Francis of Assisi: a New Biography by Augustine Thompson, O.P.

Several years ago Dr. Mark Johnson created the ”book essentials” page on thomistica.net.  Dr. Johnson explains the ratio of this page as follows:

Of course no single book captures it all, but giving people a list of 50 books is of little help, too. So I let my thought-experiment be: “If I had to recommend ten books for someone starting out, what would they be?” The books listed below fit that bill for me; some of them are essential (e.g., Torrell’s two biographical books on Thomas), and others are reliable resources and introductions.

One of the volumes on this list is Augustine Thompson’s extremely helpful book, Cities Of God: The Religion Of The Italian Communes (Penn State Press, 2005).

Just out with Cornell University Press is Fr. Thompson’s most recent book-length foray into the Middle Ages, Francis of Assisi: A New Biography. 

According to early reviews, it looks like Fr. Thompson has produced yet another “book essential” for students of Medieval thought, life, and culture.  Fruimini

Christ and Spirituality in St. Thomas Aquinas: A New Book by Fr. Torrell

Thanks to The Catholic University of America Press and translator, Fr. Bernhard Blankenhorn, O.P., a fascinating new collection of essays by noted Aquinas scholar, Fr. Jean-Pierre Torrell, O.P., is now available in English.  This is the second volume in the new Thomistic Ressourcement Series.

The essays in the volume treat diverse aspects of Aquinas’ theology, including: theology and sanctity, friendship, charity, prayer and Aquinas’ spirituality, configuration to Christ, the priesthood, and preaching.  Throughout the text Fr. Torrell carefully underscores the deep and pervasive union of faith, spirituality, and scientific rigor in Aquinas’ approach to theology.

2011 Aquinas Lecture at Ave Maria University

Annual Aquinas Lecture this Friday: God the Father in the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas

Fr. John Baptist Ku, O.P., of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., will deliver the annual Aquinas Lecture at 12:00pm on Friday 10/28 in the Henkels Academic Building, room 1012.  The Aquinas Lecture is sponsored by the Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal of Ave Maria University.  The lecture title is “God the Father in the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas.” The Aquinas Lecture is free of charge and open to the public.

Fr. Ku is the 2010 recipient of the Aquinas Center’s Dissertation Prize.  His dissertation, “God the Father in the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas,” was directed by Fr. Gilles Emery, O.P., at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.  The Aquinas Lecture is delivered each year by the recipient of the Dissertation Prize.