The Mystery of Union with God

by Bernhard Blankenhorn OP

Overview

Dionysius the Areopagite exercised immense influence on medieval theology. This study considers various ways in which his doctrine of union with God in darkness marked the early Albert the Great and his student Thomas Aquinas. The Mystery of Union with God considers a broad range of themes in the early Albert's corpus and in Thomas that underlie their mystical theologies and may bear traces of Dionysian influence. These themes include the divine missions, anthropology, the virtues of faith and charity, primary and secondary causality, divine naming, and eschatology. The heart of this work offers detailed exegesis of key union passages in Albert's commentaries on Dionysius, Thomas's Commentary on the Divine Names, and the Summa Theologiae questions on Spirit's gifts of understanding and wisdom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813229157
Publisher:	The Catholic University of America Press
Publication date:	06/10/2016
Series:	Thomistic Ressourcement Series , #5
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	544
Sales rank:	1,028,931
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Bernhard Blankenhorn, OP is associate professor of theology at the Ponitifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Abbreviations ix

Introduction xi

Part 1 Dionysius and his Early Interpreters On Union With God

1 Dionysius on Union with God 3

2 Key Developments in the Dionysian Tradition up to Albert the Great 30

Part 2 Albert On Dionysian Union With God

3 Mystical Union and Its Doctrinal Pillars in the Early Albert 49

4 Albert's Dionysian Commentaries on Union with God 122

Part 3 Thomas On Dionysian Union With God

5 Thomas's Anthropological Synthesis of Aristotle, Augustine, and Dionysius 215

6 Grace in Thomas 249

7 Divine Naming in Thomas 296

8 Dionysian Union in Thomas 317

General Conclusion 443

Bibliography 469

Index of Names 497

Subject Index 502

Editorial Reviews

"[Blankenhorn] offers a highly detailed study of how two of the greatest Western theologians of the High Middle Ages, St. Albert the Great and his pupil, St. Thomas Aquinas appropriated and adapted Dionysian themes in their own accounts of how human beings can enter into union with God in this life.... Ample in scope, richly documented, and equipped with an excellent bibliography and indexes, Blankenhorn's erudite study presupposes a high level of background knowledge in the history of theology and so is most suitable for professional theologians and advanced students of the subject. It will be a worthwhile addition to any academic library that supports an advanced program in theology."--Thomas M. Dousa, Catholic Library World

"For students of Thomas, Albert, or medieval mysticism in general, The Mystery of Union with God is quite simply imperative In short, Blankenhorn's treatment of mystical union in Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas remains very nearly masterly, not to mention materially unparalleled. Should his efforts here herald what he will teach us in the years to come, we have much to anticipate from Fr. Blankenhorn."--Justin Coyle, Boston College, Nova et vetera

"Blankenhorn has produced an impressive and illuminating study of the mystical theologies of Albert the Great and of his most well-known disciple, Thomas Aquinas. With an impressive command of his medieval Latin sources, B. provides the most extensive study to date of Albert and Thomas... this outstanding study contributes much to our understanding of the medieval Dominican tradition of mystical theology and will bear rich fruit for years to come."--Franklin T. Harkins, Boston College, Theological Studies

From the Publisher