Theology

Since the beginning of time, a fierce spiritual battle has raged between the forces of good and evil. Today the spiritual entities of wickedness are winning, burdening countless souls in a world lacerated by evil.

To claim victory, God is calling us to engage in spiritual warfare as the only way to save the world from the desolation that is sure to come.

In these pages, theologian Venatius Oforka explains that we are part of a spiritual web through which God acts to save souls. No longer does God create out of nothing. Instead, He achieves His purposes through the prayers and actions we pour in.

To win such a sophisticated war, Oforka introduces us to the supernatural weapons of war and how we can shape the events that affect our earthly and eternal destiny.

From Father Oforka, you will learn:

The Art of Spiritual Warfare is the one book you need to awaken our world from its spiritual hibernation and to exercise the awesome privilege of working with God in the realization of His Kingdom.

There are typically two sides to the beer coaster:

"Alcohol is the anesthesia by which we endure the operation of life." -- George Bernard Shaw

"Here's to alcohol, the rose colored glasses of life." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald

Drink to feel nothing, or drink to feel something. Both are widely practiced. But both fall flat.

As a Catholic, you want to live a full life, with intention and purpose. You think beer, wine, and liquor can be part of that, but you don't have an authentic way to approach alcoholic beverages, so you abstain or indulge. Either way, you come up empty. The fact is, most of us haven't been taught how to drink well.

In Barstool Theology, Trevor Gundlach cracks open an entirely new way to talk about beer and exactly how it can be an effervescent part of a life well lived. He invites you to become a fellow barstool theologian, ready to discuss the theology of life, friendship, art, seasons, celebrations, and, yes, delicious craft beer.

Barstool Theology does not lay down rules to follow but offers practical ideas to try. It is full of reflection, humor, analogies, ancient philosophy, and Instagram-worthy stories that open a new dialogue about drinking that is fresh, flavorful, and fun.

So, pull up a barstool. Let's have a drink and talk.

This book gathers fourteen Catholic scholars to present, examine, and explain the often misunderstood process of deification. The fifteen chapters show what becoming God meant for the early Church, for St. Thomas Aquinas and the greatest Dominicans, and for St. Francis and the early Franciscans. This book explains how this understanding of salvation played out during the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent. It explores the thought of the French School of Spirituality, various Thomists, John Henry Newman, John Paul II, and the Vatican Councils, and it shows where such thinking can be found today in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. No other book has gathered such an array of scholars or provided such a deep study into how humanity's divinized life in Christ has received many rich and various perspectives over the past two thousand years. This book seeks to bring readers into the central mystery of Christianity by allowing the Church's greatest thinkers and texts to speak for themselves, demonstrating how becoming Christ-like and the Body of Christ on earth, is the only ultimate purpose of the Christian faith.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Society is lost and confused about God, morality, and eternity. Catholics face persecution, from outside and inside the Church, for living their Faith. Priests speak out against errors and corruption in their own hierarchy, only to be marginalized and punished by their superiors. The few bishops who remain faithful to the changeless teaching of Christ are rebuked and "canceled," even by the pope himself, and sent into exile. Catholics longing for reverent worship are forced out of their parishes and into makeshift venues.

This is a description of the Catholic Church in the fourth century.

With similar patterns recurring in our time, one Catholic bishop is calling out to souls:

"Know the errors and embrace the truth!"

In Flee from Heresy, Bishop Athanasius Schneider -- raised among persecuted Catholics in the Soviet Union -- offers a systematic treatment of more than 130 doctrinal errors, from ancient times down to our own day, along with English translations of the Church's major anti-heresy documents of the past two centuries.

In this fascinating exposé, you will discover the ideological roots of our own unsteady times and be better equipped to "test all things; hold fast what is good" (1 Thess. 5:21). You will learn:

Combining theological precision, superb historical insight, and concrete principles for action today, Flee from Heresy is a timely and trustworthy guide to errors old and new.

