We Speak because We Have First Been Spoken: A Grammar of the Preaching Life by Michael Pasquarello III (review)

BOOK REVIEWS 645 nuanced observations about the reception and application of Albert's moral teaching precisely in the environment that Albert himself desired to make the most impact-amongst his own confreres and in their dealing with real-life ethical quandaries. To a degree, Cunningham is guilty of the same Aquinascentrism that he rails against, when virtually his sole touchstone and point of comparison for Albert's thought within the Dominican order is that of his more illustrious student. In fairness, Cunningham's is a more philosophical project. He is attempting to show that Albert did indeed stand alone in his time in looking at moral doctrine from a purely philosophical point of view, not as something conditioned by theological assumptions about man's behavior or final end. The opposite of virtue for Albert is not sin, but action contrary to natural law. Still, it is with regard to Cunningham's general premise, rather than his particular readings, that one might raise the most pertinent question, namely, whether he has actually succeeded in demonstrating that Albert did devise a completely new philosophically, as opposed to theologically, coherent system of ethical doctrine. There is no doubt that Cunningham's study has shown Albert to have reached some original conclusions that earlier Scholastics had shied away from, and that he pursued Aristotle's thought with an exceptionally clear-sighted rigor. But one is not altogether convinced that it all adds up to a new system. Arguably, what Albert achieved was the first thoroughgoing exposition of Aristotle in the medieval West that did what Cunningham claims it did, which is that it left Christian theological assumptions to one side as it teased out the implications of the natural moral theory Aristotle presents. Where Albert systematically diverges from Aristotle-what makes this something other than an Aristotelian ethical universe-is not nearly so clear in Cunningham's appraisal. But it is an appraisal worth reading. Pontifical Institute ofMediaeval Studies Toronto, Ontario, Canada M. MICHELE MULCHAHEY We Speak because We Have First Been Spoken: A Grammar ofthe Preaching Life. By MICHAELPASQUARELLO III. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2009. Pp. viii+ 158. $18.00 (paper). ISBN 978-0-8028-2917-7. Michael Pasquarello, who holds an endowed professorship in preaching at Asbury Theological Seminary, summarizes the major concern of his book as follows: "The person of the preacher is now a mere technician, a 'communicator,' whose task is to produce results, rather than a truthful witness to the wisdom and virtue of the incarnate Word, whom we are called to follow 646 BOOK REVIEWS and proclaim as the source and end of things" (vi). Admittedly, the best preachers do tend to be exceptional communicators who can fill the pews and inspire others to give of their time and talents. But the focus on numerical results forgets that spiritual acts such as repentance, conversion, and growth in faith and love cannot be empirically measured. Furthermore, truthful witness to Christ crucified is often not popular. The book ably defends a non-empirically driven, non-technique-oriented homiletics. The first two chapters explore truthful speech in the context of conformity to the crucified and risen Lord. Pasquarello insists upon the importance of theological formation for good preaching. Preaching requires doctrinal training in order to be appropriately "directed toward God" (18). Yet what doctrinal training reveals is that Christian truth cannot simply be learned intellectually; faith's knowledge is embodied in charity, as is manifested most clearly by the truth ofthe gospel, "the wisdom of Christ's cross and resurrection" (19). The grace of the Holy Spirit, who gives us the gift of faith, transforms not only our minds but our whole way of life-despite our sinful weakness. We discover that doctrinal truth is embedded in, and requires, embodied praise of the God who reveals himself in Christ and the Holy Spirit. Truthful speech is not simply a matter of knowing the truth, rather, it also involves an entire way of life, rooted in the Church's liturgy and able to be described as "faithful performance" (20). Pasquarello emphasizes the need for the "congruence between the one of whom we speak and the one who speaks" (21). As he puts...