Reasonability of Marian Co-Redemption - Dr. John-Mark Miravalle - CONF 444

Summary

Dr. John-Mark Miravalle presents an engaging exploration into the philosophical and metaphysical presuppositions needed to understand Mary's role in salvation. Using humor and relatable examples, he unpacks the idea of participation within the Catholic Church, emphasizing how individuals can share in divine aspects without competing with God's omnipresence or bounty. The lecture delves into examples of participation across different life facets and how these reflect in Marian co-redemption, where Mary's roles as co-redemptrix, mediatrix, and advocate are discussed in light of scriptural and theological evidence. This captivating session challenges the notion of simplifying spiritual beliefs and encourages embracing the complexity of faith to appreciate the full depth of God's family.

Highlights

• Dr. Miravalle explains the nature of participation in God, using examples from everyday life. 🙌
• He demystifies Catholic theology on divine participation, making relatable analogies. 💡
• Mary’s roles highlight how we can co-participate in Christ’s mission. 🌹
• The lecture challenges the 'simpler is better' mentality in spirituality. 🌀
• Encouragement to embrace the fullness of participating in God's family. 🌈
• Real-life humor and stories make complex theology approachable. 😂

Key Takeaways

• Understanding participation in divine work: We participate without competition! 🤝
• Mary's significant roles: Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocate - they're big deals! 🌟
• Spirituality vs. Simplicity: More faith, more fun - embrace the complexity! 🎉
• The "more the merrier" concept: In God's family, more participation brings more joy! ✨
• Occam's Razor isn't for faith: Family isn't simpler with less, it's richer with more! 🌿

Overview

Imagine an engaging, theology-infused rollercoaster ride where Dr. John-Mark Miravalle gets us rethinking the concept of participation in divine work. With witty anecdotes and relatable examples, Miravalle helps us grasp how we partake in God's vast ocean of grace without the scrabble for resources or stepping on divine toes. He introduces a vast array of concepts, showing their importance in the Catholic vision of salvation.

Through the lens of Marian co-redemption, the speaker guides us through Mary's significant roles, such as being a co-redemptrix, mediatrix, and advocate. With references to theology and Scripture, Dr. Miravalle paints a picture of how these roles are reflective of our own participation in Christ’s work. Think of it like Christian improv - everyone plays a role, and every role counts!

Finally, the talk masterfully dismantles the idea that simpler is better when it comes to spirituality. Instead, embracing complexity enriches our faith journey, much like how having more members celebrates God's familial abundance. Dr. Miravalle weaves humor into theology, ensuring that deep theological truths are digestible and resonate in our spiritual lives.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Main Goals The chapter 'Introduction and Main Goals' starts with a conversation about passing along certain traits, both academic and physical, to future generations. The speaker draws a comparison between themselves and their father, noting both teach theology and have an interest in the study of 'meri ology.' A humorous note is shared about the shared experience of male pattern baldness, acknowledging it as a hereditary condition. Despite the lack of a genetic cure, they express hope for treatment advancements before their sons exhibit symptoms, highlighting both personal and professional interests intertwined in their life's narrative.
• 00:30 - 03:30: Catholic Vision of Participation The chapter "Catholic Vision of Participation" focuses on the philosophical and metaphysical presuppositions necessary for understanding Mary's role in salvation and redemption. The main goal of the chapter is to outline these presuppositions, particularly emphasizing the Catholic vision of participation. Three key points are discussed in the chapter, as indicated in the provided handout.
• 03:30 - 10:00: Examples of Participation This chapter titled 'Examples of Participation' focuses on three primary themes. The first theme discussed is the Catholic understanding of participation. The second theme explores the specific nature of participating in the work of Christ. Lastly, the chapter delves into Our Lady's role in participating in the mission of the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ. These key points form the foundation of the chapter's discussion on examples of participation within Catholic teaching.
• 10:00 - 20:00: Theological Virtues and God's Activity This chapter discusses the concept of theological virtues in the context of Catholic teachings, focusing on the notion of participation. There is a humorous anecdote about the uneven distribution of handouts during a session, jokingly attributing it to participants being on the 'side of the goats,' a reference to biblical imagery. The chapter emphasizes the central principle of participation in theological virtues and God's activity.
• 20:00 - 25:00: Participation in Christ's Work The chapter discusses the concept of sharing in something without altering or competing with it, using the Catholic Church as an example. It emphasizes the possibility of participation without affecting the original subject. The speaker illustrates the concept by admitting to a lack of knowledge about the Hittite civilization, suggesting that attending a related event would be a form of participation.
• 25:00 - 35:00: Mary's Role in Redemption The chapter discusses the concept of knowledge sharing through lectures, using the example of a lecture on Hittite civilization by an expert. It emphasizes that while attending such lectures transforms the listener into a participant in the expert's knowledge, it does not equate to the listener gaining the ability to contribute new knowledge, as they themselves do not possess the requisite background in Hittite civilization.
• 35:00 - 40:00: Participation in the Divine Family The chapter 'Participation in the Divine Family' discusses the concept of participation not as detracting from or competing with expert knowledge, but rather depending on it. The author emphasizes that their understanding is grounded in the knowledge of experts and doesn't subtract anything from it. The discourse contrasts typical material participation (like sharing a pizza, which involves division) with a more philosophical or spiritual understanding of participation, where knowledge and involvement don't diminish the source but rather build upon it.
• 40:00 - 43:00: Conclusion and Prayer The chapter reflects on the non-competitive nature of spiritual reality. Unlike material resources, which are limited and create competition, spiritual understanding and participation in the divine are limitless and inclusive. Engaging with the divine does not involve taking away from others or competing for resources, emphasizing a collective, non-competitive experience.

