Exploring the World's Foundation in Christ An Introduction to the Writings and Thought of Donald J. Keefe, S.J.

This volume, the first of its kind, provides both an introduction to a theologian who many in the field consider to be one of the very finest of his generation, and a compendium of selections—each with an explanatory preface—from his prolific writings that ultimately touch upon every aspect of Catholic thought. Making use of a method that is deeply rooted in the prayer life and sacred Scripture of the Church, Donald Keefe pursued a decades-long reflection on the significance of the central assertion of faith: that Jesus Christ is Lord, the author of a world that is centered on personal, hence free, life; and that Jesus the Lord is Christ, the Savior in whom broken freedom is made whole and then transformed through union with his own freedom and his own life that is at once human and divine.

Union with Christ, then, is not only the destiny of the world but also its beginning. And this work of life, which is the integrating work of creation, has as its vanguard the Eucharist, the sacramental life of Christ that is born of a free priesthood acting in Christ, consecrating the free self-offering of the Church. The Eucharistic dynamism of creation reveals, so Keefe argues, the innermost structure of the real, shedding light on any human question.

The many and far-reaching topics that Keefe addressed are arranged in the book under a series of chapter headings that are intended to provide an overview of the content of Catholic theology—from Christology to Mariology to ecclesiology. The result will be to convey the rich and varied fruit of a gifted mind but also, it is hoped, some sense of the man himself.

Kevin A. McMahon received his doctorate in systematic theology from Marquette University, having worked closely with Donald Keefe during five years of study. After graduation he joined the faculty at Saint Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire, where he continues to teach as a professor of theology.