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FRANCISCANS OF THE IMMACULATE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH A DAY WITH MARY

From an article by Charles Balic, OFM, written in 1966 to commemorate the seventh centenary of the birth of blessed John Duns Scotus

A disputed question…

Under the above heading, The Berwickshire News of Tuesday 12 April, 1966, printed a letter to the editor in which it was stated that we are still uncertain about the exact birthplace of the great British philosopher and theologian, John Duns Scotus…

It is not necessary to point out that in the field of history one cannot always expect to have obvious evidence leading to a kind of mathematical certainty. Often we must be content with arguments which afford moral certitude or give such a degree of probability as to exclude any other hypothesis. Now it seems to me quite certain that the documents and the historical arguments which we possess lead us with certainty to the conclusion that the town of Duns in Scotland was the birthplace of the Subtle Doctor, John Duns Scotus.

An Irishman, or an Englishman perhaps?

Two monographs on Duns Scotus appeared at the end of the second decade of this century, one by P?re Alexandre Bertoni, O.F.M., and the other by Padre Egidio Maria Giusto, O.F.M., and both mentioned the attempts to make our Doctor either an Irishman or an Englishman. The former wrote: ?Ceux qui veulent faire du Subtil Docteur un anglais, ont contre eux le terrible argument du nom Scotus, qui les repousse et les met hors de combat?; and the other writer supports him: ?Giacch? risulta da un lato che i coevi fanno del nostro Giovanni Duns Scoto uno Scozzese, e che dall’altro lato il suo nome Scotus significa per i contemporanei come per noi Scozzese, ogni critico imparziale dovr? perentoriamente risolvere la controversia in favore della Scozia.?

John, son of Scotland!

Ever since the fourteenth century the voice of the manuscripts says clearly that Duns Scotus belongs to Scotland. It suffices to glance at the description of the codices in the first volume of the Vatican edition of the works of Scotus. Thus, for example, in the Padua codex we read at the beginning: ?Summa about the first book of the Sentences, by Master John Dinus (!) of Scotland,? and afterwards: ?Summa of questions on the second book .of the Sentences, edited by the Reverend Master John of Scoland.? In the Cesena codex, in the lament for the death of Scotus, we read: ?Mourn, 0 Scotland, for thy uncommon glory has perished,? and the same poem is found in a more extensive form in the very ancient codex B.I. of Canterbury Cathedral Library, where Scotus is called plainly ?John, son of Scotland.? The immediate followers of Scotus also affirm in their writings that the Subtle Doctor is ?a Scot by nationality.?

An objection answered…

Whatever the names may have meant in earlier centuries, we find that at the time of our Doctor the names Scotland and Ireland were quite distinct in meaning. This appears from various documents, among which is the famous scroll of the year 1303 in which we read the names of the Franciscans who refused to sign the petition of King Philip the Fair against Pope Boniface VIII.

In this document, side by side with our Doctor, who is named ?Friar John, Scot,? we find ?Friar Richard, Irish,? ?Friar Odo, Irish,? and ?Friar Thomas, English.?

Duns Scotus himself clearly distinguishes Scotland from Ireland when he writes: ?The seas flow more rapidly the nearer they are to the ocean, like the northern seas, especially the sea between Norway and Scotland, and between Ireland and Spain.? Since the term Scotia minor, at the time of Duns Scotus, no longer distinguished Scotland from Ireland (Scotia maior), but Scotia simply meant what we call Scotland today, and since the earliest documents agree that John was born ?in Scotia,? it follows that we must seek his birthplace in that country, and not elsewhere.

If Scottish, where in Scotland?

Writing in 1921, and arguing from the fact that ?if the Subtle Doctor had been born in Ireland and not in Scotland, he could in no wise have been called Scotus,? Father Giusto suggested that the birthplace was ?the little town of Duns, not far from Berwick?, which had been destroyed in 1545. This opinion prevailed until, in 1929 and 1931, the Franciscan Fathers Longpr? and Callebaut drew attention to the writings of Marianus Brockie preserved at St. Mary’s College, Blairs, and thus orientated opinion in favour of the birth of Scotus in the estate of Littledean, at Maxton, in the county of Roxburghshire. But even before Reverend Henry Docherty
published his study entitled The Brockie Forgeries, Brockie’s evidence was not altogether convincing. Only once before his time had it been asserted that John was ?from Littledean,? whereas it was stated constantly from the first half of the fourteenth century that he was a native of Duns. Among the more important sources the first place belongs to codex 137 of the Municipal Library of Assisi, a manuscript which preserves the mediaeval critical edition of the Ordinatio of Duns Scotus, compiled about 1325 and based on the text corrected by Scotus in his own hand. Here we find the first book on the Sentences ?of Friar John of Duns, a Scot, of the Order of Friars Minor.?

