John Duns Scotus: Champion of The Immaculate Conception: Brother John M. Samaha, S.M

John Duns Scotus: Champion of
the Immaculate Conception

by Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.
DESCRIPTION
A Marianist brother explains the two theological breakthroughs that

enabled Blessed John Duns Scotus to explain the Immaculate
Conception of Our Lady. These were: (1) the preservative redemption
of Mary; and (2) The distinction between the order of nature and the
order of time. Thus the Subtle Doctor did not fear to rush in where
even St. Thomas Aquinas feared to tread, anticipating the
proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and Our
Lady's confirmation of the title at Lourdes by over 500 years.
LARGER WORK
Homiletic & Pastoral Review
PAGES
60 - 63
PUBLISHER & DATE
Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, November 2003
The year 2004 marks the sesquicentennial of the dogmatic definition

of the Immaculate Conception of Mary by Blessed Pope Pius IX in
1854. To celebrate the centenary of the infallible proclamation of this
dogma of faith, Pope Pius XII, a great apostle of Mary, declared 1954
a Marian Year; the first.
In 1858 Our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes,

France. When Bernadette asked the beautiful lady who she is, Mary
identified herself in these words: "I am the Immaculate Conception."
This happened four short years after the solemn definition. For the
centenary of that miraculous even, the Marian-minded Pope Pius XII
pronounced 1958 the Lourdes Year.
Though belief in Mary's Immaculate Conception never wavered

among the truly faithful, for centuries theologians were at a loss to
explain adequately and with satisfactory doctrinal clarity this privilege
accorded the Mother of Christ. Then in "the greatest of centuries" a
humble and brilliant friar brought resolution to this knotty question:
how was Mary, who was like all human beings in need of redemption,
conceived without sin?
To the keen and penetrating mind of the thirteenth century Franciscan

philosopher and theologian, Blessed John Duns Scotus, all
Christendom owes respect and honor. For it was Duns Scotus who
plodded carefully through the maze of theological reasonings to
explain clearly Mary's Immaculate Conception. His study and
consideration of the disputed questions regarding Mary's conception
without sin dissipated the obstacles to a complete understanding of
this privilege and laid a solid foundation for the definition of this
dogma.
Very little is known about the early life and family background of John
Duns Scotus. Scotland was his birthplace in the year
1266. Scotus was a surname given in those days to Scots, North
Englanders, and Irish. Duns was most likely his family name.
After some schooling he joined the Franciscans about 1290. As a

young Franciscan he both studied and taught at Oxford, distinguishing
himself in each position. After several years of teaching at Oxford,
Duns Scotus left for Paris probably in 1304, there to lecture in the
famed University of Paris. Holding only a bachelor's degree from
Oxford, he taught admirably.
While in Paris he was presented for the doctor's degree. In his letter of
recommendation the Franciscan superior general commended him as
a scholar "distinguished for his ingenious and very subtle learning."
Following a brief stay at Paris the youthful doctor of theology took up
teaching duties at Cologne. Here he died unexpectedly in November
1308.
John Duns Scotus is commonly known as Doctor Subtilis, the Subtle

Doctor, in theological and philosophical circles. This title developed
out of the clever and ingenious character of his lecturing and writing.
The Subtle Doctor is justly regarded as one of the bright lights of

theology in that brilliant era of scholarship that was the thirteenth
century. Intellectual giants like St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure,
and St. Albert the Great preceded him by only a brief span of time.
During his comparatively short life Blessed John Duns Scotus

produced numerous valuable writings. The majority of these written
works are commentaries or treatises on disputed questions, for he
was recognized as a heated controversialist — incisive in his criticism,
relentless in his logic, decisive in his refutation, seemingly more adept
in analyzing than in synthesizing. He left no summa or compendium of
any kind.
Probably his greatest work is the Opus Oxoniensis, a sparkling

commentary on the famous Sentences of Peter Lombard. The Opus
Oxoniensis is noted for its orderliness and its wealth of detail. Up to
the close of the thirteenth century Peter Lombard's Sentences were
accepted as the basic theological reference, as later students took to
the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas.
The writings of Duns Scotus are not characterized by the clarity of St.
Thomas Aquinas. Scotus's works are usually appraised as abstruse,
critical writings couched in language that is obscure. His critics, of
whom there are many, sometimes accuse him of leaning toward
extremes, of dwelling on technicalities, and of being given to hair-
splitting. But not all the writings that have borne his name are from his
pen.
Duns Scotus's followers made additions and attached comments

when gathering his works for publication some years after his death.
Many incorrect and unfair notions have been circulated about the
Subtle Doctor. Some of these mistaken opinions have not been
challenged. Some of the unfavorable criticism may be attributed to the
shortcomings of his followers. Part may have been caused by a lack of
penetrating powers similar to those of Duns Scotus in the persons
who appointed themselves as critics.
Since the sixteenth century a Scotist school of thought has continued
to study, develop, and advocate the teaching of John Duns Scotus.
The chief representatives of the Scotist school have been his brothers
in religion, the Franciscans.
If the Subtle Doctor did no more than untangle the puzzling elements
of Mary's Immaculate Conception, the Church would be indebted to
him forever. Precisely for this accomplishment we remember John
Duns Scotus.
In the attempt to unravel the theological puzzle, two difficulties had

blocked the mental path to a complete understanding of our Blessed
Mother's conception without sin.
First, was Mary in need of redemption if she had been conceived

without stain of original sin?
Second, when, in the course of her conception, was Mary preserved

from the stain and effects of original sin?
These obstacles had stymied many of the Church's leading

