ABSTRACT
Taken together, the contemporary contributions to a theology of discourse examined in Chapter Two emphasize an intersubjective anthropology marked by practices of spiritual exercise. Furthermore, these contemporary reflections indicate the need for further attention to the way in which spiritual exercise arises through the work of the Holy Spirit leading all people-through the fundamental collaboration of men and women-to fullness of life in God. While the ultimate focus of this study is with the contributions offered by selected medieval thinkers, St. Augustine’s work serves as a basis and turning point for further examination of these medie - val texts. Either explicitly or implicitly, it is to St. Augustine that Tracy, Burrell, and Coakley turn in retrieving a Christian thinker whose accounts of spiritual doctrine and practice constitute not only a rigorous basis for a theology of discourse but also an invitation to develop such a theology of discourse. For Tracy and Burrell, this retrieval of Augustine concerns the transformative nature of his texts. Reflection on Augustine’s work only reinforces Coakley’s discussion of the formative role of prayer in all theological reflection. As such, the scholarly contributions-as discussed in Chapter Two-of these three scholars form the interpretive background for my reading of Augustine in this chapter.
