FS #48: Mary’s Role, Part 2 – Oct 17 – Homily – Fr Terrance

 

Fr Terrance gives the homily at Bloomington, IN, on Oct 17, 2023, on how Franciscan Spirituality emphasizes Our Lady's predestined role in God's plan, with teachings from St. Paul and Blessed John Duns Scotus, highlighting her immaculate nature and her intertwined destiny with Jesus.

Franciscan spirituality focuses on Our Lady and Her role in God's plan. St. Paul speaks of predestination, a concept we should understand correctly. God's words, unlike ours, have eternal significance. As mentioned in Isaiah 55:11 - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/55?11 - God's word will not return empty but will achieve its purpose. When God created Eve as a helper for Adam in Genesis 2:18 -https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/2?18, He had Our Lady in mind. Mary, unlike Eve in Genesis 3:20 - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/3?20, is the mother of all living by grace. Our true models are Jesus and Mary, through whom we are born of God as stated in John 1:13 - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/1?13.

Mary's predestination is closely tied to Jesus. They are the foundation of God's works. The 18th-century Franciscan Carlos del Moral emphasized that everything was created for Jesus and Mary. Blessed John Duns Scotus highlighted the excellence of the Virgin.

Mary's perfection is a reflection of Jesus. She holds the fullness of every created grace, free from sin. In Colossians 2:9 - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/colossians/2?9, St. Paul speaks of Jesus' divine fullness. Mary is depicted as the woman clothed with the sun in Revelation 12:1 - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/revelation/12?1 and is the woman from Genesis 3:15 - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/3?15 who will defeat the serpent.

Blessed John Duns Scotus addressed Mary's Immaculate Conception, teaching that Mary's immaculate nature doesn't exclude her from Christ's redemptive mediation. Mary was preserved from sin, a concept Franciscan theologian Ludovico Collini da Castelplanio elaborated on. Mary's predestination is solely based on Christ, not Adam's sin.

The Immaculate Conception is a significant achievement of Franciscan theology, championed by Blessed John Duns Scotus and Blessed Pius IX.

00:00 - Introduction
00:18 - God's Eternal Plan
01:24 - Mary as New Eve
02:59 - Mary's Predestination
04:29 - Attributing the Most Excellent to Mary
05:49 - Mary's Immaculate Conception
08:04 - Mary Preserved, Not Redeemed
09:00 - Mary Predestined Before Sin
10:03 - Bond Between Jesus and Mary
10:57 - Marian Dogmas and Franciscan Theology

This is a continuation of his series of homilies on Franciscan Spirituality - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNN151zTIO4&list=PLejh_e0-LN4xgMllKrzSasL2Hljd5BHom
and the subsection "Mary's Role"

The material for this series comes primarily from Ciccarelli, Marciano M., "I capisaldi della spiritualità francescana" in Italian, which translates as "The Cornerstones of Franciscan Spirituality." No English translations of this book exist at the time of this recording.

Ave Maria!

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