Dec 6, 2024
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De Maria numquam satis: Of Mary never
enough. This saying of St. Bernard is echoed by many other saints.
St. Anselm, for instance, says that it is impossible to determine
the limits of God’s grace in elevating Mary’s human nature. St.
Alphonsus says that if there is anything good we can say about
Mary, not contrary to the teaching of the Church and having some
legitimate theological basis, then we ought to say it. But some
Catholics, to say nothing of Protestants, would object to this kind
of Mariology. Are these mere overflows of sentimental piety, or can
they be sustained as a rational approach to theology?
Fr. Charles Anthony Mary, a Franciscan Friar
of the Immaculate, joins the podcast to argue for why “Marian
Maximalism” is a sound theological position. The Franciscan
tradition has always been particularly strong on our Lady: St.
Francis, St. Bonaventure, Bl. John Duns Scotus, St. Maximilian
Kolbe… Fr. Charles makes the case for “Mary-Maxing”, explains some
of the doctrinal and ecumenical stakes involved, and takes us
through the Franciscan tradition, culminating in the cutting-edge
(and controversial) Mariology of St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe.
Links
Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner, The Theologian
of Auschwitz: St. Maximilian M. Kolbe on the Immaculate Conception
in the Life of the Church
Video of Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner and Mother
Angelica, “Blessed Virgin Mary: Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and
Advocate”
