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This book arises from gratitude to God for creating marriage in all its dimensions, united by the fact that God creates all things in Christ and for the purpose of everlasting communion. “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God!” (Ps 48:1).13

Two of my chapters—on the image of God and the Cross—began as the Anthony Jordan Lectures at Newman Theological College in March 2018. What a delight it was to give these lectures and to receive such helpful feedback, not least from NTC’s president, Jason West, and dean, Ryan Topping. A version of “Marriage as an Image of the Trinity” appeared in Ressourcement after Vatican II: Essays in Honor of Joseph Fessio, S.J., ed. Nicholas J. Healy, Jr., and Matthew Levering (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2019). Anne Englund Nash’s copyediting significantly improved the essay. I have incorporated her edits into the version that appears as chapter 2 of the present book.

Perry Cahall read the entire manuscript and offered numerous suggestions for improvement. I am greatly in his debt. For readers looking for a rich synthetic account of the Catholic Church’s understanding of marriage (and sexuality), his book The Mystery of Marriage is the book to purchase. My S.T.L. student, Caitlyn Trader, skillfully put together the bibliography. I owe my S.T.D. student Fr. Nick Parker thanks for improving my section on the estimable Catholic philosopher Dietrich von Hildebrand. Many thanks also go to Jason C. Paone, a doctoral candidate in systematic theology at the Catholic University of America. He used the Cascade author’s guide to prepare the manuscript for publication, an extensive task, and he also did the index and caught some final typos.

Let me also acknowledge the serendipitous timing of two recent lectures at Mundelein Seminary, one by Helen Alvaré in March and the other by John Cavadini in July. Alvaré’s lecture helped me to tie together chapter 7, and Cavadini’s lecture did the same for chapter 2. For the privilege of teaching at such a congenial place as Mundelein Seminary, let me especially thank my rector, Fr. John Kartje, and my dean, Fr. Thomas Baima, as well as colleagues such as Dr. Melanie Barrett, Fr. Brendan Lupton, Fr. Emery de Gaál, Dr. Paul Hilliard, Fr. Marek Duran, Fr. Larry Hennessey, and many others who have encouraged my projects. The encouragement that I have received from colleagues at the Seminary has been amplified by Jim and Molly Perry, who graciously endowed the chair that I am privileged to hold. Without their support—and now their friendship as well—much of my work would not have been possible.

Dave Nelson generously read the manuscript and, in addition to encouragement, provided the subtitle. The editor who brought this volume—and, if all goes as planned (God willing), future ones—to Cascade is my longtime friend Michael Thomson. He believed in the value of this volume and in the Engaging the Doctrine series as a whole. Even if he hadn’t, I would still be in his debt for numerous good Thai lunches over the years. Rodney Clapp shepherded the manuscript through the production process, saving me from some embarrassing errors.

My parents, Ralph and Patty Levering, had a wonderful marriage that lasted over fifty-two years. Sadly, during the writing of this book my beloved mom died at age seventy-three. God be praised for the many graces that she received in her last weeks and months, and for the time she had to surrender herself to God and to say goodbye to more than one hundred friends and family members. I owe deep thanks to my parents for their example and for the love and care they have given to me. I am blessed with an amazing wife, Joy Moretz Levering. Everyone who knows us knows that her love, intelligence, hard work, and gracious attitude are the reason why our family functions. The following words of Sirach apply so well to her: “He will lean on her and will not fall, and he will rely on her and will not be put to shame” (Sir 15:4). I dedicate this book to my most wonderful Joy, praying to Jesus Christ for everlasting blessings upon her and our beloved children.

1. Scheeben, Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics, xi.

2. Scheeben, Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics, xii.

3. Scheeben, Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics, xii.

4. Scheeben, Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics, xiii.

5. Scheeben, Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics, xiii.

6. Scheeben, Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics, xii.

7. Scheeben, Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics, xv.

8. Scheeben, Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics, 6.

9. Scheeben, Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics, 4–5.

10. Scheeben, Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics, 5.

11. Admittedly, many themes touched upon in the volumes of my series receive fuller treatment elsewhere in my writings. Therefore, I do not wish to draw a sharp separation between this series and my other published writings.

12. See Levering, Engaging the Doctrine of Revelation; Levering, Engaging the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit; Levering, Engaging the Doctrine of Creation.

13. See Hibbs, “Creation, Gratitude and Virtue,” 101–14. See also Bott’s point that “[t]he psalmists regard praiseworthiness as a central divine attribute; it belongs to Yahweh’s very essence to evoke and receive praise” (Bott, “Praise and Metonymy in the Psalms,” 144).