First published in 1921, Fr. Prummer's Handbook of Moral Theology was immediately regarded as an international classic. The author's clarity of vision, precision of expression, and humble fidelity to the traditional Catholic moral framework during a period of social upheaval and increasing doctrinal deviation made his manual the standard reference text for generations of clergy, seminarians, and laity. For those seeking answers to moral questions, the Catholic advice was often "Look it up in Prummer!"

At long last, this centenary edition restores the superb English translation of 1956 in a fresh new typesetting, making Fr. Prummer's original text much easier to navigate and more pleasant to read. The many citation errors that plagued earlier editions have been painstakingly corrected, and scores of additional citations have been added from Aquinas's Summa Theologiae, Denzinger's Enchiridion, and the Roman Catechism - three of the author's favorite sources. The topical index has likewise been expanded and now includes technical moral terms of more recent use (such as "double effect") to allow for more rapid contemporary reference.

After a brilliant introduction to the science of moral theology, part 1 explores the end of man and all aspects of human conduct, and part 2 examines the sacraments and sacramentals and their core importance to the Catholic moral life. These packed pages contain the traditional Catholic moral teachings on:

In our own time of widespread confusion and decay, Fr. Prümmer's Handbook is the definitive and complete Catholic source book of the Church's moral doctrine as it was received and taught before the laxity and innovations of the last century. Far more than a work of mere historical interest, this surprisingly relevant guide to Christian moral perfection is a treasure that will endure as long as there are souls seeking eternal life.

"Fr. Mullady offers a readable and rock-solidly reliable treatment of what is surely the most important -- and debated -- subject in contemporary Catholic theology. His approach to Church doctrine (ecclesiology) demonstrates the profound consistency and coherence of the Magisterium's teaching as it draws from biblical and patristic sources and develops from the medieval to the modern period, culminating in Vatican II's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium). In the process, Fr. Mullady applies a 'hermeneutic of continuity' to show the deep convergence of Vatican I and Vatican II (no small feat!). Along the way, readers gain a renewed sense of the indispensable role of classical Thomism for doing Catholic theology -- with precision, fidelity and flexibility." -- Dr. Scott Hahn

For decades, we have heard the phrase "the spirit of the council." Here is the book that will elevate your understanding of the Church by helping you unpack what one of the central documents of the Second Vatican Council -- Lumen Gentium -- really taught and understand it through the lens of traditional Church teachings, history, and philosophy.

As Fr. Mullady explains the supernatural character of the Church and our universal call to holiness, you will discover the authentic character and purpose of the People of God and the unique vocations to which we are called. You will also learn about:

- The trinitarian life of the Church and its role as mystery and sacrament
- Ecumenism and the necessity of the Church for salvation
- Sensus Fidelium and discernment of truth in matters of faith
- Papal and episcopal infallibility and types of doctrine
- Marriage, family, and the mission of the laity in the Church
- The indispensability of the sacramental life for sanctification

As you learn about the role of the Church on earth, you will see how it is the channel through which we receive God's grace to attain Heaven. By growing in understanding of the continuity of teaching, you will be empowered to give a more fervent witness to Christ and the life-giving hope and joy to which we are called.

Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988), a prolific Catholic theologian from Switzerland, has been called a "new Father of the Church". His work--shaped not only by traditional theology and philosophy, but by literature, art, and music--made an impact on both Saint John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Aidan Nichols, O.P., describes Balthasar's fifteen-volume masterwork, the Trilogy, as "perhaps the high-point of twentieth-century Catholic theology".

Yet for all Balthasar's brilliance, the core of his theology is extraordinarily simple: love--for God is love. Love lies at the center of life, indeed, at the center of being itself. For Balthasar, the answers to all of man's big, existential questions revolve around love.

The Meaning of the World Is Love, compiled by psychologist Richard Clements, brings Balthasar's meditations to a wider audience, using brief excerpts from the theologian to walk readers through the landscape of divine love, which is our home. The path of love is the path of self-gift--as well as of truth, goodness, and beauty--and it is the only way to genuine fulfillment. Balthasar, as Clements shows, can point us to the very heart of reality: God, who gives himself to us without reserve.

