that this is not a sign that Porvoo is just as
stone dead in the UK as it is in Norway.
I cannot here comment more specifically and
in detail on the individual essays of the
book, also due to the great diversity they
reflect. Personally, however, I was intrigued
by the implicit discussion between Mary
Tanner and Michael Root on the so-called
models of unity in general and the Lutheran
model of "unity in reconciled diversity" in
particular, Seen from my point of view, the
model in question increasingly emerges as
insuffieient - perhaps not in itse1f, but more
in its actual practice when it is being linked
with a static concept of diversity where the
churches are allowed to "remain as they
are." This indieates that there is astrong
need to insist on a concrete growth in unity
that willlead the churches into a common
life and to maintain, with Rene Beaupere,
that the reunited church lies beyond all ex-
isting ecelesial realities.
Moreover, I read the contribution of Jean-
Marie Tillard with a mixture of sadness that
he is not among us any more and deep grati-
tude for his vital serviees to the ecumenical
movement. The present paper may perhaps
be seen as a reflection of the legacy of this
great ecumenist. I quote its conelusion: "No
church, no confessional family, is today able
to work alone or in isolation for the preser-
vation and growth of its faith. It needs oth-
erso This is certainly a 'sign of the times'. An
ecumenieal sign. Ex tenebris lur' (p. 202).
Among the many other interesting and chal-
lenging essays of this volume, I must settle
with mentioning the helpful contributions
of Christopher Hill and Jeremy Morris.
Generally, some readers may feel that the
present book does not contain much new for
those who have been following ecumenical
debates for a while and that the contribu-
tors have more to say about the unity we
have than the unity we seek. In a certain
sense this may be true. However, as things
are it is both legitimate and necessary to
keep insisting on our past achievements in
this field. The crueial ecumenicallessons and
resuIts of the latter part of the twentieth cen-
tury -lessons that appear to have been so
blatantly forgotten during the last years -
need to be repeated over and over again.
And they need to be reaffirmed in our ef-
forts to confront new challenges in our
search and longing for communion.
Seen in this perspective, I would like to ex-
press my gratitude that most of the essays
PRO ECCLESIA VOL. XlV, No. 2
of this book contain affirmations of the ba-
sic visibility of church fellowship - if in
varying ways. This used to be the aim of
the ecumenical movement. Today,however,
it often seems to have been forgotten, sur-
rendered or swapped with static diversity.
Thus the key challenge for our future ecu-
menical efforts has been identified, namely
to reaffirm our commitment to the goal of
visible structured unity - in order that the
world may see and believe. It is my hope
that the present book will contribute to such
a commitment. D
Jean-Pierre Torrell, O.P.
Saint ThomasAquinas: Spiritual Master, trans.
Robert Royal (Washington:The Catholic Uni-
versity of America Press, 2003), xii + 422 pp.
Reviewed by John F. Boyle, University of
St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN
This book is an answer to the question: "Is
there really a spirituality unique to Tho-
mas?" (p. ix). Toanswer this question, Torrell
provides us with a study in the spirituality
of St. Thomas Aquinas. This book is worthy
of serious attention, not only from students
of Thomas, but also from anyone with a se-
rious intellectual interest in the topie of spiri-
tuality. Indeed, many might well be sur-
prised at how remarkably pertinent Thomas
is to this topie.
Jean-Pierre Torrell is one of the most impor-
tant living scholars of Thomas Aquinas, and
English speaking scholarship is fortunate to
have whatever it can get in translation. In
1993, Torrell published in French the first
volume of his biography of Aquinas, pub-
lished in English in 1996under the title: Saint
Thomas Aquinas: The Person and his Work.
Firmly located in the genre of intellectual bi-
ography, the first volume represents the eur-
rent state of research in the life and works of
Thomas, especially with an eye to his work
and influence as a theologian. The year of the
English translation saw the publication in
French of the second volume of that biogra-
phy, now fortunately in English translation
as St. Thomas Aquinas: Spirifual Master. This
welcome book is unlike any other. Building
on the biographical work of the first volume,
TOITell presents a systematic vision of Tho-
mas as a spiritual writer and theologian. Al-
though this second volume naturally enough
239
flows from the first, it nonetheless stands as
its own volume and can be read legitimately
and fruitfully on its own.