Reasonability of Marian Co-Redemption - Dr. John-Mark Miravalle - CONF 444 Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 and that I'd like to I'll ask dad to pass out and yeah it is sort of wild right I mean the similarities are striking you know for both theology teachers we both teach meri ology we both have really severe of male pattern baldness and so they know that it's a you know a hereditary disease they haven't isolated the right genes but they're working on treatment before my sons show symptoms I've basically got three
• 00:30 - 01:00 points and and the main goal is to talk about the sort of philosophical and metaphysical presuppositions that you need to understand Mary's role in salvation Mary's role and redemption I may not have enough so you know if anyone can take just one and share that'd be great here's here's basically the three points I want to talk about as you'll see on the handout first of all is the Catholic vision of participation
• 01:00 - 01:30 which you need to understand really almost anything the Catholic Church teaches so that's one the Catholic understanding of participation the second main point is participating specifically in the work of Christ and then thirdly Our Lady's participation in the mission of the Holy Spirit and our Lord Jesus Christ okay so those are the three main things the first point the
• 01:30 - 02:00 Catholic vision of participation how we doing on handouts anybody on this side get any okay well you are on the side of the goats so maybe that has something to do with it you are on my left that was not the plan here's basically look here's here's the principle you know all right fine here's the principle that
• 02:00 - 02:30 almost nobody but the Catholic Church gets namely it is possible to share in something without adding to detracting from or competing with what you are sharing in that's very difficult for a lot of people to get but let me let me give an easy example I don't know anything about Hittite civilization not know if any of you know anything about Hittites I don't know hardly anything if I was attending
• 02:30 - 03:00 a lecture given by an expert on Hittite civilization everything I learned at that meeting would be a participation in the knowledge of the expert right suddenly I would come to share in the experts knowledge but I would not be adding any new knowledge on Hittite civilization because I don't have any to
• 03:00 - 03:30 add and I would not take away anything from the experts knowledge and certainly my knowledge would not be competing with the experts knowledge all my knowledge would be dependent on the experts knowledge and none of the experts knowledge would be dependent on mine that's what's understood by participation see because the problem is whenever people think about participating they think in material terms right when you participate in a pizza then you talk about detraction and
• 03:30 - 04:00 competition there's only so much pizza to go around and what I have you don't have so we're competing for scarce resources but spiritual reality is not like that knowledge is not like that and so to the point God is not like that so when we participate in God in something divine we participate without addition without subtraction without competition
• 04:00 - 04:30 let me give a couple easy examples first of all point Roman numeral one sub point be participation and divine beam how much beam does God have a lot how much exactly infinite okay so whatever buzz lightyear may tell you you can't add to infinity right you can't have any more beam then God has so how is creation possible there's no
• 04:30 - 05:00 space outside of God for him to put us when he makes us this is why I st. Paul says it is in God that we live and move and have our beam right st. Anselm I have the quote here he says thou although nothing exists without thee nevertheless thou does not exist in space or time but all things exist in thee for nothing contains the but thou contain us to all the timeless teaching
• 05:00 - 05:30 of the church among all theologians whether st. Paul or Ansem or Aquinas is that we exist by participation in God's existence now they disagree in the way they describe that participation but everyone agrees it is a participation that does not subtract from does not add to does not compete with God's existence we share in God's being just by existing and that's just at the natural level
• 05:30 - 06:00 because we share with God in his being even more at the supernatural level that's what sanctifying grace means sanctifying grace means that we participate not just in God's being but in his inner Trinitarian life I had a um I had a teacher once great teacher he's at the dominican house of studies in DC and I won't say his name but he had a very sort of Spacey manner has a very Spacey manner and one time he was reflecting on heaven and the way Aquinas
