Allegory of the Immaculate Conception as Defender of the Faith (1760 Juan Patricio Morlete Ruiz)
The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Patronal Feast Day of the United States of America,
8 December 2021 Gen 3:9-15, 20; Eph 1:3-6, 11-12; Lk 1:26-38.
Theme: Mother of God, teach us to believe,
to hope and to love with you.
Guide us on our way to the Kingdom of God.
Mother of the Church[1] in a Post Christian Culture[2]
The Patronal Feast Day of the United States of America awakens the sense of the faithful and the sense of the Church universal to the doctrine that Mary was conceived, as all of us, by the beautiful love of our parents with the singular privilege of being preserved from original sin. The baptized are liberated from original sin. Bl. John Duns Scotus (1265-1308) argued to be preserved is a superior grace to being liberated from original sin. His thought builds upon the fact to which every other consideration must be related as to its motive and end. That is the absolute predestination of Christ and Mary Immaculate.[3] The predestination of all else is in view of this. The development is Newmanian.
Duns Scotus identified and explained the key to a genuine Christo-centrism: the absolute primacy, firstness, or predestination of the Word Incarnate to be Savior of the World. The subtle and Marian Franciscan argued in favor of the Immaculate Virgin to be the Savior’s Mother and set the stage to be Mother of the Church as the plan from eternity to take place jointly with the Savior.
The great merit of Duns Scotus is to have identified and explained why the Word Incarnate was predestined to be the Savior of the World, not because of the sin of Adam but because of the love of God from eternity. That simple truth is to be shouted from the rooftops. Mary Immaculate is predestined jointly with Him to be His Mother and the Mother of the Church.[4]
Recognition of Mary as Mother of the Church is fitting during a perceived freefall of truth accompanying the post-Christian culture. Christian faithful recognize the doubleness of modernity with its gifts and crises. Some cheer, others weep, and still others mix reactions. Love and devotion to the Mother of the Church brings comfort and reassures the unfailing presence of infinite Love. The development of the term post-Christian culture is along three lines: external factors; the length of time of response of Church leaders; and truth about complicity, intended or not.
Post-Christian culture identifies external factors bearing on truth, certainty, certitude, and the direction of contemporary culture. Second, the secular invasion and temporization of Church authorities in dealing with the secular invasion intensifies the ambiguity of external factors. The faithful are not deaf to the reproaches directed at authorities in the Church nor fail to see the justice in some reproaches. Third, by inviting in the secular, ideologies and ideas in openness and cultural encounter, if lacking competence to regulate Christianly, amounts to complicity in creating a post-Christian culture.[5]
The feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God defines concretely Woman who is such because she is Immaculate Conception, so holy as to be able to be Virginal-Mother of God (WK 1318).[6] St. Maximilian Kolbe’s Scotistic perspective treats feminine in metaphysical terms before empirical terms. Duns Scotus is defining woman concretely by the Woman who is the Immaculate Conception. Male and female are used empirically as subordinate to the terms metaphysically. He differentiates and identifies that for which and to which all the rest of creation is related.
The relation is a mystery (not a problem, nor myth, certainly not a fable) that enables the faithful to come to understand person in the Trinity and person in the economy of salvation (Mary and all of us). Irenaeus calls Mary the “new Eve.”[7] Medieval Christian writers call Mary “new Woman.” Contrast with the old Eve and blame for the fall. Eve was deceived. Adam knew better, was weak, used to comforts, failed to take a stand, was complicit and is more responsible in this original sin.[8]
Even if it appears generous, the dignity of persons, the dignity of women, and acting justly seems to be growing worldwide. Upright human conduct is hope in action. Suffering, shocks, cries for vengeance, remind that the power of sin against the dignity of persons continues. Contemporary secularism, which is sturdily empirical, operates within the dual gift of modernity. A Franciscan emphasis and interpretation employ a Scotistic metaphysical approach first as well as empirical approach.
