Divine Likeness: Toward a Trinitarian Anthropology of the Family

by Marc Cardinal Ouellet

Overview

Marked by growing freedom and equality, today's families are also dogged by brokenness and loss of faith. And while the theology of marriage has developed remarkably under the impetus of the Second Vatican Council and Pope John Paul II, the theology of the family remains in its infancy, only beginning to meet the challenges of contemporary society.

In Divine Likeness Marc Cardinal Ouellet points the way to a much-needed theology of the family grounded in the doctrine of the Trinity. Cardinal Ouellet understands family life to be a sacrament of Trinitarian communion, a crucial source for revealing and inspiring a new sense of God's presence in the faith community. This book will help theologians, pastors, and believers to develop fruitfully the legacy of Pope John Paul II, carrying forward the quest to let the Trinity and the family illuminate each other for the good of today's world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802828330
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	06/01/2006
Series:	Ressourcement: Retrieval and Renewal in Catholic Thought Series
Pages:	254
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

Marc Cardinal Ouellet is Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Formerly, he was Archbishop of Québec and Primate of Canada. Cardinal Ouellet held the chair of dogmatic theology at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Rome from 1996 to 2002 and previously taught theology in both North and South America.       

Editorial Reviews

Catholic Register
"Though aimed at a learned audience familiar with Vatican II documents and writings of the late Pope John Paul II and others, this scholarly book is nevertheless accessible to a lay audience and may serve to whet readers' appetites to investigate the original texts."

Glenn W. Olsen
— University of Utah
"This is a wonderful book, written by one of our most penetrating thinkers and addressed to theologians, pastors, and all believers. Though we all have heard of the 'domestic church,' surprisingly little has been written that we could call 'theology of the family.' Cardinal Ouellet explores the relations between theology of the family and Christian anthropology and above all the relationship between the Trinity and the family. His goal, splendidly attained, is the rooting of a conjugal and evangelical spirituality of the family in the doctrine of the Trinity."

Mary Shivanandan
— John Paul II Institute, Catholic University of America
"This book presents a view from above that nevertheless sinks its roots deep into an understanding of the contemporary crisis of marriage. Inserted into Christ's paschal mystery, marriage and family are seen no longer as extrinsic but intrinsic to the mission of the Church. The author deftly builds a trinitarian anthropology of the family with an innovative emphasis on the Holy Spirit as bond of love and source of fruitfulness in divine and human communion. His concise, clear style surprises the reader with many felicitous phrases. As the firstfruits of theological analysis by a distinguished theologian (now cardinal primate of Canada) on the remarkable developments in the spirituality of marriage and family in the twentieth century, this book deserves to be widely read in both academic and pastoral spheres."

Angelo Cardinal Scola
— Patriarch of Venice, Italy
"Cardinal Ouellet's volume deepens the intrinsically ecclesial character of the mission of Christian marriage in particularly effective ways. The trinitarian orientation of his discussion throws new light on classic issues in the theology of marriage and the family. His proposed solutions are balanced, attentive to the ecumenical dialogue, and accessible to contemporary readers, revealing the complex riches of marriage."

From the Publisher