LIVING FAITH SERIES
“The gift of this beautiful earth is not to be ignored or
regretted; instead, this world is the central setting in which the
Christian life is to be attentively lived and faithfully pursued.”
Regard for creation and its creatures has been a perennial part of
Christian spirituality for centuries. In more recent decades it has been
the special concern of Catholic social teaching. Yet many Catholics
today are unfamiliar with this aspect of Church thought. And until the
splendor of creation is recovered, the path to a vibrant Catholic
culture seems cut off.
The Joyful Mystery seeks to revive the Church’s practice of
integral ecology and encourages a deeper awareness of the presence of
God, the Creator and Lord of the universe. In it, author Christopher
Thompson draws from the wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas and the “Green
Thomism” he inspires in contemporary life. Readers will come away moved
by the presence of God manifest in his glorious cosmos and be drawn to
integral ecology as a spiritual response.
Pages: 216. Hardcover.
About the author:
Christopher J. Thompson teaches moral theology at the Saint Paul
Seminary School of Divinity in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He has a PhD from Marquette
University. His books and essays focus on issues in moral theology,
ecology, and Thomas Aquinas.
Endorsements:
“In wonderfully accessible prose, Thompson leads us from common sense
to Catholic truth and back again, showing that the paths of theology
and philosophy run through forests, fields, and farms.”
- Matthew Levering
James N. and Mary D. Perry Jr. Chair of Theology,
Mundelein Seminary
“With remarkable clarity and poetic flare, Christopher Thompson gives us
the philosophical and theological roots of an environmental ethic so
desperately needed today. Deeply grounded in an order of creation
informed by natural law and revelation, he weaves a challenging argument
that all creation is the embodiment of God’s wisdom.”
- Michael Naughton
Director of the Center for Catholic Studies and Koch Chair in Catholic Studies, University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)
“The Joyful Mystery engages environmental concerns guided by
the wisdom of St. Thomas and in light of God’s presence as a loving
Creator. A nicely integrated perspective that makes a vital contribution
to the contemporary discussion.”
- David L. Schindler
Gagnon Professor of Fundamental Theology, The John Paul II Institute, Washington D.C.
“Christopher Thompson’s The Joyful Mystery is an immensely
rich, well-researched book that makes beautifully clear that Catholics
should be leading the environmental movement, rather than trailing
behind.”
- Benjamin Wiker
Professor of Political Science and Director of Human Life Studies, Franciscan University of Steubenville and author of In Defense of Nature