The headline making term “gender” often confuses. A Scotistic perspective on gender employs the metaphysical approach, without denying inclusion of empirical psychological reasons. E.G., a Scotistic perspective builds with metaphysical principles to resolve questions that accompany gender as: 1.) creation, Creator and gender; 2.) Mary, Trinity and gender; and 3.) Divine Maternity, Trinity and gender. Many layers require critical engagement. Amplification of the Scotistic perspective is my goal.
Kolbe, a Scotist, is a theologian and philosopher who considers the personality of the Church as bride of Christ to be the extension of the Virgin Mary. Think of the maximum glory of Christ or the salvation of the Church as realized in the triumph of the Immaculate Heart, the Mother of the Church. Ponder how this paraphrases the Scotistic thesis with which I began. The primacy of Christ shows the divine plan to make possible the final glory of Christ which is the love of Mary Immaculate and the motive of our salvation. Kolbe notes that this truth (WK 1305) points in the direction that everything in the Church, including the priesthood and hierarchy, is nuanced in a feminine way.
Kolbe’s pneumatology rests on the mode of the Incarnation and the mode of salvation as primarily Marian, without ever making them effeminate! For many different reasons, critics on the right and left claim Kolbe gives radical support to the feminine personality of the Holy Spirit and for the Immaculate Conception as a kind of second hypostatic union. If critics read the texts of Kolbe (now available in English as WK), they would be hard pressed to validate such claims.
Kolbe summarizes: “In the union of the Holy Spirit with Her, not only does love conjoin two beings but the first of these is all the Love of the Most Holy Trinity while the second is all the love of creation, and so in that union…is conjoined…all of Uncreated Love with all of created love: the vertex of love”. “The Immaculate…, the apex of perfection in creation, the Mother of God, the sublimest of creatures” (WK 1318; 1325) who is Mother of the Church.
In Celebration of My Golden Jubilee Year of Priesthood, Fr. Edward J. Ondrako, O.F.M.Conv.
eondrako@alumni.nd.edu
____________________________________________
[1]Mother of the Church is the title Pope St. Paul VI gave to Mary in 1964. Pope Francis approved the feast be celebrated by the Universal Church on the day after Pentecost. Paul VI longed for all Christians to turn to Mary as Mother of the Church. Recall St. John Henry Newman’s seven notes of true development of doctrine (1845).
[2] Using the diagnostic, post-Christian culture, might upset the faithful who love Mary with their innermost heart. Doubt not! Mary remains in our midst as our Mother, the Mother of Hope. See Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi 50.
[3] Duns Scotus does not treat the predestination of Mary in his published works, but his approach to predestination to glory before any consideration of sin and redemption was taken up mainly by his disciples. Developments follow in logical order so that his theory of the joint predestination of Christ and Mary is now part of the ordinary Magisterium. See Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, ch. 8, n. 61. Peter D. Fehlner attests to this true development.
[4] The lynchpin of joint predestination in LG 61 is uno eodemque decreto, by one and the same decree.
[5] Post-Christian culture is a term I align with “hope” in Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi (2007).
[6] See St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, Writings of Kolbe (Lugano: Nerbini, 2016), Eng trans. is WK 1318; Ital. is SK.
[7] Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, (c. 180), 3:21 and 22. 4. The Second Eve undoes the “knot that Eve tied.”
[8] J. C. Cavadini, Visioning Augustine (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2019), 211-238. Adam should have sacrificed!
