Between God and Man

Cover

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Frontmatter

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pp. i-iv

Contents

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pp. v-vi

Foreword

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pp. vii-xii

The study of the role of preaching is central to an understanding of the nature of the church.¹ The New Testament makes clear that preaching occupied an important place in the creation of the church. While there are numerous mentions and even summaries...

Introduction

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pp. xiii-xxxii

“Among the many ministries that belong to the pastoral office, the virtue of holy preaching is the most excellent.”¹ Thus the brilliant and controversial Pope Innocent III proclaimed what he believed to be the highest priority among his duties as chief...

Prologue. Letter to Arnald

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pp. 1-6

This letter from Innocent III to the Abbot of Cîteaux was sent to that monastery with a collection of the Pope’s sermons at the request of his chaplain Nicholas, a Cistercian monk. The letter is always included as a Prologue to Innocent’s...

Sermon 1. In Council of Priests

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pp. 7-15

The opening words of this sermon, addressed to the assembled clergy of a Roman synod, clearly illustrate Innocent III’s concept of priesthood: the image of the priest as intercessor, interposed between God and mankind by the power and duties of his office...

Sermon 2. On the Consecration of the Supreme Pontiff

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pp. 16-27

Innocent III composed this sermon for the occasion of his consecration as Bishop of Rome, February 22, 1198, the Feast of St. Peter’s Chair at Antioch, six weeks after his election as Pope.¹The Gospel reading for the feast day included the “Tu es Petrus”...

Sermon 3. On the First Anniversary

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pp. 28-40

Behind the altar, in the apse of the old Basilica of St. Peter was a mosaic portraying Innocent III as the bridegroom of the Roman church. This stylized picture placed that marriage at the center of salvation history...

Sermon 4. On the Consecration of Pontiffs

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pp. 41-50

In what he himself calls a “terrifying and irrefutable” argument, Innocent III presents the thesis for this sermon in an unusual form, a scholastically framed syllogism. This gives his message an abrupt and exigent introduction...

Sermon 6 . Convening the Fourth General Council of the Lateran

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pp. 51-63

The Fourth Lateran Council was convened by Pope Innocent III on November 11, 1215. To initiate this great pastoral reform council, he had appropriately chosen a holy day of obligation, the feast of Martin of Tours...

Sermon 7. In Synod

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pp. 64-77

Once again addressing his clergy in synod, Innocent now unfolds his ascetical theology of Holy Orders within the powerful historic and poetic setting of Psalm Sixty-seven (LXX numeration). Even today this remains...

Epilogue

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pp. 78-80

In the letter he wrote to his friend Arnald as a prologue to a collection of his sermons, Innocent III said that preaching is the “gate to Paradise.” Poetically at least, this was to be true for him. A century after Innocent’s death...

Endnotes

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pp. 81-116

Bibliography

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pp. 117-124

Index of Modern Authors

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pp. 125-126

Scriptural Index

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pp. 127-133