An internationally respected Roman Catholic leader on the mystery-sacrament of marriageMarriage and the family are at the forefront of the burning questions being debated by civil society and the church today. Cultural changes in our increasingly secularized society have dire consequences in the family sphere, requiring a Christian response that is faithful to the Church's tradition, says Marc Cardinal Ouellet.In Mystery and Sacrament of Love Ouellet clearly expounds a theology of marriage and the Catholic Church's understanding of the sacrament celebrated between spouses and God. Developed with influences from Pope Francis, the theological intuitions of Vatican II, the contributions of Saint John Paul II (the "pope of the family"), and the innovative thought of Hans Urs von Balthasar, Ouellet's study lays the foundations for a faithful resurgence of well-being for families in our contemporary day and age.

Translated by Michelle K. Borras The idea of love pervades our society, yet it is nearly impossible to answer the question What is love? especially as we witness the divorce of love from sexuality and of sexuality from procreation. Aware that many people today are skeptical about marriage, Angelo Cardinal Scola nevertheless suggests that only in the category of nuptial mystery do we find a way to adequately describe the phenomenon of love. A bright new leader in the Catholic Church, Cardinal Scola argues that the male-female relationship lies near the heart of what it means to bear the image of God. Scola's book explores the essential sexual differences that both separate and unite men and women, and it shows how men and women can realize their purpose in marriage or celibacy. Conversant with papal teaching and Catholic writers from Aquinas to von Balthasar, Cardinal Scola writes with a deep regard for marriage and the family. His Nuptial Mystery will leave readers with a thoroughly Christian appreciation for incarnate love.

“Mentre la mentalità del mondo odierno ci dice che alla base del matrimonio ci sono solo l’attrazione fisica e il sentimento, è lecito pensare che il motivo principale della crisi del matrimonio come sacramento è il non sapere che il matrimonio cristiano “è matrimonio nello Spirito: una nascita spirituale, non dal sangue né dalle doglie del parto” (S.Giovanni Crisostomo). L’attrazione fisica e il sentimento possono finire, e in molti casi finiscono, ma l’intelligenza e la volontà, che stanno alla base della nostra somiglianza con Dio, devono essere la bussola e il mezzo che, con la perseveranza, ci porteranno alla meta ultima: il Paradiso. Il matrimonio, infatti, come tutti i sacramenti istituiti da Cristo, è ordinato per la salvezza eterna dell’uomo.” (dall’introduzione)

There is a prehistory of the adultery novel, which became a pan-European literary paradigm in the second half of the 19th century. In the wake of the French Revolution, secular marriage legislation emerges, producing a metaphorical surplus that is still effective today. Using legal history and canonical literary texts from Rousseau to Goethe and Manzoni to Hugo and Flaubert, this book traces how marriage around 1800 became a figure of reflection for the modern nation-state. In the process, original contributions to the philology of the individual texts emerge. At the same time, law and literature are made fruitful for a historical semantics of society and community. This book is a translation of an original German 1st edition “Ehe als Nationalfiktion” by Dagmar Stöferle, published by J.B. Metzler, imprint of Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature in 2020. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). The author (with the support of Chris Owain Carter) has subsequently revised the text further in an endeavour to refine the work stylistically.

Hierocles, the Stoic philosopher of the early imperial age, is a crucial witness to Middle and Neo-Stoicism, especially with regard to their ethical philosophy. In this volume, all of Hierocles surviving works are translated into English for the first time, with the original Greek and a facing English translation: the Elements of Ethics, preserved on papyrus, along with all fragments and excerpts from the treatise On Duties, collected by Stobaeus in the fifth century C.E. and dealing mainly with social relationships, marriage, household, and family. In addition, Ramelli s introductory essay demonstrates how Hierocles was indebted to the Old Stoa and how he modified its doctrines in accord with Middle Stoicism and further developments in philosophy as well as his personal views. Finally, Ramelli s extensive commentary on Hierocles works clarifies philosophical questions raised by the text and provides rich and updated references to existing scholarship.

In this book Anscar Chupungco carries forward the work begun in 'Cultural Adaptation of the Liturgy'. Now, more than forty years after the Council, the first stage of the liturgical renewal is complete: the Roman liturgy has been restored to its classical shape. But the challenge of the second stage lies before us: the adaptation of the liturgy to various cultures and traditions. This, the unfinished agenda of the Council, is the task of local churches. Chupungco here calls them to take up that task, Òto be faithful to sound tradition and to foster legitimate progress at the same time . . . an art requiring expertise in the science of liturgy, the virtue of flexibility, and often a great faith in the wisdom of the Church. After reviewing the mandate of the Council, the author examines the future of the liturgy in three chapters: the future shape of the eucharistic celebration, the future shape of sacramental celebrations, and the future shape of the liturgical year. This hopeful and stimulating book will be of great assistance not only to teachers and students of the liturgy, but also to those who daily confront the challenges of the future on a pastoral level.