Sense of the Faith in History

John J. Burkhard, OFM Conv, PhD, taught systematics at the former Washington Theological Union; at Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota; and in Ghana, West Africa. In 2004 he published Apostolicity Then and Now: An Ecumenical Church in a Postmodern World with Liturgical Press. He writes primarily on ecclesiology and continues to translate theological works from French and German.

• ContentsPreface xiChapter 1   The “Sense of the Faith” before, during, and after the Council of Trent 1Before Trent 2The Council of Trent (1545–63) 9After Trent 11Conclusion and Prospect 22Chapter 2   Conscious Stirrings of the “Sense of the Faith” in Nineteenth-Century Germany 23Johann Adam Möhler 23Nineteenth-Century Roman Catholic Canon Lawyers 32Chapter 3   The Role of the “Sense of the Faith” and the Definition of Mary’s Immaculate Conception 41History of the Liturgy and the Theology of the Immaculate Conception 42Definition of Mary’s Immaculate Conception and the Role of the “Sense of the Faithful” 56Meaning of the Dogma of Mary’s Immaculate Conception 70Chapter 4   John Henry Newman and the Testing of the “Sense of the Faithful” in the Crucible of Controversy 85The Rambler Commentary of May 1859 86The Rambler Article of July 1859 89Characteristics of the “Sense of the Faithful” according to Newman 96The Validity of Newman’s View of Arianism and His Understanding of the “Sense of the Faithful” 99Conclusion 101Chapter 5   The “Sense of the Faith” in the Nineteenth Century: Gains and Losses 103Johann Baptist Franzelin, SJ 103Matthias Joseph Scheeben 110Vatican I (1869–70) 120The Aftermath of Vatican I 130Chapter 6   The Growing Conviction of a Theology of the “Sense of the Faith” in the Twentieth Century 133Francisco Marín-Sola, OP 134Mannes Dominikus Koster, OP 143Chapter 7   Consolidation of the Theology of the “Sense of the Faith” in the Twentieth Century 161Yves Congar, OP 162Clément Dillenschneider, CSSR 172Chapter 8   The “Sense of the Faith” and the Dogmatic Definition of Mary’s Assumption into Heaven 183The Emergence of the Feast of the Assumption 185The Debate of Mary’s Assumption 197The Definition of Mary’s Assumption 200The Meaning of the Dogma of Mary’s Assumption 205A Continuing Task 218Chapter 9   The “Sense of the Faith” and Vatican II 221Preparatory Phase of Vatican II (January 1959 to Fall of 1962) 223First Session (Fall 1962) and Intersession (December 1962 to September 1963) 227Second Session (Fall 1963) 235Intersession (December 1963 to September 1964) and Third Session (Fall 1964) 240Lumen Gentium, Article 12 243Lumen Gentium, Article 35 254The Presence of the “Sense of the Faith” in Dei Verbum, Articles 8 and 10 260Conclusions on the Teaching of Vatican II on the “Sense of the Faith” 268Chapter 10   Official Reception of the “Sense of the Faith” 273What Is Reception? 274The Revised Code of Canon Law (1983) and the Code of the Canons of the Eastern Churches (1990) 277The Papal Magisterium since Vatican II 287The Catechism of the Catholic Church 296The Role Played by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 299The Contribution of the International Theological Commission 303Conclusion 321Chapter 11   The “Sense of the Faith”: Components of a Possible Synthesis 323The Retrieval of Experience 324Historical Consciousness 336Questions and Human Being 339Language and Symbol 342Levels of Understanding 346A Fuller Understanding of Revelation 349An Emerging Understanding of Tradition 357The Place of Pneumatology 362Conclusion 373Appendix A   Lumen Gentium 12, 1: Latin Text and English Translations 381Appendix B   Lumen Gentium 35, 1 and 4: Latin Text and English Translations 383A Chronological Bibliography of the “Sense of the Faith” from 1940 to 2020 387General Bibliography 415Index of Names 428Index of Subjects 436

"This major work on 'the sense of the faith' gives further evidence for why John Burkhard is one of the most important Catholic theologians working in the field of fundamental theology today. His extraordinary erudition, clarity of thought, and capacity for synthesis are all on full display in these pages, as is his deep commitment to the welfare of the church. Almost six decades since the close of the council, our church is still struggling to fully embrace the council's teaching that all the baptized faithful receive and penetrate the gift of God's Word and so contribute in crucial ways to the life and mission of the church. Burkhard's book is certain to help this central teaching gain wider acceptance and deeper appreciation in the church today."Richard R. Gaillardetz, Boston College, author of By What Authority? Foundations for Understanding Authority in the Church