Fr. Edward J. Ondrako, OFM Conventual
Research Fellow Pontifical Faculty of St. Bonaventure, Rome
Visiting Scholar, McGrath Institute for Church Life
University of Notre Dame
November 8, 2021
From December 4 -7, 2021, our Minister General, the Most Reverend Fr. Carlos Trovarelli, OFM Conv. visited with our province friars, while staying in our Portiuncula Friary, in Ellicott City, MD. After a few days of meeting and visits with a few of our local friaries, on December 6th, Father General celebrated a private Mass for all of our friars who were able to join him, in our Chapel at The Shrine of St. Anthony, followed by a fraternal meal. Also visiting with him was our Order’s Assistant General of the CFF and a friar of our province, Fr. Jude Winkler, OFM Conv., who concelebrated at the Mass and proclaimed the Gospel. Since Father General is Argentinian, he preached the Homily in Spanish, so Fr. Chris Dudek, OFM Conv. translated the Homily in English for our friars present. Student friar Edgar Varela, OFM Conv. read the 1st Reading and Psalm. Solemnly Professed Friar Richard Rome, OFM Conv. read the Universal Prayer. Around 40 friars were in attendance, including three friars from the Kraków Prowincja św. Antoniego i bł. Jakuba Strzemię w Polsce [Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Poland]. The Very Reverend Fr. Marian Gołąb, OFM Conv. (Kraków Minister Provincial), Friar Jakub Czajka, OFM Conv. (Kraków Province Treasurer), and Friar Piotr Sarnicki, OFM Conv. (Kraków Delegate to the United States) who are visiting our province in regards to the many Polish friars of their province who live and serve with our friars.
Two of our friars serve in pastoral ministry at the Newman Catholic Student Center Parish at UNC at Chapel Hill, NC. Fr. Timothy Kulbicki, OFM Conv. (Pastor & Campus Minister), Fr. William Robinson, OFM Conv. (Parochial Vicar & Associate Campus Minister), and the Newman Catholic Community share a special relationship with our province’s Siler City, NC pastoral ministry of St. Julia Catholic Community; a culturally diverse parish of more than 2,000 parishioners. Although thriving spiritually under the pastoral leadership of Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Julio Martinez, OFM Conv., many of St. Julia’s parishioners struggle with the area’s high rate of unemployment and lack of affordable health care.
The coronavirus pandemic has only made such struggles worse.
In a Annual Advent Giving Tree effort, Newman Catholic Student Center Parish is collecting to purchase $25 Walmart and Food Lion gift cards—two stores that are easily accessible in Siler City. St. Julia’s parish staff will then distribute the gift cards according to the needs of parish household, allowing them to determine how best to provide for their needs and desires at Christmas. Anyone can contribute up through December 12, 2021 – The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
To make a contribution of your own, please log into onrealm.org/UNCNewman/give/GiftCards.
The gift cards will be delivered on December 15, 2021.
December 2, 2021: Our Lady of the Angels Province friar and Syracuse University Catholic Campus Minister – Fr. Gerry Waterman, OFM Conv., after being granted permission by Bishop Douglas J. Lucia of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse on his last visit to the University, was privileged to celebrate the Confirmation and 1st Eucharist of Jediel Henrik Ponnudurai, a 3rd year architectural student at Syracuse University and native of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Jediel’s sponsor was his younger brother Josiah, who was fully initiated into the Catholic Faith three years ago, while studying at Notre Dame University in South Bend, IN. Josiah was present as sponsor at the 7:00 p.m. Community Mass in the St. Thomas More Chapel virtually, via Zoom from Malaysia, where it was 8:00 a.m. in the morning. Taking the Confirmation name “Barbara,” Jediel received these sacraments during the Advent season, rather than with his fifteen Syracuse University RCIA peers at the Easter Vigil, because he is bound for Florence, Italy for the next 2 semesters as part of his curriculum of studies.
Our Lady of the Angels Province’s Boynton Beach, FL pastoral ministry of St. Mark Catholic Church is producing a series of four Advent reflections for their parish Facebook page. In this first reflection, as we begin our Advent season, Fr. Richard Florek, OFM Conv. (parochial vicar) also reflects on the liturgical year. Be sure to “like” and “follow” the parish page so you can enjoy this and the next four reflections, as they are posted.
