Reading John with St. Thomas Aquinas—Ressourcement and the Fourth Gospel
October 5-6, 2001

Breaking the barriers that separate modern from pre-Enlightenment exegesis and speculative theology

“The ‘study of the sacred page’ should be the very soul of sacred theology” (Dei Verbum #24)

Ressourcement, as understood by Vatican II and developed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Cardinal Henri de Lubac, invites a return to the sources in order to renew and enrich contemporary theology. In this spirit, the conference seeks to breaks the barriers that separate modern from pre-critical exegesis and speculative theology. The conference aims at further developing the rationale for a method of exegesis that interprets the Scripture historically not only by attention to the authorship and historicity of the texts, but also, and primarily, through the lens of tradition and with a speculative intention. This ecclesial exegesis, exemplified by St. Thomas Aquinas, reads Scripture within the living tradition, seeking (in faith) speculative understanding of the Creator, mankind, and eternal life.

“Sacred Scripture is written principally in the Church’s heart rather than in documents and records, for the Church carries in her Tradition the living memorial of God’s Word, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives her the spiritual interpretation of the Scripture” (Catechism of the Catholic Church #113)

From the Conference Program:

Keynote Address: Fr. Romanus Cessario, OP

Session 1: Revelation
Dr. John Boyle, Dr. Michael Dauphinais, Dr. Matthew Levering,
Fr. Michael Sherwin, OP

Session 2: The Triune God
Fr. Gilles Emery, OP, Dr. Bruce Marshall, Fr. Gilles Mongeau,SJ,
Mr. Kevin Vaughan, Dr. Timothy Smith

Session 3: God and the World
Dr. Stephen Brown, Fr. David Burrell, CSC, Dr. Scott Hahn,
Fr. Matthew Lamb

Session 4: Life in Christ
Dr. Carlo Leget, Dr. Steven Long, Dr. Janet Smith

Session 5: The Person & Work of Christ
Fr. Benedict Ashley, OP, Dr. Paul Gondreau, Fr. Richard Schenk, OP, Dr. Wilhelmus Valkenberg

Session 6: Church and Sacraments
Dr. Frederick Bauerschmidt, Fr. Serge-Thomas Bonino, OP, Dr. Joseph Wawrykow

Keynote Address: Dr. Michael Waldstein

Short Biographies of Speakers:

Benedict M. Ashley, OP, is professor of moral theology emeritus at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis. He presently is a research Fellow at the John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C. He is the author of numerous distinguished books and articles on moral theology. Among his recent books are Justice in the Church (Catholic University of America Press), Choosing a Worldview and Value System (Alba House), and Living the Truth in Love (Alba House).

Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt is associate professor of theology at Loyola College in Maryland and serves as co-editor of the journal Modern Theology. In addition to numerous articles, he has authored Julian of Norwich and the Mystical Body Politic of Christ (University of Notre Dame Press) and is currently preparing an introduction to the tertia pars of the Summa Theologiae.

Serge-Thomas Bonino, OP., serves as dean of the Catholic University of Toulouse, where he teaches philosophy. Fr. Bonino is also the director of studies for the Dominicans in Toulouse and a founding member of the Institut Saint-Thomas d’Aquin, a center for advanced studies in Thomistic theology. He is the author of numerous studies on St. Thomas and the history of Thomism. He serves as the editor of the Revue thomiste.

John F. Boyle is associate professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, and also lectures in the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity at the University of St. Thomas. Dr. Boyle is presently editing St. Thomas Aquinas’s Roman Commentary. His numerous scholarly articles include “St. Thomas and the Analogy of Potentia Generandi” and “Thomas Aquinas and Sacred Scripture.”

Stephen F. Brown is professor of systematic theology at Boston College. In addition to numerous articles on topics in medieval philosophy and theology, he has published critical editions of the works of Ockham, and has edited the English translation of St. Bonaventure’s Journey of the Mind to God. He is the director of the Medieval Institute for Philosophy and Theology at Boston College.

David B. Burrell, CSC, is the Theodore Hesburgh Professor in Philosophy and Theology at the University of Notre Dame. Fr. Burrell has written numerous books and articles in comparative philosophical theology, including God and Action, Knowing the Unknowable God, Freedom and Creation in Three Traditions, and Friendship and Ways to Truth. He has co-translated Al-Ghazali on the Ninety-Nine Beautiful Names of God (Islamic Texts Society) and has translated Al-Ghazali’s Book of Faith in Divine Unity and Trust in God’s Providence (Fons Vitae).

Romanus Cessario, OP, is professor of systematic theology at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, MA. In addition to articles and reviews, he has authored many books, including Introduction to Moral Theology (CUA Press), Christian Faith and the Theological Life (CUA Press), The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics (University of Notre Dame Press), The Godly Image (St. Bede’s), Le thomisme et les thomistes (Cerf), and Veritatis Splendor and the Renewal of Moral Theology (Midwest Theological Forum). He edits a series in moral theology for Fordham University Press, and serves as associate editor of The Thomist and Senior Editor of Magnificat.

Michael Dauphinais is Academic Dean and assistant professor of theology at Ave Maria University. His dissertation, “Christ the Teacher in St. Thomas Aquinas: The Pedagogy of the Incarnation,” is under review for publication. With Matthew Levering, he has authored the forthcoming Knowing the Love of Christ: An Introduction to the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas (University of Notre Dame Press). He is the co-editor of the English edition of Nova et Vetera.

Gilles Emery, OP, is professor of dogmatic theology at the University of Fribourg. In addition to numerous scholarly articles, he has authored La Trinité créatrice (Vrin) and co-edited, with Pierre Gisel, Le Christianisme est-il un monotheisme?. He is currently preparing a collection of essays to be published in English. He is a member of the editorial board of the Revue thomiste.