• 06:00 - 06:30 describes heaven and he says shall I guess heaven is basically where God says to us isn't it great to be God and we say yes Lord it truly is that's absolutely what heaviness what st. Peter's say partakers of the divine nature what does that mean is I mean the Mormons are right in the world they're gonna become our own God no it means that we share to a finite limited degree
• 06:30 - 07:00 what God possesses perfectly what God is perfectly what God enjoys perfectly okay so we do it in God's being at the and at the supernatural level we also participate in God's action for instance this is point one number see the theological virtues faith hope and charity you know what those are right we get those with sanctifying grace sanctifying grace perfects our beam
• 07:00 - 07:30 makes us participate in God's inner Trinitarian life but the theological virtues make us participate in properly divine activity was that mean it means by faith we know now what God knows and what only God has the right to know we know things like the doctrine of the Trinity the doctrine of the hypostatic Union God shares his divine knowledge with us through faith with hope we long for what God longs for namely our own salvation and with charity we share in
• 07:30 - 08:00 God's love we love God and we love our neighbor the way God loves them in each case we are able to participate in God's activity without adding anything to it we're able to do what God does but not competitively so for instance for instance I have five kids that I know of I'm always the last one to find out so they may be more by the time I get home so as far as I know five one for each one for each sorrowful mystery and and
• 08:00 - 08:30 every now and then I don't know if you've ever you know this is very I'll get in legal trouble but I don't know when we had we had a long driveway and we used to live on a sort of not busy street so what would I do I take my little kid I'd put him on my lap don't you can't tell anybody I did this all right it's so scandalous I take my little kid I put him on my lap and I put their hands on the steering wheel and I'd put my hands over the steering wheel what's going on they are doing something
• 08:30 - 09:00 that by rights they have no business doing but because they're doing it with me it's okay that's what the life of Graces is all of us doing things we have no business as creatures doing but we're doing it with God instead of competitively right that's the big that's the big sort of irony of when Satan says if you disobey god you'll be like god that's actually now what happens quite the opposite if you obey Him you will be
• 09:00 - 09:30 like him with him instead of like him in competition that's what yeah that's our destiny that's what we're all supposed to be doing and that's true of specific roles in the church as well for instance fatherhood we already saw when Jesus says call no man excuse me only God is good remember that no one is good but God alone well now we know what that means metaphysically right just as only God exists alone but we all share in his
• 09:30 - 10:00 existence without adding subtracting or competing so because good and being are coextensive so only God is good alone but we are all good insofar as we share in his goodness without addition subtraction or competition okay fine so when Jesus says call no man father he means the same thing he means only God is supreme father only God is ultimate absolute father only God his father on his own and we are all
• 10:00 - 10:30 father insofar as we share insofar as we participate insofar as he lets us do what he does had insofar as he puts us on his lap and lets us hold the steering wheels under his control and that's true whether you're a natural father or whether you're an ordained minister father right remember st. Paul says that God is the and this is Ephesians 3:15 God is the father by whom every family on earth and in heaven is named so that
• 10:30 - 11:00 means that me being a father me actually right generating my kids is sharing in God's power of generation as a beautiful poem by the incredible poet herb George Herbert and George Herbert it says to all fathers when you look at your children remember that in your children God's image and your image are merged and if that won't make you take
• 11:00 - 11:30 them seriously than nothing will but it's also true with the priest the priest participates in his fatherhood gods fatherhood and you can see it the priest participates in God's fatherhood even in relationship to his own son it's amazing it's amazing because why because when the priest says the word the eternal son obeys him and comes into the world just has one god the father said the word the first time he obeyed him
• 11:30 - 12:00 and entered into the world okay so now let's talk about part two now that we know that we are continuously participating in God's being and in God's action all the time all the time without competition without additional thought subtraction now let's look at participating in the work of Christ because of course everything Christ did was perfect yet we believe if we do not participate in what he did his work will