theologians over the centuries — among them St. Augustine, St.
Bernard, St. Anselm, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Bonaventure. So
the great teachers of the Church hesitated to proclaim the doctrine of
the Immaculate Conception.
Meanwhile, popular belief shifted toward the acceptance of this

special prerogative for the Mother of Christ. The feast of the
Immaculate Conception was instituted in many parts of Europe,
although it was already celebrated in the East since the seventh
century.
Enter Duns Scotus into the academic arena of the controversy.
Beginning with the general principle formulated by St. Anselm in the
eleventh century, potuit, decuit, ergo fecit (it was possible, it was
fitting, therefore it was accomplished), he jumped into the thick of the
intellectual tussle. In a matter of time the Subtle Doctor dispelled all
objections satisfactorily.
The first hurdle in the dispute regarded Mary's need of redemption. If

she was conceived in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, without
original sin, was she exempt from Christ's redemption? Did she not
need to be redeemed?
In his Letter to the Romans (5:12), St. Paul had taught "it was through
on man (Adam) that sin came into the world, and through sin death,
and thus death has spread through the whole human race because
everyone has sinned." Paul is telling us that everyone inherits original
sin and its consequences. Therefore Mary needed to be redeemed.
But Christ had not yet come to accomplish the redemption.
Duns Scotus pushed this obstruction from the path by showing that
instead of being excluded from the redemption of the Savior, Mary
obtained the greatest of redemptions through the mystery of her
preservation from all sin. This, explained Scotus, was a more perfect
redemption and attributes to Christ a more exalted role as Redeemer,
because redeeming grace, which preserves from original sin, is
greater than that which purifies from sin already incurred.
Consequently, Christ was Mary's Redeemer more perfectly by

preservative redemption in shielding her from original sin through
anticipating and foreseeing the merits of his passion and death. This
preredemption indicates a much greater grace and more perfect
salvation.
Since Mary was a daughter of Adam, when was she preserved from
original sin and its consequences? Here was another obstacle to be
cleared. In resolving this second problem the Subtle Doctor cleverly
saw his way clear by making the necessary distinction between the
order of nature and the order of time.
Previously St. Thomas and other illustrious doctors of the Church had
reasoned that Mary was sanctified and preserved from sin either
before animation, that is, before God infused a soul into the physical
embryo in her mother's womb, or after animation. She could not have
been sanctified before animation; otherwise she would not have had
to be redeemed. If Mary was sanctified after animation, then she
whom God was raising to be Satan's destroyer, was, at least for a
very brief time, subject to the influence of the Prince of Darkness
through contact with original sin. This line of reasoning was based on
a time sequence.
Blessed John Duns Scotus explained that the time element was not
the type of order in question, but rather the order of nature. Because
physical generation precedes sanctification by God's grace, Mary was
an heir to the debt of Adam before being made a child of God. In our
thinking we consider Mary first as a daughter of Adam and then
sanctified as a daughter of God. But this does not necessarily place
the soul of our Blessed Mother in two successive states — sin
followed by grace. With Mary conception and sanctification were
simultaneous, producing a twofold situation at the first moment of
existence.
At one and the same time Mary, as a human descendant of Adam and
Eve, contracted the debt of original sin and became by the privileged
infusion of grace a daughter of God, which preserved her from the
consequences of the common lot of fallen nature by a special
anticipation of the anticipated merits of the Savior.
Removing these two impediments John Duns Scotus cleared the path
to a theologically sound acceptance of this Marian prerogative. By his
lucid exposition and defense of the doctrine of Mary's Immaculate
Conception in the womb of St. Anne as a preparation for her divine
motherhood, the Subtle Doctor paved the way for its solemn definition
in the later times by Blessed Pope Pius IX.
Catholicism will remember the Subtle Doctor as a shrewd philosopher

and an adroit theologian, one of the most eminent of that remarkable
thirteenth century. To the ordinary Catholic, John Duns Scotus stands
out as the champion of Mary's Immaculate Conception. In praising the
Immaculate Conception, we also honor Blessed John Duns Scotus.
Brother John M. Samaha, S.M., belongs to the Pacific Province of the

Marianists, and is currently working at Villa St. Joseph in Cupertino,
Calif. Previously he was engaged in high school and adult education
in the western states and Lebanon. He is a member and officer of the
Mariological Society of America. His last article in HPR appeared in
March 2000.
© 2003 Ignatius Press

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John Duns Scotus: Champion of

the Immaculate Conception

by Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.

A Marianist brother explains the two theological breakthroughs that

Homiletic & Pastoral Review

PUBLISHER & DATE

Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, November 2003

The year 2004 marks the sesquicentennial of the dogmatic definition

In 1858 Our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes,

Though belief in Mary's Immaculate Conception never wavered

To the keen and penetrating mind of the thirteenth century Franciscan

After some schooling he joined the Franciscans about 1290. As a

John Duns Scotus is commonly known as Doctor Subtilis, the Subtle

The Subtle Doctor is justly regarded as one of the bright lights of

During his comparatively short life Blessed John Duns Scotus

Probably his greatest work is the Opus Oxoniensis, a sparkling

Duns Scotus's followers made additions and attached comments

In the attempt to unravel the theological puzzle, two difficulties had

First, was Mary in need of redemption if she had been conceived

Second, when, in the course of her conception, was Mary preserved

These obstacles had stymied many of the Church's leading

Meanwhile, popular belief shifted toward the acceptance of this

The first hurdle in the dispute regarded Mary's need of redemption. If

Consequently, Christ was Mary's Redeemer more perfectly by

Catholicism will remember the Subtle Doctor as a shrewd philosopher

Brother John M. Samaha, S.M., belongs to the Pacific Province of the

© 2003 Ignatius Press

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