In the Vatican manuscript (cod. lat. 876) of the fourteenth century, after the significant lines: ?Ioannes hic Scotorum, in scholis profecit Anglorum, in Ordine Minorum, fuit doctor Parisiorum,? we meet a valuable witness in the person of John’s own companion or secretary, who writes: ?Additions to the second book of Master John of Duns, the Subtle Doctor, extracted by Master William of Alnwick….? Numerous other codices of the fourteenth century make our Doctor a native of Duns?, to say nothing of the many codices of the fifteenth century which not only assert plainly that our Doctor was ?Scottish by nationality,? but also that he is called John Scotus, ?also known as John of Duns.? ?

John Dunensis? Perhaps not…

In the face of these early and unequivocal testimonies there seems no reason to engage in speculation and to propose hypotheses about other possible places where Duns Scotus might have been born, whether in Ireland or in England, on the plea that the Celtic particle dun appears in their place names. Thus Luke Wadding asserts that Scotus was born in Dun, an ancient city in the north of Ireland, and that Duns is only a contracted form of the adjective Dunensis or Dunius. Similarly Father Bertoni affirms that John was born at ?Downs, in the province of Ulster?.? Thomas Dempster is very annoyed with the Irish who assert that ?Duns is a contracted form of Dunensis, but do not produce any codex where that contraction can be found.?

John of Dunstan, a fellow of Merton College, Oxford?

There is no confirmation of the late evidence offered by the codices of the Bodleian and of Balliol College, written by Reynbold of Zierenberg in 1451 and 1460, namely that John Duns was born ?in a little village called Dunstan, in the parish of Emyldon, in the county of Northumberland, (a parish) belonging to Merton College in Oxford, and he was formerly a fellow of the same College.? Furthermore, there is no evidence whatever that Scotus was ever a fellow of Merton.

The 59 varieties of ?Duns?!

The fact remains that in all the earlier documents the Subtle Doctor is said to be ?of Duns,? of ?Dinis,? ?Dons,? ?Dunz,? or ?Duncz.? In one fourteenth century manuscript preserved at Oxford we find the two names ?Dons? and ?Douns? used in the same manuscript; and in the fifteenth century codex 525 of the Biblioth?que de l?Arsenal of Paris we read: ?John of Downs, Scottish by nationality.?

These variations, however, are not contractions of Dunstan or Dun, but simply different ways of writing the same word, Duns, as always happened with the names of persons or places.

Thomas Dempster proved himself a stout defender of the Scottish origin of Duns Scotus: ?There is as much discussion about his birthplace,? he said, ?as about Homer’s?. Wadding enlarged on this: ?The Irish, the English, and the Scots dispute about his fatherland; for the glory of so great a man makes each of these provinces eager to claim him as their own, just as the Greek cities of old fought bitterly about the birthplace of Homer.? After all his efforts to prove Duns Scotus to be an Irishman, the celebrated historian concluded that the matter was far from certain, and he ends with the na?ve plea that Scotus belongs to Ireland because neither the English nor the Scots have exerted themselves or made such sacrifices for his glory: ?If reward is due to merit, and recompense to labour, then Scotus can be awarded to nobody but to the Irish.? …

United in honouring a great saint…

I cherish the hope that the three countries which for centuries contested the claim to be Scotus’ native land will come together on the seventeenth of September [1966] in Duns, around the monument to be erected in his honour, with the inscription:

?Scotia habet cunas, famam Orbis,
funera Rhenus,
Caelum animam,
hic magni spirat
imago viri.?

?Scotland has his cradle,
the World his fame,
the Rhine his burial,
Heaven has his soul,
the figure of this great man
breathes here.?

For Information on The Symposium on the Mariology Duns Scotus in honor of the 700th Centenary of Scotus’ Death.

In England:
Symposium Secretariat
15 Carlton Crescent
Surrey SM3 9TS
England UK
Phone: 020 8641 6418
E-mail: trevor.symposium@talktalk.net

Ave Maria!

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Have a Blessed St. Patrick’s Day!

The post Saint Patricks Cathedral, Armagh, Northern Ireland. first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Homily #100317 ( 15min) Play

Feast of St Patrick

Ave Maria! Mass readings

Audio (MP3)

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The post Mar 17 – Homily – Fr Bonaventure: Apostle of Ireland first appeared on AirMaria.com.

