We know much about the Italian city states--the "communes"--of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. But historians have focused on their political accomplishments to the exclusion of their religious life, going so far as to call them "purely secular contrivances." When religion is considered, the subjects are usually saints, heretics, theologians, and religious leaders, thereby ignoring the vast majority of those who lived in the communes. In Cities of God, Augustine Thompson gives a voice to the forgotten majority--orthodox lay people and those who ministered to them....
We know much about the Italian city states--the "communes"--of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. But historians have focused on their political...
This is a translation of the first 20 distinctions of The Decretum or Concordance of Discardant Canons, a compilation of extracts from Church councils, Church fathers and other ecclesiastical authorities, composed in the 12th century by Gratian, a Camaldolese monk. It offers a treatise on law.
This is a translation of the first 20 distinctions of The Decretum or Concordance of Discardant Canons, a compilation of extracts from Church councils...
Recent studies of medieval preaching have tended to focus on sermon texts. This is the first scholarly study in English of preaching and its social context in thirteenth-century Italy. Augustine Thompson O.P., both an academic and a preacher, reconstructs the "Great Devotion" of 1233 and analyzes its devotional, social, political, and legal elements. He shows how the preachers of this revival crafted an image of divine authority that supported their intervention in factional disputes and facilitated their arbitration in social and political conflicts. They exploited forms from revived Roman...
Recent studies of medieval preaching have tended to focus on sermon texts. This is the first scholarly study in English of preaching and its social co...
Acting on Principles, the product of over thirty years of teaching, gives a comprehensive overview of the Moral Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas, placing it in dialogue with contemporary ethical theory and developments in Catholic theology since the Second Vatican Council. Suitable for students of ethics and moral theology, and general readers seeking Christian guidance in the formation of conscience and moral decision making, it presents the classical Catholic ethical tradition in a clear and lively style. ""Fr. Zagar offers us a study that is at once scholarly and accessible to a wide...
Acting on Principles, the product of over thirty years of teaching, gives a comprehensive overview of the Moral Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas, placin...
Among the most beloved saints in the Catholic tradition, Francis of Assisi (c. 1181 1226) is popularly remembered for his dedication to poverty, his love of animals and nature, and his desire to follow perfectly the teachings and example of Christ. During his lifetime and after his death, followers collected, for their own purposes, numerous stories, anecdotes, and reports about Francis. As a result, the man himself and his own concerns became lost in legend.
In this authoritative and engaging new biography, Augustine Thompson, O.P., sifts through the surviving evidence for the life...
Among the most beloved saints in the Catholic tradition, Francis of Assisi (c. 1181 1226) is popularly remembered for his dedication to poverty, hi...
Francis of Assisi: The Life is an elegant and accessible biography of one of Catholicism's most beloved saints. Originally published as Part 1 of Francis of Assisi: A New Biography by Augustine Thompson, O.P., it stands alone as a richly informed portrait of a man whose complex faith and commitment continue to inspire today. A new introduction by Thompson places his biography in the context of continuing discussions about Francis's legacy, particularly the new Pope's decision to adopt the saint's name.
From reviews of Francis of Assisi: A New...
Francis of Assisi: The Life is an elegant and accessible biography of one of Catholicism's most beloved saints. Originally published as Pa...
