Organizational Meeting for Quaerentes Veritatem: The Truth Seekers

Nov. 6, 2007

Fides et Ratio and Our Lady The Philosopher

Dr. Lemmons

Glory be to the Father and The Son and The Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now and shall ever be world without end. Amen.

Mary Seat of Wisdom, Pray for Us

The Holy Father, when he was just Ratzinger, once said that “God does not believe in abstractions, when He sends a message, He sends a person.”

John Paul the Great characterized the life of the Blessed Virgin, in the final paragraphs of Fides et Ratio, as “. . . a true parable illuminating the reflection contained in [Fides et Ratio]. For between the vocation of the Blessed Virgin and the vocation of true philosophy there is a deep harmony. Just as the Virgin was called to offer herself entirely as human being and as a woman that God’s Word might take flesh and come among us, so too philosophy is called to offer its rational and critical resources that theology, as the understanding of faith, may be fruitful and creative. And just as in giving her assent to Gabriel’s word, Mary lost nothing of her true humanity and freedom, so too when philosophy heeds the summons of the Gospel’s truth its autonomy is in no way impaired. Indeed, it is then that philosophy sees all of its enquiries rise to their highest expression. This was a truth which the holy monks of Christian antiquity understood well when they called Mary “the table at which faith sits in thought.”(132) In her they saw a lucid image of true philosophy and they were convinced of the need to philosophari in Maria.”

Today as we reflect on this paragraph several questions come to mind.

The first of these is why does Fides et Ratio end with the identification of Our Lady as a philosopher rather than as a theologian? How does Our Lady model philosophy? How does one philosophize in Mary? How is Our Lady, The Philosopher?

We shall see that John Paul the Great answers these questions by identifying Our Lady both as a model for philosophy and as the model philosopher.

I: Our Lady as the model for philosophy.

There are two ways in which Our Lady models philosophy. The first way that John Paul identifies Our Lady as a model for philosophy is by identifying the relationship of Our Lady to God as a paradigm for the relationship of philosophy to theology. Just as God relied on the Virgin to carry His Word into the world, theology or faith needs philosophy to carry its word to the world. Here are John Paul the Great’s own words:

“Just as the Virgin was called to offer herself entirely as human being and as a woman that God’s Word might take flesh and come among us, so too philosophy is called to offer its rational and critical resources that theology, as the understanding of faith, may be fruitful and creative.”

Earlier in the encyclical, John Paul the Great argues that the soul cannot successfully ascend to God with the insights of faith alone: the soul needs two wings, the wing of reason as well as the wing of faith. In paragraph 48, he argues that without philosophy, faith loses universality and withers into myth or superstition. In paragraph 77, he argues that when philosophy partners with faith “in order to confirm the intelligibility and universal truth of [theology’s] claims,” philosophy loses none of its autonomy as given by its method and its concern with the preambles of faith.

Accordingly, just as Our Lady’s divine mission did not obliterate her human autonomy, neither does philosophy’s divine mission obliterate its autonomy. Let us recall the words from Fides et Ratio that we read at the very beginning of talk:

“And just as in giving her assent to Gabriel’s word, Mary lost nothing of her true humanity and freedom, so too when philosophy heeds the summons of the Gospel’s truth its autonomy is in no way impaired.”

The sceptics among us may well ask why doesn’t faith obliterate the autonomy of the philosopher?

Faith does not obliterate the autonomy of philosophy because faith provides the end or the goal for which the believer undertakes philosophy. Philosophy argues from nature, while faith argues from revelation—as Aquinas argued long ago.

Hence, the first way that Our Lady serves as a model for philosophy is by exemplifying that faith can inspire without eliminating one’s proper autonomy. Philosophy can thus be inspired by faith without losing its proper autonomy.

The second way in which Our Lady models philosophy is by showing that a focus on the divine enables one to reach the highest heights available to a human being. Our Lady’s life teaches us that philosophy’s orientation to the faith enables philosophy to attain its highest heights. In John Paul the Great’s own words:

“Indeed, it is then that philosophy sees all of its enquiries rise to their highest expression. This was a truth which the holy monks of Christian antiquity understood well when they called Mary “the table at which faith sits in thought.”(132)

Faith sitting in thought is a faith seeking to connect the natural world with the world of faith. In paragraph 104, John Paul the Great points out that philosophy is often the only connection to those outside the faith. Yet it is not just that philosophy provides a bridge to faith, but also that faith motivates philosophy’s creativity. As John Paul the Great put it in paragraph 56: “It is faith which stirs reason to move beyond all isolation and willing to run risks so that it may attain whatever is beautiful, good and true.”(n. 56). In another paragraph, he writes, “[R]eason is stirred to explore paths which of itself it would not even have suspected it could take. This . . . relationship with the word of God leaves philosophy enriched, because reason discovers new and unsuspected horizons.” (N. 73) For example, in Mulieris Dignitatem, John Paul argues that the equality of men and women was an innovation brought into human consciousness by Christ himself.

