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About Mary and Jesus

Introduction

It is my intention to write a book of theological reflections on Mary and Jesus. The book is being written with the staff of a particular school in mind. The patron saint of the school is St Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941), who founded the Militia Immaculata in 1917. 

This part of my website will be used to construct the book.

Reflection 1

Who are you, my Lady? Who are you, Immaculata? I cannot fathom what it is to be a creature of God. To understand what it means to be his adopted child is beyond my power. But you, O Immaculata, who are you? You are not only a creature not just an adopted child, but the Mother of God—and not merely a foster Mother, but the real Mother of God. And this is not merely a supposition, a probability, but a certainty, an absolute certainty, a dogma of faith. 

Aim Higher! Spiritual and Marian Reflections of St Maximilian Kolbe: Marytown Press, 2007, p.l3 

The material and the metaphysical

We know well enough the meaning of the word “mother,” but the notion of “God” contains  the infinite within it, while our intelligence is limited and will never be capable therefore of completely understanding the concept of “Mother of God.”

Fehlner, Peter Damian (2019). The theologian of Auschwitz. Hobe Sound, Florida: Lectio Publishing LLC.

Duns Scotus

Our exploration begins early in the second millennium. John Duns Scotus was born in Scotland around 1265. He entered the Franciscan Order when he was only fifteen and was ordained in 1291. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in theology in 1303 and moved to Paris to teach about the books of Peter Lombard’s Sententiae, which had become the authoritative theological textbook of the Church. Comprising of four books, Peter Lombard (d. 1160) had written a systematic and comprehensive treatment of the properties of God, creation, the Incarnation and redemption and of the sacraments and the last things (death, judgment, heaven, hell).

In the same year, conflict between Philip the Fair, King of France and Pope Boniface VIII saw him leave Paris, only to return a year later to work on his doctorate, which he gained in 1305.  Duns Scotus went on to teach at Oxford, Canterbury, Paris and Cologne, where he died in 1308. He was just 43 years old.  In a comparatively short period, Duns Scotus impressed people with his knowledge and his humility. The Franciscan theological school adopted his theological system as its own foundation. Early in the twentieth century, a young friar, Maximilian Mary Kolbe (1894-1941) spent time in Rome studying Duns Scotus’ theology. 

Francis and Mary

Before Duns Scotus, there was Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) the founder of the religious order to whidh Duns Scotus belonged.  

Richard Patrick Branson