Paul Gondreau is assistant professor of theology at Providence College, where he teaches in both the undergraduate and graduate programs. He is the author of the recently published The Passions of Christ’s Soul in the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas (Aschendorff), which originated as a doctoral dissertation under Professor Jean-Pierre Torrell, OP.

Scott Hahn is professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is the founder and director of the Institute of Applied Biblical Studies. He has authored a number of best-selling theological books, including Hail, Holy Queen (Doubleday), The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth (Doubleday), and most recently the well-reviewed First Comes Love (Doubleday).

Matthew L. Lamb is professor of theology at Boston College. He has published more than 125 articles and essays in a variety of journals and has authored several books, including Solidarity with Victims (Crossroad). He is the translator of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Commentary on St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians (Magi Books).

Carlo Leget is associate professor of moral theology and postdoctoral research fellow at the Catholic Theological University of Utrecht. He is an active member of the Thomas Instituut at Utrecht, and a frequent contributor to the Instituut’s Jaarboek. In addition to numerous articles, his publications include Living with God:Thomas Aquinas on the Relation between Life on Earth and 'Life' after Death (Peeters), a bilingual (Latin-Dutch) edition of Aquinas' Sermons on the Ten Commandments (Meinema), and a bilingual edition of Aquinas’ Sermons on the Lord's Prayer and Hail Mary (Meinema). He is co-editor of Aquinas as Authority (Peeters).

Matthew Levering is assistant professor of theology at Ave Maria University. In addition to a number of articles and reviews, he has authored Christ’s Fulfillment of Torah and Temple: Salvation According to St. Thomas Aquinas (University of Notre Dame Press) and co-authored the forthcoming Knowing the Love of Christ: An Introduction to the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas (University of Notre Dame Press). With Fr. Sylvester Ajagbe, he has edited On the Priesthood: Classic and Contemporary Texts (currently under review for publication). He serves on the editorial board of Catholic University of America Press’s Thomas Aquinas in Translation series, and is co-editor of the English edition of Nova et Vetera.

Gilles Mongeau, S.J. is lecturer in systematic theology at Regis College of the University of Toronto. He has studied theology at Regis College, Boston College, and the University of Fribourg. At present he is completing his dissertation on the pedagogy of the Summa Theologiae.

Steven A. Long is visiting professor of philosophy at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has published numerous important articles in scholarly journals and books, and has lectured widely on questions of metaphysics and ethics from a Thomistic philosophical perspective. He is preparing a collection of his essays for publication.

Bruce D. Marshall is professor of historical theology at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. He has played an important role in the ecumenical dialogue between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas. In addition to numerous scholarly and popular articles, he is the author, most recently, of Trinity and Truth (Cambridge University Press).

Richard A. Schenk, OP, has taught theology in Germany, Switzerland, and the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, California, where he presently teaches. In 1991 he became a director of the Hanover Institute of Philosophical Research. He is the author of numerous articles in contemporary systematic theology, comparative theology, and medieval theology. For the Catholic University of America Press, he is preparing a new edition of Aquinas’ Commentary on the Gospel of John.

Michael S. Sherwin, OP, is professor of theology at the University of Fribourg. He has also taught at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, California. Fr. Sherwin’s translation of Morality: A Catholic View from the French edition by Servais Pinckaers, O.P. has been recently published by St. Augustine’s Press. A frequent contributor to scholarly journals and conferences, Fr. Sherwin has authored a forthcoming monograph on the theological virtue of charity’s relationship to knowledge in the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Janet E. Smith is currently visiting professor of philosophy at Ave Maria University and Sacred Heart Major Seminary. She holds the post of professor of philosophy at the University of Dallas. In addition to many scholarly and popular articles, she has published Humanae Vitae: A Generation Later (Catholic University of America Press) and Why Humanae Vitae was Right: A Reader (Ignatius Press).

Timothy L. Smith is tutor at Thomas Aquinas College in California. In addition to a number of scholarly articles and reviews, he is the author of Thomas Aquinas’s Trinitarian Theology (Catholic University of America Press).

Pim Valkenberg is lecturer in dogmatic theology at the Catholic University of Nijmegen. He is a member of the Thomas Instituut at Utrecht and is a frequent contributor to its Jaarboek. In addition to his numerous articles in medieval theology, Christology, and comparative theology, he has authored Words of the Living God: Place and Function of Holy Scripture in the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas (Peeters).

Kevin Vaughan is a doctoral candidate in theology at St. Michael’s College of the University of Toronto.

Michael M. Waldstein is the president of the International Theological Institute in Gaming, Austria. A frequent writer on topics pertaining to the genesis of Christianity, he has co-authored with Frederik Wisse, The Apocryphon of John: Synopsis of Nag Hammadi Codices II,1 III,1 and IV,1 with BG 8502,2 (NHS 33; Leiden: Brill, 1995) and is currently working on a monograph, The Apocryphon of John: A Curious Eddy in the Stream of Hellenistic Judaism. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles related to the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas and Hans Urs von Balthasar.

Joseph Wawrykow is associate professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of God’s Grace and Human Action: ‘Merit’ in the Theology of Thomas Aquinas (University of Notre Dame Press) and the co-editor of Christ Among the Medieval Dominicans (University of Notre Dame Press). His current projects include a volume of translations in high medieval Christology (CUA Press); co-editing a collection of essays on Aquinas the theologian (University of Notre Dame Press); and a book on the Christology of Aquinas that focuses on Thomas’s pedagogical and literary strategies in teaching Christ.