More importantly, faith provides reason with the key to life, namely, its meaning. Philosophy must find the grounds of this meaning in human experience. Indeed, earlier in Fides et Ratio, John Paul the Great argues that philosophy must “recover its sapiental dimension as a search for the ultimate and overarching meaning of life.”(n81) He continues that this focus on wisdom for living not only heals the fragmentation of human knowledge but also enables human knowledge and action “to converge towards a final goal and meaning.”(n. 81).

Hence, the second way in which Our Lady models philosophy is by exemplifying both the courage to uncover God’s handiwork in the natural world and the wisdom to identify the transcendent meaning of this world. In other words, the faith can inspire reason to sit in thought and consider aspects of the natural world that would otherwise remain unknown. Our Lady thereby models the heights to which philosophy should aspire.

II: Our Lady as the Model Philosopher

Our Lady is also the model philosopher who teaches her followers the ways of wisdom. Consider the final three sentences of Fides et Ratio:

“In [Our Lady the Holy monks of Christian antiquity] saw a lucid image of true philosophy and they were convinced of the need to philosophari in Maria. May Mary, Seat of Wisdom, be a sure haven for all who devote their lives to the search for wisdom. May their journey into wisdom, sure and final goal of all true knowing, be freed of every hindrance by the intercession of the one who, in giving birth to the Truth and treasuring it in her heart, has shared it forever with all the world.”

The first of these sentences begins with Our Lady as the image of true philosophy but ends by identifying her as being the true philosopher who assists seekers of truth by sharing with them and “all the world the Truth.”

In his Apostolic Letter on the Rosary (Rosarium Virginis Mariae (RVM)), John Paul the Great explains that during the marriage at Cana, Our Lady clearly emerges as a teacher leading to the full truth about Christ.(n.14). But since Our Lady used the things of nature to teach divine truth, she acted as the paradigmatic philosopher.

Furthermore, like Socrates, Our Lady established a school that seeks to remake hearts as well as minds into seekers of goodness and truth. Our Lady’s school not only initiates students into the wonder of the Incarnation and the need to ask humble questions juxtaposing nature and revelation (e.g., how is the Incarnation possible since I don’t know man), but also graduates handmaidens of Revelation who do not hesitate to use the things of this world to advance the cause of faith. Our Lady thereby not only replaces Socrates as the model philosopher but also replaces his hopes and certitudes with those of faith.

However, unlike the school of Socrates, the school of Mary seeks to remake hearts not only through providing reason with insights but also through inculcating Christian grace. In other words, it is not merely a philosophical school, but also a school of Christian virtue and grace. How is this possible?

John Paul the Great explains that Mary’s school is none other than the Holy Rosary. Here is a quote from his apostolic letter on the rosary:

RVM n. 37: “If prayed . . . the Rosary truly becomes a spiritual itinerary in which Mary acts as Mother, Teacher and Guide, sustaining the faithful by her powerful intercession.”

Mary as Teacher and Guide bring us into a greater knowledge of Christ. As John Paul the Great said:

RVM n. 24: “The Rosary . . . leads easily to a profound and inward knowledge of Christ. We might call it Mary’s way.

RVM n. 17: “The Rosary is also a path of proclamation and increasing knowledge, in which the mystery of Christ is presented again and again at different levels of the Christian experience. . . . In this way too Our Lady of the Rosary continues her work of proclaiming Christ.”

John Paul the Great continues:

RVM n. 14: “This school of Mary is all the more effective if we consider that she teaches by obtaining for us in abundance the gifts of the Holy Spirit, even as she offers us the incomparable example of her own ‘pilgrimage of faith. As we contemplate each mystery of her Son’s life [through the Rosary], she invites us to do as she did at the Annunciation: to ask humbly the questions which open us to the light, in order to end with the obedience of faith: ‘Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word’ (Lk 1:38).”

Also,

RVM n. 3: “To recite the Rosary is nothing other than to contemplate with Mary the face of Christ.”

