Habits and Holiness

"Deeply informed by the rich Catholic moral tradition and contemporary biological psychology, Fr. Ezra Sullivan offers us enlightening, perceptive, and wise insights into the workings of human habits as a way of leading to a 'habitual readiness to flourish.' This is a highly original and reliable guide that is balanced, clear, thorough, and, moreover, accessible to a large intellectual audience."—James Arthur, OBE, Director of the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, University of Birmingham

"The current revival of interest in virtue ethics awaited this masterful synthesis on habitus and its role in the moral life. With great pedagogical skills and an impressive knowledge of the literature on the subject, Fr. Sullivan succeeds in showing how habitus structures the different dimensions of human existence, from its biological roots to the highest forms of participation in the divine life. Creating a fascinating dialogue between the Thomist doctrine, reconstructed through an accurate exegesis of the texts, and the empirical sciences, he confirms, if it be needed, that Aquinas is an expert on humanity, Doctor humanitatis, and precisely for this reason an unparalleled guide on the paths that lead to holiness."—Serge-Thomas Bonino, OP, President of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas

"There are few books that deserve the moniker 'brilliant,' but this is one of them. If all this book did were to examine the manifold connections between contemporary scientific studies and Aquinas's theology of habitus, it would already be a breakthrough work. But, in addition, Fr. Sullivan offers a full-scale theology of virtuous habits (natural and supernatural) as well as of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He provides a richly instructive and accessible account of how to break vicious habits and how to understand the presence of sinful temptations even in persons in a state of grace. This book is an extraordinary theological and pastoral achievement."—Matthew Levering, James N. and Mary D. Perry Jr. Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary

"This growing interest in the relationship between human behavior, theology, and neuroscience is to be welcomed. As persons created of body and soul, there is a physiological basis for spirituality and ethical behavior. Habits and Holiness explores that relationship from the Roman Catholic tradition, and I strongly recommend Sullivan's work."—Catholic Books Review

"It is hard to do this excellent book justice in a short review. It is a very thorough study of the concept of habitus in Aquinas, using a wide array of primary and secondary sources Add to all this that the book is well written: Sullivan has an engaging style which makes the reader marvel at the phenomenon of a snowflake and truly lament original sin. For Thomistic moral theologians, there is little to no reason to not read this book."—European Study for the Journal of Thomas Aquinas