Louis Bouyer was a major figure in the Church of the last century. These memoirs, which Bouyer wrote in a humble and humorous vein--though without withholding his notoriously sharp pen when needed--allow the reader to enter with him into the great events that shook the Church and the world during the era of upheavals and transformations through which he lived. They amount to an intelligent, sensitive, and pious man's fascinating chronicle and deep reflection on Christianity's life and travails in a world committed to modernity. Bouyer here tells us the full and varied story of a life devoted to the discovery of the sources and Tradition of the Church in doctrine, spirituality, liturgy, and scripture. We follow Bouyer's journeys from his inherited Protestantism to the fullness of the Catholic Faith, from his position as a Lutheran pastor to the priesthood in the Oratory of France, from humble parish life to the Olympian heights of his official theological and liturgical collaboration (and difficulties) before and after the Council with such influential figures as Congar, Danielou, de Lubac, Bugnini, and... Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI). Bouyer paints the lush landscape of a century's illusions and disenchantments; his memoirs are essential for understanding the history of the Church during that momentous time. "It would be impossible for anyone to speak knowledgeably about liturgical developments in the past 50 years without being cognizant of the work done by Louis Bouyer. His Memoirs, which feature his outspoken opinions and profound intelligence as well as a personality deeply imbued with the true spirit of the Catholic liturgy, can serve as a balance and perhaps an antidote to misinformation about the post-Vatican II developments in the Sacred Liturgy of the Latin Rite. A careful perusal of these Memoirs, now available in English in an excellent translation by John Pepino, also can serve as a corrective to the sometimes unbridled and euphoric optimism that marked liturgical studies in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I cannot recommend strongly enough the reading and study of this work."--BISHOP (EMERITUS) FABIAN BRUSKEWITZ, Lincoln, NE "While Father Louis Bouyer was a prolific author in many fields of theology, his most lasting legacy may well be his contribution to liturgical renewal, including his collaboration in the post-conciliar reform of the Roman rite. Bouyer is a sharp observer, and his retrospective is frank and at times caustic. Here is the authentic voice of a key witness to momentous developments in twentieth-century Catholicism. The publication of these important memoirs makes a real contribution to writing the history of the Church in our times."--FR. UWE MICHAEL LANG, Cong. Orat.; Heythrop College, University of London "Louis Bouyer was, according to his former student Cardinal Lustiger "the least conformist and yet among the most traditional" of theologians--a reality borne out in these memoirs, which reveal Bouyer sinking ever-deeper roots in Catholic tradition as well as his ever-present ability to look at matters with a fresh, critical eye. Expertly translated and edited with additional notes for English readers, The Memoirs of Louis Bouyer not only provides important historical details hitherto unpublished--particularly regarding the liturgical movement and post-conciliar reform--but also offers a lesson in the nature of living Catholic Tradition: one that Bouyer would insist that we learn, and learn well."--DOM ALCUIN REID, Monastere Saint-Benoit, La Garde-Freinet, France"

This is the memoir of one of the great theologians and churchmen of the last century. It is difficult to exaggerate Louis Bouyer's contribution to Catholic theology and his behind-the-scenes role in certain, important twentieth-century events in the life of the Church. A French convert from Lutheranism; a priest of the Oratory; an expert on Scripture, liturgy, the history of spirituality, Newman, ecclesiology, and Reformation theology; and a twice-appointed member of the International Theological Commission, Bouyer was a man of immense theological vision and profound depth of knowledge and insight. He was both a major theological contributor to the renewed vision that led to the Second Vatican Council and a staunch critic of its misunderstanding in the decades that followed it. Bouyer recounts the story of his life and learning—the people, places, events, and ideas that shaped his profoundly Catholic life. He tells of his relationships and encounters with such theological and Church notables as Yves Congar, Jean Danielou, Henri de Lubac, Joseph Ratzinger (later, Pope Benedict XVI), Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Karl Rahner. A disciple of the Lord and a man of great love for the Church, he often writes with parrhesia—pastoral frankness—and wit about the shortcomings of Catholic institutions and life, especially with respect to changes undertaken in the name of reform but which did not truly partake of the sources of the Church's life and mission. About the writing of his memoir Bouyer said, "In the pages that follow, what I would like to recall is what, on final, or undoubtedly very nearly final, reflection, seems to me to have the most meaning. I hope that those who read them, and especially my friends, both known and unknown (for a writer, are not many of these latter often among the closest?), will also draw some profit from them, perhaps more than I do myself. I hasten to add that the entertainment that these pages could, at least I hope, provide them is an integral part in my eyes of that potential profit. For it is a too-little-known but to me unquestionable fact that Providence has a great and, of course, the best sense of humor!"

How does the Church perceive herself? Fr. Louis Bouyers "The Church of God" sets out to answer that question, in light of Tradition and theological reflection through the centuries, but especially by drawing on the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. This book is a highly-readable, thorough synthesis of ecclesiology after the Council, presented by one of the greatest theologians of the 20th century. The author, himself a former Lutheran minister, also explores Reformation views of the Church, as well as the Catholic Churchs deepened understanding of her distinctive identity and her imperfect but real communion with the Orthodox churches and Protestant ecclesial communities. The Church of God is a major contribution to the ecclesiology of communion fostered by the Second Vatican Council and continued by Pope Paul VI, but especially by John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Indeed, the book reflects the hermeneutic of reform Pope Benedict XVI insists should guide the interpretation of Vatican II.

Integralism is the application to the temporal, political order of the full implications of the revelation of man’s supernatural end in Christ and of the divinely established means by which it is to be attained. These implications are identified by means of the philosophia perennis exemplified in the fundamental principles of St Thomas Aquinas. Since the first principle in moral philosophy is the last end, and man’s last end cannot be known except by revelation, it is only by accepting the role of handmaid of theology that political philosophy can be adequately constituted. Integralism: A Manual of Political Philosophy is a handbook for those who seek to understand the consequences of this integration of faith and reason for political, economic and individual civic life. It will also serve as a scholastic introduction to political philosophy for those new to the subject. Each chapter finishes with a list of the principal theses proposed. About the Authors Fr Thomas Crean is a friar of the English Province of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). He has published with Ignatius Press and Gracewing, and is a Fellow of the Dialogos Institute. He has taught philosophy and theology in Austria, the United States and Northern Ireland. Alan Paul Fimister is Assistant Professor of Theology at Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver, Colorado, USA and a Fellow of the Dialogos institute. He is the author of Robert Schuman: Neo-Scholastic Humanism and the Reunification of Europe (2008)