theology) I. Title.
bt50.s63 2005
230'.2—dc22
2005016827
To Alyce Ann Bergkamp and Reed and Roxolana Armstrong
For their friendship and kindness
C O N T E N T S
Acknowledgments ix
Provenance of the Essays xi
Introduction 1
i . faith and reason
1. The Autonomy of Philosophy in Fides et Ratio 9
2. Philosophy and the Christian Act of Faith 25
3. Creation and Christian Understanding 38
4. Christian Religious Discourse 51
i i . the eucharist and the holy trinity
5. Phenomenology and the Eucharist 69
6. Praying the Canon of the Mass 86
7. The Eucharist and Transubstantiation 95
8. The Identity of the Bishop:
A Study in the Theology of Disclosure 113
9. The Revelation of the Holy Trinity:
A Study in Personal Pronouns 131
i i i . the human person
10. Soul and the Transcendence of the Human Person 151
11. Language, the Human Person, and Christian Faith 165
12. The Human Person and Political Life 179
13. The Christian Difference in Personal Relationships 199
14. What Is Natural Law? Human Purposes and Natural Ends 214
viii Contents
iv. faith and practical reasoning
15. The Art and Science of Medicine 237
16. The Fiduciary Relationship and the Nature of Professions 250
17. Religion and Psychoanalysis:
Some Phenomenological Contributions 268
18. Church Tradition and the Catholic University 286
19. Philosophy in the Seminary Curriculum 299
Index 311
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
I am grateful to friends and colleagues for their help in these essays as
they were written over many years, especially John Brough, David Burrell,
C.S.C., Peter Casarella, Richard Cobb-Stevens, Jean De Groot, Jude P.
Dougherty, John Drummond, James Hart, Richard Hassing, V. Bradley
Lewis, John C. McCarthy, Guy Mansini, O.S.B., Francis Martin, Susan
Needham, Kurt Pritzl, O.P., Owen Sadlier, O.S.F., Brian Shanley, O.P., John
Smolko, and John Wippel. I am particularly indebted to Francis Slade and
Kevin White for their philosophical inspiration and conversation, and wish
to recall the memory of Thomas Prufer, my primary mentor in philosophy
and theology.
ix