Short Series #26 – The Christocentrism of Bl. John Duns Scotus and its Implications for Mariology ( 40min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

In this repost for our Scotus Month (ending on the Immaculate Conception, Dec 8th) we delve into the radical Christocentrism of Bl. John Duns Scotus that provides the theological basis for the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and this puts the lie to the idea that giving honor to Mary is synonymous with downplaying Christ.

In the second presentation at our International Centenary Symposium on the Mariology of Bl. John Duns Scotus held in Durham, England, Fr. Johannes Schneider, OFM, discusses the Christocentrism of Bl. John Duns Scotus and its implications for Mariology. Fr. Johannes’ presentation is read by Fr. Peter D. Felhner, F.I.

Ave Maria!

Audio (MP3)

Conferences #105 – Fr. Peter in his Second Lecture for the Symposium ( 64min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Lecture 5 of the Newman-Scotus Symposium is by Rev. Dr. Fehlner: Scotus and Newman in Dialogue: Examples of Scotistic Affinities in Newman, the Will, the Critical Question (of Interiorization) and Faith

Fr. Peter first comments on Dr. Noone’s last talk that Newman and Scotus disagrees with each other on process of assent. But this is not the starting point. Going to God given the differences is difficulty. Scotus term simplicite simplex, Perfect being, that is God and so radically different. But they have a common starting point in their Christology and Mariology.

Fr. Peter mentions:

• Key is to find where Newman fits in the Franciscan view
  
• Primacy of charity is central.
• Scotus the metaphysician is also a good Phenomenologist in the sound patristic tradition, not of Ockham.
  
• Evidence of similarity not only in theory but also in the development of doctrine in Newman.
• Newman and Scotus are opposed to Kant and Hegel.
• Absolute primacy of Christ of Scotus
• Holiness as link between reason and faith.
• The personal responsibility for our decisions. It is a risk but a prudent one.
• Showing the radical differences between Position of Kant with that of Scotus.
• Relation to Kant is key since the perceived similarity is the major point of

Question and Answer:

What is the connection between Newman-Scotus and Lonergan or rather a disconnect? – Lonergan and K. Rahner and J. Marecel are in error in regard to Scotus and Bonaventure. They are more inclined to Kant and Hegel and has little to do with Scotus according to his own words. Newman had very little interest in the German philosophy of his time.

Also same in that Scotus can not be made into a pre-Ockham. He is a continuation of Bonaventure and the scholastic tradition. Ockham on the other hand is the first of the moderns. But Scotus does say that knowledge is not as mechanical as it is in the Thomistic sense. The reasonableness is not as restricted to the intellect but includes the will.

Lonergan-Newman connection – Lonergan states he read Newman many times. Fr. Peter says his interpretation is off, reflecting his Transcendental Thomism.

Fr Ed Reflects Rahner and Ratzinger where first of one mind and then after the council started to diverge and the differences need to be explored to get to the root of these questions.

Ave Maria!

Audio (MP3)

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A repost of past video for the AirMaria Scotus Month Nov 8th-Dec 8th

Ave Maria!

St. Therese of the Child Jesus has said, “Love is repaid by love alone.” Elsewhere it is said in simpler form: “Love for love,” meaning God first offers us His love in the hope that we will respond by giving Him ours.

This principle of action and reaction is the heart of Bl. John Duns Scotus’ teaching. God first acts by willing Christ, the God-man, and the God-man responds with His Heart aflame for the love and glory of the Father. We also see God’s principle of action and reaction in the predestination of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Listen now as Father explains this eye-opening principle of “Love for love,” “action and reaction,” and how it plays out in all of creation, and in our lives.

Ave Maria!

Roving Reporter #111 – Fr. Jerome Pica and Friar Terrance speak on John Duns Scotus ( 23min) >>> Play

A repost of past video for Scotus Month (Nov 8 to Dec 8).

Ave Maria!

Recently Friar Terrance had the opportunity to chat with Fr. Jerome Pica, F.I., and to talk with him about Bl. John Duns Scotus, a famous Franciscan scholastic philosopher/theologian who is still unknown to most of the world. The Franciscans of the Immaculate in Italy have recently finished a full-length movie on the life of Duns Scotus. We hope you enjoy the interview which we’ve titled “Who is John Duns Scotus…and why is he important?”, and we send our apologies for the setting of the interview…but it’s the best we could do!

Ave Maria!

Audio (MP3)

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Repost of Previous video for Scotus Month on AirMaria

Ave Maria!

“Click in” as Fr. Maximilian Mary recapitulates all that he has said thus far about the absolute primacy of Jesus Christ and prepares to launch into the subject of the mediation of grace and glory through the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Having established the absolute primacy of Jesus Christ, the Cornerstone will show where Our Lady fits into God’s plan and what that means for our spiritual life.

