A Companion to the Summa: Volume IV, The Way of Life by Walter Farrell, O. P., S. T. D., S. T. M. (review)

BOOK REVIEWS A Companion to the Summa: Volume IV, The Way of Life. By the REv. WALTER FARRELL, O.P., S. T.D., S. T.M. New York: Sheed and Ward, 194~. Pp. viii+ 464. $3.75. The Way of Life brings to completion a theological work of outstanding excellence. This latest and last volume of Father Farrell's Companion to the Summa corresponds to the Pars Tertia and the Supplementum. In other words, it is concerned with the theology of the Incarnation and the Redemption, the Sacraments and the Last Things. In this, as in the three preceding volumes, the author has striven to produce, as he himself expresses it, a layman's edition of the Summa Theologica. He has been eminently successful. Indeed, he has surpassed his objective, for not only the layman but also the priest and the professional theologian will find in the Companion enlightenment and guidance toward a deeper appreciation of the treasures of sacred lore bequeathed to the Catholic Church by the Angelic Doctor. Twenty chapters make up The Way of Life. The first forms an introduction , developing the theme that the human mind craves mystery. The appetite for mystery is so keen that it leaves a man restless, bored in the face of the obvious. Today, however, the mysterious is too frequently looked upon as an insult to man's intelligence, to his courage, to his willingness to work. The truth of the matter is that the study of mysteryparticularly of the supreme mystery, God-evokes courage and love and promotes the substantial progress of the mind by sharpening the intellectual powers. The three previous volumes of the Companion deal with the mysteries of God and of human conduct in its relation to. God; this volume deals with the climax of mystery, the mystery of God made man. The following ten chapters propound the doctrines of Christology and Soteriology according to the order followed by St. Thomas. The fittingness of the Incarnation, the mode of the hypostatic union, the integrity of our Lord's two natures, the perfections of His humanity and its so-called defects -these vital truths centered about the Word Incarnate are accurately and convincingly presented. Then the author explains the mediatorial office of Christ and traces the course of His earthly life in its main events from His birth to His passion and death, with His subsequent triumph in the resurrection and the ascension. One chapter is devoted to the Virgin Mother of God and her sublime privileges, concluding with a striking contrast between Mary as she is portrayed by Catholic faith and theology and the ideal of womanhood prevalent in the modern world. The twelfth chapter, one of the best in the book, entitled "Fruitful 119 120 BOOK REVIEWS Signs of Life," presents the doctrine of the sacraments in general, stressing particularly the truth that a sacrament is a sign. Then, six chapters are devoted to the study of the individual sacraments, the greatest measure of space being given, as would be expected, to the Holy Eucharist. Naturally, the author brings prominently the ingenious reasoning of St. Thomas for the seven-fold number of the sacraments, especially the parallel between the needs of man's physical life and the spiritual needs cared for by the divinely established signs of supernatural life. " The sacraments greet man from the womb, and usher him to his tomb " (p. 265) . Particularly worthy of praise is Father Farrell's exposition of our Lord's presence in the Blessed Sacrament in the mode of substance (pp. 310-313). The last two chapters are concerned with the solemn verities of death, judgment, the resurrection, eternal reward and everlasting punishment. In its proper place Father Farrell treats the subject of the unending torments of heH without any attempt to compromise with modern notions. " It is not surprising that men should shrink from hell . . . What is surprising and not at aU flattering to humanity is that men should shrink from the truth of hell, as if the place of eternal torment could be obliterated by our denial of it. J[t is a triumph of unreason so to deal with any truth; it is the height of...