New Volume From Fr. Richard Schenk, OP

The latest offering from Sapientia Press of Ave Maria University, published this past April, is a compilation of essays on St. Thomas and his theology from Fr. Richard Schenk, OP, of the Western Dominican Province. Soundings in the History of a Hope: New Studies on Thomas Aquinas, the newest installment in the Faith & Reason series, seeks to undertake the beginnings of a retrieval of Thomistic thought in order to put it at the service of the Church today. The essays range from an examination of the role and task of Thomism in the Church today, to a study of the axiom of nature and grace in St. Thomas, to a treatment of the present significance of Aquinas' teaching on the question of sacrifice.

Fr. Schenk sums up the purpose of the volume in his Preface:

“The essays gathered in this volume do not intend to revolutionize the common view of Thomas Aquinas that became conventional a good while ago and still lingers for many of his admirers and detractors. Neither do they seek to repeat it....These studies do intend to use the recollection of his uneven reception together with the new historical sources and tools that have become available in the last 150 years to explore, connect, and deepen here and there our sense of Thomas in the context of his own time and to receive what was most programmatic about Thomas himself for many - of course not for all - of the problems most pressing today. (vii)”

Fr. Schenk's new book promises to be a helpful resource for Thomistic scholars in engaging contemporary issues in theology and society at large.