Ave Maria!

This video series is based on the book A Primer on the Absolute Primacy of Christ by the host Fr. Maximilian M. Dean, FI

Bl. John Newman

and

Bl. John Duns Scotus

Similar?

Yes! In fact, they are so similar that there will actually be three days of scholarly talks on the subject by some of the most eminent theologians and speakers in the field for the Newman Scotus Symposium at the Washington Theological Union on Friday, the 22nd of October to Sunday the 24th.

There will be Nine Major talks with several Question and Answer sessions by the following speakers:

• Fr. James McCurry, OFMConv.
• Rev. Dr. John Ford, CSC
• Dr. Timothy Noone of CUA
• Rev. Dr. Peter Damian Fehlner, FI
• Deacon Jack Sullivan
• Most Rev. Jude Winkler, OFMConv.
• Keynote by Sr. Mary Beth Ingham w/Q/A: On the Quadruple Scotus Congress
• Rev. Dr. Ed Ondrako, OFMConv.
• Sr. Pat Hutchison, OSF, Ed.D

In addition there will be Masses, Meals, and Leisure time included in the Program

There is still time to register. Here is a talk by Fr. Ed Ondrako, the organizer:

Hope to see you there.

Ave Maria!

St. Lawrence of Brindisi (1559-1619) Feast Day is July 21st

“God is love, and all his operations proceed from love. Once he wills to manifest that goodness by sharing his love outside himself, then the Incarnation becomes the supreme manifestation of his goodness and love and glory. So, Christ was intended before all other creatures and for his own sake. For him all things were created and to him all things must be subject, and God loves all creatures in and because of Christ. Christ is the first-born of every creature, and the whole of humanity as well as the created world finds its foundation and meaning in him. Moreover, this would have been the case even if Adam had not sinned”

(St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Doctor of the Universal Church, Capuchin Educational Conference, Washington, D.C.).

On Wednesday the Holy Father gave a catechesis on Bl. Scotus, which includes a positive assessment of his doctrine on the primary motive for the Incarnation and a clear affirmation that Scotus was not responsible for Voluntarism. This is big news, considering that:

1) while still a Cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger wrote in one of his books that he disagreed with Scotus’ doctrine on the Incarnation; now, as Pope, he seems to have changed his mind and embraced Scotus’ position.

2) in his famous Regensburg Address, the Holy Father made a comment which many people interpreted as criticizing Scotus’ doctrine on the will; in this new catechesis, however, he clearly states the opposite.

In regard to the Absolute Primacy of Christ:

In his audience, celebrated in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope dedicated his catechesis to Blessed Duns Scotus, who was born around the year 1266 in the Scottish village of Duns, entered the Friars Minor and was ordained a priest in 1291. “His intelligence earned him the traditional tile of ‘Doctor subtilis’”, said the Holy Father noting how he taught theology at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Paris. However, his faithfulness to Pope Boniface VIII in the latter’s conflict with Philip IV the Fair led to him leaving France. He returned to Paris in 1305 to teach theology then moved on to Cologne where he died in 1308.

“Because of his fame of sanctity, his cult soon spread within the Franciscan Order, and Venerable John Paul II chose to confirm him as a blessed on 20 March 1993, describing him as a ‘cantor of the incarnate Word and defender of the Immaculate Conception’. In this expression he summarized Duns Scotus’ great contribution to the history of theology”, said Pope Benedict.

He then went on to explain that, “though aware that because of original sin Christ redeemed us with His Passion, Death and Resurrection”, Duns Scotus “makes it clear that the Incarnation is the greatest and most sublime work of the history of salvation, and that it is not conditioned by any contingent circumstance.

In regard to the error of voluntarism (absolute freedom of the will):

The Pope recalled that Duns Scotus had also tackled “the subject of freedom and its relationship with the will and the intellect”. In this context he noted how “an idea of innate and absolute freedom (as developed after Scotus’ time) located in the will which precedes the intellect, both in God and in man, risks leading to the idea of a God Who is not even connected to truth and goodness”.

“Freedom”, the Pope explained, “is authentic and helps in the construction of a truly human civilization only when reconciled with truth. If disconnected from truth, freedom tragically becomes the principle that destroys the inner harmony of human beings, a source of abuse for the strong and the violent, a cause of suffering and mourning. Freedom … grows and is perfected, said Duns Scotus, when man opens himself to God. … When we listen to the divine Revelation, to the Word of God, in order to accept it, then we receive a message which fills our lives with light and hope, and we are truly free”.

Deo Gratias!  Read the whole article here.