This book is a fascinating study of the doctrine of Eucharistic sacrifice as conceived by Thomas Aquinas and by Cardinal Cajetan, Francisco Vitoria, Melchior Cano, Dominic Soto, Domingo Bañez, Robert Bellarmine, Francisco Suárez, Gabriel Vásquez, and John of St. Thomas. It is an expository and serene work of historical theology that does not venture into twentieth-century controversies but instead sheds new light on neglected and sometimes vilified theologians on a topic of evident importance for Catholic theology of the Eucharist. Lynch’s study represents a relatively new movement in theological scholarship to explore early modern sources, and his work is groundbreaking. As a contribution to historical theology, Lynch’s book enhances our understanding of Reformation-era debates (between Protestants and Catholics, and also between Dominicans and Jesuits) as well as adding to our appreciation for the impact of the discovery of the New World.

Lynch begins with a superb account of Aquinas’s position that alone would make the book worth reading. Aquinas discusses sacrifice as part of the virtue of religion in the Secunda secundae of the Summa theologiae. His definition of sacrifice is paraphrased by Lynch: “It is a sacrifice when something is done to that which is offered to God, such as when an animal is killed and burnt, or when bread is broken, eaten, and blessed” (31). Although Aquinas does not say so, this definition seems to imply that the sacrificial dimension of the Eucharist flows from the consecration (or blessing) of the elements, the fraction of the host, and the reception of the Body and Blood by the priest in communion. Lynch also examines Aquinas’s discussion of the Mosaic Law’s sacrifices (prima secundae) and his discussion of Christ’s priesthood and Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross (tertia pars). In addition, throughout Aquinas’s treatise on the Eucharist, Aquinas offers important remarks regarding Eucharistic sacrifice, suggesting that the sacramental representation of Christ’s sacrifice occurs through the dual consecration of the Body and Blood.

Turning to Cajetan, Lynch shows that Cajetan’s commentary on the Summa informed his 1525 response to Zwingli, in which Cajetan argues that Christ’s sacrifice and the Eucharistic sacrifice are the same sacrifice under two modes, corporal (on the Cross) and spiritual (sacramental representation). For Cajetan, the sacrificial signification is found in the dual consecration of the Body and Blood. Lynch also shows that Cajetan’s systematic work influenced his exegesis of the biblical passages relevant to Eucharistic sacrifice. In his 1531 De sacrificio Missae, Cajetan responded to the Augsburg Confession, emphasizing that “it is the unity of Christ’s priesthood that holds the two modalities of offering in a single sacrificial unity” (87).

Lynch next explores the Dominican school of Salamanca. Vitoria lays weight upon the Secunda pars and upon Aquinas’s treatise on law. Defending Eucharistic sacrifice in light of the discovery in the New World of human sacrifice and cannibalism, Vitoria defines sacrifice as something offered in divine worship that is consumed. Cano’s account of the Eucharistic sacrifice unites the “separate consecration with the separate consumption of the consecrated Eucharistic elements” (117). Cano also identifies other moments in the Eucharistic liturgy that make the whole liturgy sacrificial. Soto emphasizes the context of law, drawing upon classical Roman thinkers to argue that the state must ensure that the people offer a true sacrifice to God: “It is always the case in republics that sacrifice, priesthood, laws, and governance coincide” (130). The sacrifice of the Mass is the same sacrifice that Christ offered, now offered in the sacramental mode of memorial. Soto highlights the consumption of the Eucharist as the completion of the sacrificial dimension of the Mass. Bañez’s discussion of Eucharistic sacrifice draws upon Aquinas in light of the Council of Trent. He, too, underlines the consumption of the Eucharist as perfecting the Eucharistic sacrifice.

Turning to the early Jesuits, Lynch notes that Bellarmine’s perspective is influenced by his debates with Martin Chemnitz and Philip Melanchthon. Bellarmine maintains that in a sacrifice, “a sensible thing is permanently consecrated and changed (transmutare) by a legitimate minister by means of a mystical rite” (166). This change, which makes a thing holy, is permanent and—as in the killing or burning of a sacrificial animal—destroys what is offered. Bellarmine unites the consecratory change with the act of consumption, understood as destruction. Suárez emphasizes the sign character of sacrificial worship, inclusive of its signification of an interior self-offering to God. Suárez also underscores the importance of divine institution. In his account of Eucharistic sacrifice, he focuses on the consecration as the completion of the sacrifice, on the grounds that the dual consecration causes “a mystical destruction” due to the separation of the Body and Blood of Christ. This sacramental change is productive of the Body and Blood of Christ, and therefore, “destruction” should not be emphasized. Vásquez notes that a sign’s foundation must be a real thing—in this case, Christ’s Body and Blood. For Vásquez, the Eucharistic sacrifice is a “relative sacrifice,” relative to Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. There need be no destruction in a “relative sacrifice,” of which the Eucharist is the sole instance. All sacrifice, for Vásquez, gives honor to God’s sovereign power over life and death. The dual consecration sacramentally signifies Christ’s death on the Cross and therefore constitutes a “mystical slaying” (193).

Lynch concludes his book with the Dominican John of St. Thomas, educated by Jesuits and in constant conversation with them. Taking up Suárez’s and Vásquez’s emphasis on sign, as well as Suárez’s distinction between moral and mystical signification, John defines sacrifice “within the context of moral acts, rather than moral or mystical signification” (204). The Eucharistic sacrifice signifies the interior act of Christ the Priest, as expressed by his exterior act.

Sacramental theologians, especially Catholics, who read this book will realize that serious study of the Eucharist today requires engaging with the perspectives of these figures. For historical theologians, Lynch will serve as a trustworthy guide.