So the question before us how does praying the rosary and contemplating the face of Christ with Mary establish Our Lady as The Philosopher? What is the focus of the philosophical school of Mary as found in the Rosary? How does the Rosary satisfy the Papal request of Fides et Ratio in n. 107 for philosophers “to look more deeply at man”?

In his letter on the Rosary (Rosarium Virginis Mariae (RVM) n. 25), John Paul explains

that “[the] anthropological significance of the Rosary . . . is far deeper than may appear at first sight. Anyone who contemplates Christ through the various stages of his life cannot fail to perceive in him the truth about man. . . . The Rosary helps to open up the way to this light. . . . It could be said that each mystery of the Rosary, carefully meditated, sheds light on the mystery of man.”

To shed “light on the mystery of man” is to be the quintessential philosopher. Indeed, Gaudium et Spes states that Christ reveals man to himself. In this way, then, the Rosary is a school of philosophy.

But not merely a school of philosophy. For coming into a deeper understanding of the human person through Christ is to join with Christ in making all things new. This is especially the case with the School of Mary. As John Paul II put it:

RVM n. 40: “When prayed well in a truly meditative way, the Rosary leads to an encounter with Christ in his mysteries and so cannot fail to draw attention to the face of Christ in others, especially the most afflicted. How could one possibly contemplate the mystery of the Child of Bethlehem, in the joyful mysteries, without experiencing the desire to welcome, defend and promote life, and to shoulder the burdens of suffering children all over the world? How could one possibly follow in the footsteps of Christ the Revealer, in the mysteries of light, without resolving to bear witness to his “Beatitudes” in daily life? And how could one contemplate Christ carrying the Cross and Christ Crucified, without feeling the need to act as a ‘Simon of Cyrene’ for our brothers and sisters weighed down by grief or crushed by despair? Finally, how could one possibly gaze upon the glory of the Risen Christ or of Mary Queen of Heaven, without yearning to make this world more beautiful, more just, more closely conformed to God’s plan?”

In other words, the Christ-centeredness of the Rosary increases appreciation for his human face and inspires its practitioners to care more deeply about their neighbors and to work on making the world more humane.

The Rosary also inspires its practitioners to show solidarity with the suffering and to find the meaning of life in Christian joy. Our Lady’s school of philosophy thus increases insight into the human condition and nurtures a love that moves the Christian to dedicate all to Christ and to philosophize for His sake, which is to philosophize as Our Lady did.

Finally, it must be noted that to understand a woman one must understand her love. Our Lady is thus the quintessential philosopher because to be a philosopher is to love wisdom above all else and she loved Wisdom incarnate more than all else. She kept all about Him in her heart and pondered them (Luke 2:19; cf 2:51).

She sought to teach us the meaning of this love in her last recorded words of Scripture:“Do whatever He says.” She continues to teach us this love through the Rosary; after all, as John Paul the Great said in his Apostolic Letter Mane Nobiscum Domine n.9: “In its flow of repetitions, [the Rosary] represents a kind of pedagogy of love, aimed at evoking within our hearts the same love that Mary bore for her Son.”

This love, moreover, is not unrequited. As John Paul II pointed out in his letter on the Rosary:

RVM n. 1: “With the Rosary, the Christian people [sit] at the school of Mary and . . . contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and . . . experience the depths of his love.”

And in passage 26 of this letter, he writes:

“To understand the Rosary, one has to enter into the psychological dynamic proper to love.” (RVM n. 26)

The love thus learnt at Mary’s Rosary School inflames the hearts of Christian philosophers to place reason at the service of a Christ-centered love so that all hearts can fly on the wings of reason and faith to Goodness Incarnate.

Overview

Our Lady Models Philosophy in two ways:

First way: As the Virgin carried the Word to the world, philosophy carries theology to the world. And as the Virgin lost none of her human autonomy neither does philosophy lose its autonomy of arguing from nature.

Second way: As faith lead Our Lady to the highest heights of which a human is capable, faith leads reason to its highest heights of creativity. Faith stirs reason to new discoveries about the natural world and illumines the meaning of life.

Our Lady also is the model philosopher:

She assists all seekers of truth.

At Cana, she used the things of this world to teach about the divinity of Christ.

She teaches through the Rosary, the School of Mary.

As a philosophical school,

The Rosary increases knowledge of Christ, the paradigmatic man who reveals man to himself and sheds light on the mystery of man.

The Rosary inspires its practitioners to see the humanity Christ in others and to care more deeply for others.

The Rosary nurtures the love whereby the Christian dedicates all to Christ and philosophizes for His sake, which to philosophize as Our Lady did.