From St. Patrick’s Confession:

Therefore, indeed, I cannot keep silent, nor would it be proper, so many favours and graces has the Lord deigned to bestow on me in the land of my captivity. For after chastisement from God, and recognizing him, our way to repay him is to exalt him and confess his wonders before every nation under heaven:

For there is no other God, nor ever was before, nor shall be hereafter, but God the Father, unbegotten and without beginning, in whom all things began, whose are all things, as we have been taught; and his son Jesus Christ, who manifestly always existed with the Father, before the beginning of time in the spirit with the Father, indescribably begotten before all things, and all things visible and invisible were made by him. He was made man, conquered death and was received into Heaven, to the Father who gave him all power over every name in Heaven and on Earth and in Hell, so that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we believe. And we look to his imminent coming again, the judge of the living and the dead, who will render to each according to his deeds. And he poured out his Holy Spirit on us in abundance, the gift and pledge of immortality, which makes the believers and the obedient into sons of God and co-heirs of Christ who is revealed, and we worship one God in the Trinity of holy name.

And from his breastplate:

I bind unto myself today, in the strong Name of the Trinity,   by invocation of the same, the Three in One, and One in Three.   I bind this day to me forever,  by power of faith, Christ’s Incarnation;  his baptism in the Jordan river;  his death on cross for my salvation; his bursting from the spiced tomb;  his riding up the heavenly way;  his coming at the day of doom: I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself today the power of God to hold and lead, his eye to watch, his might to stay, his ear to hearken to my need;  the wisdom of my God to teach, his hand to guide, his shield to ward;  the word of God to give me speech, his heavenly host to be my guard.

I bind unto me these holy powers.  Against all Satan’s spells and wiles, against false words of heresy, against the knowledge that defiles,  against the heart’s idolatry, against the wizard’s evil craft, against the death-wound and the burning the choking wave and poisoned shaft,  protect me, Christ, till thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me,  Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. I bind unto myself the Name, the strong Name of the Trinity, by invocation of the same, the Three in One, and One in Three.   Of whom all nature hath creation, eternal Father, Spirit, Word: praise to the Lord of my salvation!

The post St. Patrick, bishop first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Homily #110317 ( 05min) Play – Fr Dominic preaches on the missionary activities of St Patrick in Ireland and how they are a great example for all aspiring missionaries.
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. Patrick – Optnl Memorial – Form:
Readings:

First Peter 5:1-4
Luke 5:1-11

Audio (MP3)

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The post Mar 17 – Homily – Fr Dominic: St Patrick Missionary Exemplar first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Marian Shrines of the World #11 – Our Lady of Knock ( 8 min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Join Fr. Andre in this episode of Marian Shrines of the World, as he looks at the apparition and Shrine of Our Lady of Knock in Ireland.

Audio (MP3)

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The post Video – Marian Shrines of the World #11: Our Lady of Knock first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Homily #120317 ( 09min) Play – Fr. Dominic on the life of St Patrick and how God miraculously converted Ireland through his hands. He exhorts us to embrace the same spirit of self sacrifice and charity that is exemplified in St Patrick’s missionary zeal.
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. Patrick – Form: OF
Readings:
1st – Isaiah 52:7-10
Gospel Luke 5:1-11

Audio (MP3)

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The post Mar 17 – Homily – Fr Dominic: St. Patrick and Catholic Ireland first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Homily #140702b ( 04min) Play – Fr. Joachim on the life St. Oliver Plunkett who died as a martyr in Ireland during the Protestant persecutions.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Wednesday 13th Week of Ordinary Time – Wkdy – Form: OF
Readings: 
1st: amo 5:14-15, 21-24
Resp: psa 50:7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 16-17
Gsp: mat 8:28-34

Audio (MP3)

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The post Jul 02 – Homily – Fr Joachim: St. Oliver Plunkett first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Homily #150317b ( 13min) Play – Fr. Alan on Our Lord’s Cure on a Sabbath at the pool of Bethesda and how physical curing is related to spiritual curing from sin. He connects this with the great missionary work of St. Patrick in Ireland and his prayer called the Breastplate of St. Patrick that he prayed at a difficult time in his efforts to heal Ireland of its paganism.

https://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/patrick.htm
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. Patrick – Opt Mem – Form: OF
Readings: Tuesday 4th Week of Lent
1st: eze 47:1-9, 12
Resp: psa 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
Gsp: joh 5:1-3, 5-16

Audio (MP3)

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The post Mar 17 – Homily – Fr Alan: Missionary Healing of St. Patrick first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Variety #267 – Fra Solanus talks about A Holy Jesuit of 20th Century Ireland – Fr. John Sullivan, S.J. ( 26min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Fra Solanus gives us a short account of the life and works of Fr. John Sullivan, S.J. (1861-1933), who was recently declared Venerable by Pope Francis. Fr. Sullivan, born in Dublin, was a convert to the Faith. He was a saintly priest and was well-known, especially in County Kildare, for his gifts of healing and prophecy. You can visit his tomb in the Jesuit Church in Gardiner St., Dublin.

Audio (MP3)

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The post Video – Variety #267: Fra Solanus talks about A Holy Jesuit of 20th Century Ireland – Fr. John Sullivan, S.J. first appeared on AirMaria.com.