In this insightful, interdisciplinary study, Robert Sokolowski uses the methods of phenomenology to examine Christian religious beliefs, particularly the sacrament of the Eucharist. In so doing, he comes to terms with many theological and cultural issues raised by modernity. Although the Eucharist is the center of focus, other issues in Christian faith are also examined, such as the Christian understanding of God, Creation, the Incarnation, Redemption, and biblical Revelation. Sokolowski employs a method that he calls "the theology of disclosure," which studies the structures of appearance and should be distinguished from both positive and scholastic theology. He takes appearances as objective disclosures, not as mere psychological events. When discussing the Eucharist, he shows how it uses the form of quotation and how it draws on various temporal dimensions of human existence as it reenacts the sacrifice of Christ before the eternal Father. The author also considers how Christian belief differs from other forms of religion and from modern atheism. By demonstrating how the Christian understanding of God differs from other ways of understanding the divine, he attempts to show that Christianity is not simply one religion among many but the truth of religion. These deeper themes are explored as necessary contexts for the Eucharist, which could not be properly understood except against the background of the Christian understanding of God as eternal and as Creator and Redeemer. The author provides a comprehensive theological treatment of major issues in Christian faith and does so with categories that are appropriate to our present intellectual and cultural world. This study, which draws upon the work of many classical and contemporary theologians, especially Hans Urs von Balthasar, contributes significantly to speculative theology and to Eucharistic studies. It will be of great use to theologians and philosophers, as well as to students of Christian philosophy and sacramental theology. Robert Sokolowski, a priest of the Archdiocese of Hartford, has taught philosophy at The Catholic University of America since 1963. He has written six books and numerous articles dealing with phenomenology, philosophy and Christian faith, moral philosophy, and issues in contemporary science. He has been an auxiliary chaplain at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., since 1976 and was named monsignor in 1993. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Indispensable for graduate and divinity programs with interests in Catholic theology and phenomenology of religions.--Religious Studies Review "Intellectually stimulating. . . . The author contributes many insights to the theology of the Eucharist, some of which I had never seen before and found enlightening and moving. The depth of his scholarship is obvious."--Rev. James T. O'Connor, St. Joseph's Seminary, New York "A careful reading of this profound analysis of the Holy Eucharist will be rewarded with a more fruitful participation at Mass. Here we find a modern model of the Catholic theologian who shows us in the concrete how to practice 'faith seeking understanding.'"--Kenneth Baker, S.J., Editor, Homiletic and Pastoral Review

Winner of a first-place award for popular presentation of the faith and second-place in pastoral ministry, catechetical resource from the Catholic Media Association. Many Catholics don’t believe that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist. Rather, they see the bread and wine of Holy Communion as mere symbols of Christ’s body and blood. Is that disbelief just a misunderstanding or is it a blatant rejection of one of the central beliefs of the faith? In Real Presence, University of Notre Dame theologian Timothy P. O’Malley clears up the confusion and shows you how to learn to love God and neighbor through a deeper understanding of the doctrine of real presence. A 2019 study by the Pew Research Center found that almost seventy percent of Catholics don’t believe that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist. O’Malley offers a concise introduction to Catholic teaching on real presence and transubstantiation through a biblical, theological, and spiritual account of these doctrines from the early Church to today. He also explores how real presence enables us to see the vulnerability of human life and the dignity of all flesh and blood. O’Malley leads you to a deeper understanding and renewed faith in Catholic teaching about transubstantiation and real presence by helping you learn how the doctrine of real presence is rooted in divine revelation and how the Church’s teaching regarding transubstantiation is spiritually fruitful for the believer today; how to make your own the doctrine of real presence by worshipping Christ in the Eucharist and therefore making a real assent to real presence; how the Eucharist, although not the exclusive presence of Christ in the Church’s liturgy and mission, is crucial in growing our capacity for recognizing those other presences; and the important relationship between Eucharistic communion and adoration.

The Eucharist: Mystery of Presence, Sacrifice, and Communion explores the three ends of the Sacrament of Sacraments: God’s true presence, His redemptive sacrifice, and spiritual nourishment through communion with Him. In this follow-up to his groundbreaking work, Faith Comes From What Is Heard, Lawrence Feingold constructs a biblical vision of the Eucharist from its prefigurement in the Old Testament to its fulfillment in the New and presents the Eucharistic theology of the Church Fathers, St. Thomas Aquinas, and magisterial teaching from centuries past through today. The Eucharist is a masterful text, both challenging and spiritually rich, that comprehensively examines the unspeakable mystery that is the Eucharist.

"One of the most challenging questions for Christian ecumenical theology is how the relationship between the eucharistic bread and wine and Jesus Christ's body and blood can be appropriately described. This book takes a new approach to controverted questions of eucharistic presence by drawing on cognitive linguistics. Arguing that human cognition is grounded in sensorimotor experience and that phenomena such as metaphor and conceptual blending are basic building blocks of thought, the book proposes that inherited models of eucharistic presence are not necessarily mutually exclusive but can serve as complementary members of a shared ecumenical repertoire. The central element of this repertoire is the motif of identity, grounded in the Synoptic and Pauline institution narratives. The book argues that the statement "The eucharistic bread and wine are the body and blood of Christ" can be understood both as figurative and as true in the proper sense, thus resolving a church-dividing dichotomy. The identity motif is complemented by four major non-scriptural motifs: representation, change, containment, and conduit. Each motif with its entailments is explored in depth and suggestions for ecumenical reconciliation in both doctrine and practices are offered. The book also provides an introduction to cognitive linguistics and offers suggestions for further reading in that field"--