Torrell does not explicitly answer his ques-
tion - "Is there a spirituality unique to Tho-
mas?" - until the final pages of the book.
His answer is succinct and wise. "We must
not seek Thomas's special character, therefore,
in this or that trait, more or less artificially
taken out of context, but in the totality of
thought that holds various dimensions, easy
to sacrifice to one another, in a rarely broken
equilibrium" (p. 382). The book is simulta-
neously an exposition of Thomas' thought
and an argument for this conelusion. As one
would expect, Torrell succeeds in both.
For Torrell, to consider the spirituality of St.
Thomas Aquinas is not to ferret out one topic
amidst a thousand others; it is, instead, to
see a foundational dynamism to the whole
of Thomas' thought. Thus one finds ex-
pected material (a consideration of the term
spiritualitas, for example, or the significance
of Thomas' understanding of created grace);
but one also finds traditional theological and
Thomistic topies that one might not imme-
diately expect to find in a work on spiritu-
ality. Torrell articulates, for example, the
spiritual implications of such philosophical
positions as the unicity of substantial form
and Thomas' opposition to the Averroists on
the unicity of the intelleet. Indeed, the orga-
nization of the book might well be that of a
more general study of the theology of Tho-
mas. The introductory chapter considers the
nature of theology, part I is on the nature of
God, and part II is on the nature of man as
he is ordered to and returns to his creator. It
is precisely here that we see the great contri-
bution of this book. Torrellpresents the wide
scope of Thomas' theological reflection pre-
cisely through the lens of St. Thomas as a
master of the spiritualille. Readers of Tho-
mas will find familiar topies, but considered
in remarkably fresh ways. Readers new to
Thomas will find not simply an introduction
to some kind of limited "spirituality" but to
the theology of Thomas precisely as it is
rooted in a spiritual understanding of God,
creation and man.
Thus the first and most important thing to
note about this book is its situation of spiri-
tuality within a theologically integrated
whole. For Thomas, considerations of the
spiritual life cannot be divorced from con-
siderations of moral theology, systematie
theology and scriptural theology. What Tho-
240
mas has to offer, in part, is precisely a elearly
articulated insistence upon and model of the
integration of a "spiritual theology" within
a larger frame that refuses to be dominated
by sub-disciplinary boundaries.
Secondly to be noted is the extent to which
Torrelllets Thomas speak for himself. Torrell
has an uncanny eye for the illurninating quo-
tation. He guides the reader in navigating the
technical vocabulary and the line of argu-
ment. One finds here elassie passages read in
a new light. Readers will also find less well-
known passages of great insight and beauty.
Most importantly, Torrell consistently uses
Thomas' commentaries on Scripture. Torrell
shows time and time again how deeply scrip-
tural Thomas' thinking is. He does this not
only by quoting Thomas' commentaries on
Scripture, but by showing how the Scripture
commentaries shed light on the systematic
works and the systematic works in turn shed
light on the commentaries.
Finally, one should note the notes. The foot-
notes in this volume are gems. As the topies
unfold, Torrell provides guidance for further
reading within the vast corpus of Thomas'
writings. He also provides guidance to the
secondary literature. He never overwhelms
with annoy.ing notes survey.ing the literature.
Instead, he guides his reader to significant
and helpful secondary work, mostly contem-
porary; that provides further fruitful study.
For any number of topics in the thought of
Aquinas, Torrell's footnotes provide a natu-
ral first stop. Torrell's erudition is remarkable
but wom humbly.
This hook is for the serious but should not be
limited to the specialist. It deserves a wide read-
ership and a deep influence.SpirituaI theology
and systematic theology in general, as weIl as
the study of Thomas Aquinas in particular,
can all benefit enormously from this book. D
W. T. Diekens
Hans Urs von Balthasar's Theolagieal Aesthet-
ics: A Made!for Post-Critical Hermeneutics
(Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame
Press, 2003), x + 336 pp.
Reviewed by Edward T.Oakes, S.J.,Univer-
sity of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein, IL
If from nothing else, we all have been made
aware of how much knowledge of the Bible
has almost completely vanished from the
Reviews