Br. Manny Wenke, OFM Conv., Fr. Dominic Lim, OFM Conv., Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv., Fr. Ed Debono, OFM Conv. (who celebrated his 89th birthday on the Feast of All Saints of the Seraphic Order), Fr. Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv., Br. Tom Purcell, OFM Conv., Fr. Jim Fukes, OFM Conv. and Fr. David Collins, OFM Conv.
The famous statue of St. Joseph that sits in the crypt chapel of the Saint Joseph’s Oratory
November 28-29, 2021: Our Vicar Provincial, Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv. joined most of the friars of our Canadian Delegation of St. Francis, on a pilgrimage to the St. Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal (The Shrine of St. André Bessette, in Montréal, Quebec) to mark the Year of St. Joseph. St. Joseph is Canada’s patron saint and one of our three friaries of our Province Delegation is named for St. André Bessette. While there, they took the opportunity to renew their vows on the November 29th Feast of All Saints of the Seraphic Order. The Mass, presided by Friar Michael, was celebrated in the shrine chapel located just over the tomb of Brother André. Following the Mass and renewal of vows, a festive meal was served and the friars were offered a guided tour of the shrine complex.
Throughout our province ministries, there will be many Advent Liturgies, Prayer Services and Celebrations as we prepare for Christmas. Our Ellicott City, MD shrine ministry – The Shrine of St. Anthony – held an Advent Family Festival, on Saturday, November 27th, ending with an Advent Vigil Mass at 3:00 p.m. Participants made Family Advent Wreaths, enjoyed treats & fellowship, took a wagon ride tour of the property and even had a special visit from St. Nicholas.
Be sure to check out our province “Locations” page on this website to find a ministry near you, so you can join our friars in the preparations of Advent.
Photo taken by a lay staff participant in the 2012 Province Co-Worker Pilgrimage to Italy (Rome & Assisi). It is of the modern day Town Square of Greccio, which is about a mile and a half from the Santuario di Greccio.
A few years before his death and in remembrance of his visit to the Holy Land, our Seraphic Father Francis asked his friend and companion, Giovanni Velita – the Lord of Greccio, to recreated the presepio (crèche) in the cavity of a cave. At Christmas in 1223, in the town of Greccio, Francis desired to reenact for the first time, the scene at Bethlehem. In it was placed a manger with hay and a live ox and donkey. The Cappella del Presepio or “Nativity Chapel” was built there in 1228; the year of the canonization of St. Francis of Assisi. (Read More)
We now enjoy the tradition of manger scenes in our churches and in our homes because of this event – Christ coming to live among us. Throughout the years, our friars have continued this tradition with Living Nativity celebrations we simply call “Greccio.” The pandemic of 2020 has forced these celebration to change a bit but our friars and our ministries are trying diligently to still keep the tradition alive with safe social distancing protocols in place.
Many of our province ministries have already announced their own Greccio services. Be sure to check out our “Locations” page for a ministry nearest to you to see if they are going to hold a Greccio Experience. Here are just a few examples of scheduled Greccio Services around the Province:
1) Saturday,December11,2021,7:30 –8:30 p.m. Location:The Shrine of St. Anthony, Ellicott City, MD Join our friars on the grounds of the Shrine for a Service of Prayers, Christmas Carols and a Living Nativity outside of the Red Barn. Refreshment will follow, free of charge. All are welcome to come and encounter the true meaning of Christmas!
2) Sunday, December 19, 2021, 5:00 p.m. Location: Basilica of St. Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr, Chicopee, MA Hosted by the Basilica of St. Stanislaus and the San Damiano Youth Group. Join us for a living nativity with St. Francis and LIVE animals.
3) Sunday, December 19, 2021, 2:00 p.m. Location: Assumption Church, Syracuse, NY All are welcome to come experience the wonder of Christmas with a living nativity just like Saint Francis of Assisi did in 1223 when he celebrated the first Christmas crèche at Greccio, Italy.
