Formed in the Image of Christ

The Christian life is an imitation of Christ's response to God-a religious response to God's initiative. We are called to make all responses-religion and morality-an act of adoring worship and praise. This sacramental theology is the fundamental moral theology of Bernard Haring, C.Ss.R., whose contributions as a mid-twentieth century theologian have prepared the way of renewal in Catholic theology today. Part One of this book introduces Bernard Haring and his place in the history of Roman Catholic moral theology. Part Two examines the central concepts of Haring's sacramental-moral theology: responsibility, Christ as Word of God and High Priest, the human person as word and worshiper, and the sacraments as dialogue and response. In Part III Haring takes a minor category-the virtue of religion-and places it at the center of the moral life. Chapters under Part I: Bernard Haring and Roman Catholic Moral Theology are "Reassessing Bernard Haring's Moral Theology," and "Moral Theology and Sacramental Practice." Chapters under Part II: The Dogmatic Foundations of Haring's Sacramental-Moral Theology are "Word and Response: The Theological Foundations of the Religious-Moral Life," and "Sacraments as Word and Response." Chapters under Part III: The Christian Moral Life and the Virtue of Religion are "The Theological and Moral Virtues and the Virtue of Religion," and "The Interior and Exterior Acts of the Virtue of Religion." Chapters under the Conclusion are "Bernard Haring and Contemporary Proposals in Liturgy and Ethics: Critique and Contributions."