We live in apocalyptic times: secularization, persecution, and atheism abound. In the history of the Church, the faithful relied on councils to unify and help them weather life's fierce trials. But what recourse do we have when the synods themselves begin sparking confusion and discord?

Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong was formed during the "wind of Pentecost" surrounding the Second Vatican Council and taught theology and philosophy in seminaries for more than fifty years. In these pages, collected from His Eminence's homilies, pastoral letters, and addresses, Cardinal Zen breaks open the Gospels and Sacred Tradition to help you remain steadfast in the true Faith and enliven your personal relationship with our Lord.

These wise teachings will safeguard you and provide the spiritual medicine and "rich nutrition" need for fruitful daily living. Cardinal Zen reveals how to transmit the Faith with vitality and love to every generation -- even from your own home. Through his insights, drawn from extraordinary real-life experience, you will also glean:

Regardless of where you are on your faith journey, Cardinal Zen reminds you: "Jesus has crazily fallen in love with you with all His heart, has dedicated Himself to you, and will not give up on you." As you encounter Christ's transformative presence in your life, you will be empowered with the courage to invite others to loving union with Him.

In this volume five Cardinals of the Church, and four other scholars, respond to the call issued by Cardinal Walter Kasper for the Church to harmonize "fidelity and mercy in its pastoral practice with civilly remarried, divorced people."

Beginning with a concise introduction, the first part of the book is dedicated to the primary biblical texts pertaining to divorce and remarriage, and the second part is an examination of the teaching and practice prevalent in the early Church. In neither of these cases, biblical or patristic, do these scholars find support for the kind of "toleration" of civil marriages following divorce advocated by Cardinal Kasper. This book also examines the Eastern Orthodox practice of oikonomia (understood as "mercy" implying "toleration") in cases of remarriage after divorce and in the context of the vexed question of Eucharistic communion. It traces the centuries long history of Catholic resistance to this convention, revealing serious theological and canonical difficulties inherent in past and current Orthodox Church practice.

Thus, in the second part of the book, the authors argue in favor of retaining the theological and canonical rationale for the intrinsic connection between traditional Catholic doctrine and sacramental discipline concerning marriage and communion.

The various studies in this book lead to the conclusion that the Church's longstanding fidelity to the truth of marriage constitutes the irrevocable foundation of its merciful and loving response to the individual who is civilly divorced and remarried. The book therefore challenges the premise that traditional Catholic doctrine and contemporary pastoral practice are in contradiction.

"Because it is the task of the apostolic ministry to ensure that the Church remains in the truth of Christ and to lead her ever more deeply into that truth, pastors must promote the sense of faith in all the faithful, examine and authoritatively judge the genuineness of its expressions and educate the faithful in an ever more mature evangelical discernment." - St. John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio

G.K. Chesterton's brilliant sketch of the life and thought of Thomas Aquinas is as relevant today as when it was published in 1933. Then it earned the praise of such distinguished writers as Etienne Gilson, Jacques Martain, and Anton Pegis as the best book ever written on the great thirteenth-century Dominican. Today Chesterton's classic stands poised to reveal Thomas to a new generation.

Chesterton's Aquinas is a man of mystery. Born into a noble Neapolitan family, Thomas chose the life of a mendicant friar. Lumbering and shy -- his classmates dubbed him "the Dumb Ox" -- he led a revolution in Christian thought. Possessed of the rarest brilliance, he found the highest truth in the humblest object. Having spent his life amid the vast intricacies of reason, he asked on his deathbed to have read aloud the Song of Songs, the most passionate book in the Bible.

As Albert the Great, Thomas's teacher, predicted, the Dumb Ox has bellowed down the ages to our own day. Chesterton's book will enlighten those who would consign Thomas to the obscurity of medieval times. It will confound those who would use Thomas to bolster arid schemes of Christian rationalism. Rather, it will introduce the wondrous mystery of the man who, after a life of unparalleled genius, was seized by a vision of the Unknown and said, "I can write no more. I have seen things which make all my writings like straw."