Thomas Aquinas: Spiritual Master (Crossroad Spiritual Legacy) [Paperback]

Robert Barron (Author)

Book Description

Series: Crossroad Spiritual Legacy | Publication Date: March 25, 1996

A promising young theologian examines the life and work of Catholicism's premier scholar and discovers a saint deeply in love with Jesus Christ.

Product Details

• Paperback: 178 pages
• Publisher: Crossroad Classic (March 25, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824525078
• ISBN-13: 978-0824525071
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,403,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Connects Faith and Reason, June 21, 2002

By 

Sammy Jo "sammy_jo" (Midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thomas Aquinas: Spiritual Master (Crossroad Spiritual Legacy) (Paperback)

The great achievement of Robert Barron's little book on the Angelic Doctor is that he points the reader to the spiritual quest that lies at the heart of Aquinas' seemingly arid intellectual inquiry.

For too long, the scholastics in general and Aquinas in particular have been accused of overintellectualizing about the mysteries of faith. An overemphasis on reason is presented as squelching our embrace of the mysteries of faith. On the contrary, as Barron argues, the scholastic effort to find theological precision was an effort to clear away the stumbling blocks to faith that our false notions of God can present. Whether we mean to or not, we do have concrete ideas about the mystery of God. To the extent that our ideas are mistaken, our faith can never lead us to the heart of the True Mystery we seek. Aquinas' project was to clear away the dead-ends our unexamined reason produces for us, so that we can find our way to the abyss of God.

Barron has the great gift of making Aquinas' theology come alive for the lay reader. For anyone seeking the great adventure of coming to know God better both through reason and faith, I recommend this book most highly.

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful introduction, September 17, 2001

By 

Andy Gallwitz (Durham, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thomas Aquinas: Spiritual Master (Crossroad Spiritual Legacy) (Paperback)

In this helpful little book, Barron saves Thomas from the dry treatments his theology often receives in the secondary literature. To be sure, Barron is less interested in interpreting Thomas as a historical figure, and more concerned to show the relevance of Thomas for Christians today. In fact, Barron may often go too far in taking Thomas out of his medieval context. For example, Barron emphasizes the centrality of Christ for Thomas's theology (something rarely argued). While this is in a sense true, more textual argument is required to establish this point for scholars who are accustomed to seeing Thomas as more interested in philosophy than Christian theology. Barron may too quickly make Thomas a dialogue-partner with 20th century theology. All this said, the book remains a joy to read and a helpful introduction to Thomas for those teaching undergraduates or seminary students. After all, Thomas's dry writing is meant to do nothing less than lead the reader into the wonder at the center of the Christian life, which is most profoundly revealed in Christ. I must personally thank Barron for helping me remember this as I wade through Thomas's often less-than-exciting texts.

5.0 out of 5 stars Aquinas - A synthesis of East and West, January 28, 2012

By 

jwinch2 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thomas Aquinas: Spiritual Master (Crossroad Spiritual Legacy Series) (Paperback)

Others have given good reviews on this book but I wanted to approach it from a slightly different angle. St. Thomas gets a bad rap, particularly from Protestants, Eastern Catholics, and Orthodox as being too intellectual about the faith and relying too much on Western Philosophy. What many of them fail to realize is that much of his work was an attempt to synthesize eastern mysticism with western thought and spirituality of the time. His works, when properly understood, can show us a way to bridge the gap between east and west in our understanding of the faith and of God. As usual, Fr. Barron discusses his topic with enthusiasm and intelligence. Anyone looking to get a good intro to Aquinas, particularly in light of today's world, could do far worse. Another book worth looking into, particularly for anyone who is interested in the East-West synthesis I spoke of earlier, should check out The Aquinas Prescription: St. Thomas's Path to a Discerning Heart, a Sane Society, and a Holy Church.

Peace,