Volume 83, Issue 3, Summer 2009
Contemporary Thomisms
Matthew Levering
Pages 339-362
Biblical Thomism and the Doctrine of Providence
How should contemporary Thomistic theologians speak of providence and predestination? This essay suggests that St. Catherine of Siena’s approach to the doctrine provides a model for Thomistic theology today. After examining biblical teaching and the guidelines proposed by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I explore in some detail the positions of Hans Urs von Balthasar and Jacques Maritain, both of whom sought to overcome what they perceived to be difficulties in the Thomistic account of predestination. I conclude by proposing a retrieval of the perspective of St. Catherine of Siena.