After a few frosts, the farm has now begun it’s transformation for the winter. Some plants, like tomatoes, have already been removed to make way for other crops we planted earlier this month, including a cover crop of winter rye that will help protect the soil over the winter and early spring.
In the Bull of Pope Honorius III, issued November 29, 1223, the Final Rule of our Order was ratified. The Rule was initially outlined and approved by Pope Innocent III, in 1209, but as the Order grew in those first years, revisions to the initial Rule were needed. After a version prepared in 1221 was seen as too strict, St. Francis of Assisi enlisted the aid of several legal scholars to compose the Final Rule that was approved in 1223. In commemoration of that day, all the saints of the Franciscan (Seraphic) Order are remembered each November 29th. In September of 1224, two years prior to his death, while praying on Mount La Verna, St. Francis received the marks of our Lord’s Passion in his hands, feet and side; a miracle known as the Stigmata, after composing and praying “The Praises of God” (see below). Written on a parchment which is signed and also contains a blessing from St. Francis to brother Leo, it is conserved as a relic in the Basilica of St. Francis, in Assisi. In the Life of St. Francis, Saint Bonaventure states, “while Francis was praying on the mountainside, he beheld a Seraph having six wings, flaming and resplendent, coming down from the heights of heaven. When in his flight most swift he had reached the space of air nigh the man of God, there appeared betwixt the wings the Figure of a Man crucified, having his hands and feet stretched forth in the shape of a Cross and fastened unto a Cross. Two wings were raised above His head, twain were spread forth to fly, while twain hid His whole body.” (pg. 139 Vision of the Seraph) Later in the work, St. Bonaventure speaks of the Fulfillment of the Visions (pg. 146-147), “Now finally that vision that was vouchsafed thee toward the end of they life, – to wit the exalted likeness of the Seraph, and the lowly Image of Christ shewn in one, – kindly thee inwardly and marking thee outwardly as another Angel ascending from the sunrising, having the seal of the Living God in thee, – giveth a confirmation of faith unto those visions aforesaid, and likewise receiveth from them a witness unto its own truth.”
St. Francis was in intense prayer when the Lord appeared as a Seraph, whose flaming, resplendent wings mimic God’s intense love as it was shared by Christ, as is portrayed in the sanctuary space of our Shrine of St. Anthony (Ellicott City, MD), in the mural by Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Joseph Dorniak, OFM Conv. (see photo). The word seraphic is often used to describe St. Francis of Assisi and his passion for God. In turn it is affiliated with the Franciscan Order, whose members strive to live the charism of our Seraphic Father and founder. This is why it is also referred to as the Seraphic Order. We are comprised of the First Order – priests and brothers professing the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience as members of one of three independent branches (OFM, OFM Conv. and OFM Cap.) as well as the Second Order – cloistered nuns professing the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience belonging to the Order of St. Clare (OSC) the Poor Clares (PC), and those members of the Third Order – religious and lay men and women performing works of teaching, charity, and social service known as the priests, brothers and sisters of the Third Order Regular (TOR) & the lay men and women of the Secular Franciscan Order (OFS).
The Praises of God
You are holy Lord God Who does wonderful things.
You are strong. You are great. You are the most high.
You are the almighty king. You holy Father,
King of heaven and earth.
You are three and one, the Lord God of gods;
You are the good, all good, the highest good,
Lord God living and true.
You are love, charity; You are wisdom, You are humility,
You are patience, You are beauty, You are meekness,
You are security, You are rest,
You are gladness and joy, You are our hope, You are justice,
You are moderation, You are all our riches to sufficiency.
You are beauty, You are meekness,
You are the protector, You are our custodian and defender,
You are strength, You are refreshment. You are our hope,
You are our faith, You are our charity,
You are all our sweetness, You are our eternal life:
Great and wonderful Lord, Almighty God, Merciful Savior.
December 2, 2021: Our Lady of the Angels Province friar and 
