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Patricia Sodano Ireland, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Dominican College, Orangeburg, New York, and Adjunct Professor of Theology at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Philadelphia, as well as at Assumption College for Sisters, Mendham, New Jersey. Formerly, she taught at Seton Hall University and was the Coordinator of Ministries at the Aquinas Institute of Princeton University. She enjoys writing and speaking and is co-author of Women in Search of Truth: Converts to Catholicism Tell Their Stories (formerly The Catholic Mystique).
She contributed research for the multi-volume Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series and has published several articles. She resides in New Jersey with her husband and four children.
Reviews
There is a noticeable increase of interest in the theology of St. Augustine since Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. The Pope often refers to St. Augustine and claims to be "Augustinian" in the orientation of his theological views.
This book by Dr. Ireland is a good introduction to the theology of St. Augustine. It is important to remember that Augustine was the dominant theologian in the Latin Church for a thousand years. His famous Confessions is one of the most influential books ever written. Even today it is read often, and it was the first psychological self-analysis ever written.
Dr. Ireland examines the beatitude "Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God" in the light of the theology of St. Augustine. Her basic thesis is that there is an organic relationship between the requirement of a pure heart and the reward of the Beatific Vision.
In order to prove this she studies the theology of St. Augustine in the context of his anthropology and his soteriology. In the second chapter she points out the sharp difference between the thinking of Augustine and that of Martin Luther concerning the theology of original sin, grace and freedom. For Augustine man is burdened with concupiscence as a result of original sin, but he is interiorly transformed into a new creature by divine grace, which makes him a sharer in the divine nature and a child of God. Luther, however, sees man as totally corrupt. For him grace is something external, so that by grace man is, in a certain sense, covered over by the grace of Christ but not interiorly changed for the better.
Dr. Ireland searches out Augustine's ideas on each of these subjects and relates them to his view of the heart of man and of purity of heart, which is a requirement for seeing God. In the process she explains Augustine's ideas on the nature of man, the will, the heart, grace and the sacraments.
The life of man is a journey: there is constant change; there is or should be progress from being imperfect and self-centered to becoming God-centered and eventually perfect, as least as perfect as one can become in this life. Our Lord has told us to become perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect (see Matthew 5:48), but that takes time and much effort and the grace of God, which is always offered to us.
As Dr. Ireland reminds us, the goal of life is to get to heaven. Our hearts were made for that and they will never rest until we get there, as St. Augustine says right at the beginning of his Confessions. Purity of heart is the means to attain that end and purity of heart is gained by keeping the commandments, practicing love of God and neighbor, prayer, penance and almsgiving. Our author gives clear explanations of each of these terms by showing how St. Augustine used them. The book offers a fine mix of theology and spirituality. --Kenneth Baker, S.J. in the January 2010 issue of Homiletic & Pastoral Review
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