CS STUDY GROUP: The Trinity

Taking up this invitation of St. Augustine, I want to begin this “most dangerous” study by reading the book entitled  The Trinitarian Theology of St Thomas Aquinas. 

For the readers of my column, as well as my family and friends, this effort follows my genuine desire to also follow the advice of St. Peter who writes:

“Always be prepared to satisfy everyone that asketh a reason for the hope and faith which are in you.”  – 1 Peter 3.15

Now I invite Catholic Stand readers to join me in this study. Here’s my initial plan, which participants can help improve.

CATHOLIC STAND  STUDY GROUP:  The Trinity

Start day:  Monday, October 6, 2014. This date will give participants time to get the two books we will be reading together.

End date:  Friday, December 19, 2014. This time-frame will allow us to finish before Christmas.

Syllabus:

Books:

The Trinitarian Theology of St Thomas Aquinas; (eBook: Commentary of The Gospel of St John)

Scheduled Reading Assignments (all from The Trinitarian Theology of St Thomas Aquinas) :

1. October 6: Introduction, 1. The Revelation of the Trinity; 2. Thomas’ Exposition of Speculative Trinitarian Theology; 3. The Structure of Thomas’ Treatise on the Triune God (pages 1-51).

2. October 13: The Processions (pages 51-78)

3. October 20: Relations (pages 78 – 103)

4. October 27: The Person (pages 103 – 128)

5. November 3: Trinitarian Monotheism (pages 128 – 151)

6. November 10: The Person of the Father (pages 151 – 176)

7. November 17: The Person of the Son (pages 176 – 219)

8. November 24: The Person of the Holy Spirit (pages 219 – 269)

9.December 1: The Holy Spirit Proceeds from the Father and from the Son (pages 269 – 312)

10. December 8: The Reciprocal Interiority of the Divine Persons; Appropriations; Trinitarian Creation and Action (pages 298 – 360)

11. December 15: Missions (pages 360 – 420)

Rules for Participation:

• Read assignments as scheduled.
• Be prepared to contribute  questions that identify your difficulties with the text,
• Participate in private group discussions online.
• Enjoy understanding The Trinity better with the assistance of other participants.

Use of discussions

Only participants will have access to the discussions. Information obtained from these discussion may be used in a future article by John Darrouzet.

Participant Communications

An online newsgroups platform (Google, Yahoo, etc.) will be utilized for this group to post ongoing discussions of assigned materials. Only registered participants of this group will have access.

Moderator/Facilitator

John Darrouzet will serve as the initial moderator/facilitator.

Application to Join

If you are interested in participating, please contact John Darrouzet via email message at Jldarrouzet@gmail.com, expressing your intent  to join the group and your reasons for doing so.

There will be two other participants, perhaps unexpected, in our discussion: the author of the book, Gilles Emery, O.P. and St. Thomas Aquinas, both of whom will participate in absentia via their respective writings.

Finally, we also trust that God, the Trinitarian God, will be with us as well in this effort, inspiring us to better understand the three Persons we will be encountering.

Thank you for your consideration of this study group project.

John Darrouzet