Entering into the Mind of Christ: The True Nature of Theology ed. by James Keating (review)

By all accounts, Deacon James Keating is a very busy man. He is not only the Director of the Diaconate Office for the Diocese of Omaha; he also directs the Theological Formation Program for the Institute of Priestly Formation there, and now he has started this very welcome series exploring the intersection between solid Catholic theology and robust priestly spirituality and practice. The title of this compilation is a hint of how each author will argue in his or her own way that to do theology truly is to assimilate the mind of the Incarnate Logos and, as such, Entering into the Mind of Christ contains ten solid essays. This collection of articles is preceded by a foreword by the President of Catholic University of America, John Garvey, as well as an introduction by the ubiquitous John Cavadini of Notre Dame.

Tracey Rowland is the Dean at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Melbourne, and she opens with her question, “How Does Spirituality Supply Theological Study with the Correct Method?” The answer provided comes mainly from the many works of Joseph Ratzinger. In short, if theology is the task of beholding the divine, purity of heart is thus demanded for those who long to see God rightly: “Sound theological work requires a pure heart (the heart in this context being something like the place of integration for the intellect, will, imagination, passions, senses, body, and soul in pursuit of the true, the beautiful, and the good)” (30). Solid Christology stands at the heart of her response to the question of how this is fostered, the only way true friendship between humanity and divinity is realized.

Fr. D. Vincent Twomey, S.V.D., taught morals for years at Maynooth College in Ireland and is now Professor Emeritus. He continues the mining of Ratzinger’s riches with his “Ratzinger on Theology as a Spiritual Science,” wherein he draws from the essential hermeneutical continuity of our rich tradition to show why Ratzinger is such an important link in the Church’s way of seeing both God and the human person.

Daniel A. Keating, of Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, writes mainly on soteriological issues in the Fathers, and here his “The Essential Interrelation between Theology and Spirituality” takes from his masterful appropriation of the tradition. Drawing mainly from Louis Bouyer, Keating wants to help his readers avoid the “dryness” that inevitably creeps into the theologian’s day. One can lose the wonder that originally arose with the discovery of theology, and Keating addresses how to approach the immensity of God in an intelligible way, how to navigate serious theological controversy, how not to be swamped by the larger culture and ever-oppressive media (anyone who has ever taught an undergraduate who has the History Channel in his or her dorm room will need Keating here), and how best to use theology in the kaleidoscopic life of a modern day university.

In my favorite essay of all, Sr. Gill Goulding, C.J., of Regis College at the University of Toronto, uses Hans Urs von Balthasar and the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola to help us see “Holiness of Mind and Heart: The Dynamic Imperative of Conversion and Contemplation for the Study of Theology.” The fullest of our epistemological capacities demands a life of prayer and study, the only means by which the creature will be elevated into the Trinitarian life. Michael Paul Gallagher, S.J., is now Emeritus at the Gregorian University in Rome and is currently serving as the rector of the Jesuit Bellarmine Community there. His “Realization of Wisdom: Fruits of Formation in the Light of Newman” focuses us on the sermons where Newman stresses both the importance of a theologically trained mind and a vulnerable heart longing to grow closer to God.

The essays in the second half of the...