• 12:00 - 12:30 not have its fullest effect we're all for instance were all called to teach even though Christ's teaching was perfect we have to teach it too we have to hand it on we have to make the truth accessible that he's already made accessible to us he has to teach through our teaching which is hard I'm a theologian it's amazing how hard it is for me to answer my kids questions when one my son's was about five or six he came up and he said dad why did God put
• 12:30 - 13:00 thorns on rose bushes and I said well maybe maybe to keep the animals from eating the roses so we could enjoy them I was like yeah alright I nailed that one you know that was a good answer it's all it done and then he jumps right back and he says uh dad if if angels don't have bodies how do they hold their swords and shields I said will you shut up now you know that was so to Christ witness have to be
• 13:00 - 13:30 complemented by our witness so to Christ service to the poor his help of the sick has to be complemented has to be completed has to be shared in by us for it to be full now there are three areas of participation in Christ's work that have particular Mary and Mary illogical significance and actually it's really convenient all three of them are found in the first chapter of Paul's letter to the Colossians now the first one is the
• 13:30 - 14:00 most controversial one but it's also the one st. Paul says most clearly Colossians 1 24 I rejoice in my sufferings and in my flesh I make up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his body which is the church do you know I didn't realize this we are just about the only Christian group in the world who gets that passage so if we don't get this word out if we do not I mean I'm not a big bible thumper guy but I think every Catholic needs to know this passage by heart because what's it saying it's
• 14:00 - 14:30 saying Christ made suffering the currency of salvation and he gives us an investment opportunity in it right just his Christ's use suffering to save the world that's suffering to save the world will not have its full effect if we do not suffer to save the world all right the old Catholic offer it up has been interpreted as just a Catholic version of suck it up but it actually isn't right it's actually saying this is useful don't waste it st. Paul says you
• 14:30 - 15:00 should rejoice st. Paul says you can use it Saint Paul says its currency to save people one of my other sons he got sick last year and he you know just kept trying to say give your sufferings did my wife give your sufferings to Jesus give your sufferings to Jesus well he just would not and he kept saying every time I think I'm gonna die mom well after two days of everybody being sick my wife had no patience for that and she said listen to me you're not gonna die and you are
• 15:00 - 15:30 not allowed to say you're gonna die before you throw up and so the next time you had to throw up he just looked there to me BYE MOM she said that counts just as bad okay so of Christ's teaching of Christ witness of Christ service to the poor has to be participated in for his work to have its full effect then the same should obviously hold for his suffering right pretty straightforward if you
• 15:30 - 16:00 understand participation means so to st. Paul talks about bringing God to humanity Colossians 1 28 and 29 it is he whom we proclaim admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone perfect in Christ for this I labor and struggle in accord with the exercise of his power working within me st. Paul made his life's mission bringing God to other people even though of course Christ brought God to other people and did so
• 16:00 - 16:30 perfectly by his incarnation st. Paul participates in that process by his missionary work finally bringing humanity to God in prayer Colossians 1:19 therefore from the day we heard this we do not cease praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding so this should be something really uncontroversial Christ wants us to do
• 16:30 - 17:00 what he did he wants us to do three things redemptive suffering bring God to humanity and bring humanity to God in prayer now these are why we call Mary co-redemptrix Mediatrix and advocate because we say that like the rest of us she participated in Christ's work and the work of the Holy Spirit in these
• 17:00 - 17:30 three ways and in fact it's really fascinating there are three moments in the New Testament where you see Jesus and Mary and the Holy Spirit together doing all three of these and in fact actually you see the church at all three moments - what's the first well we'll go chronologically bringing God to humanity the Annunciation who do you have there
• 17:30 - 18:00 you have the holy spirit and you have Mary and you have Jesus all bringing God to the world all together and you know what you call it when you bring God to the world you know that's called mediation that's it mediation when you bring God to others that's mediation bringing people together that's mediation that's why we call our Mediatrix because she works with Jesus and the Holy Spirit bringing God to humanity what's the next moment Calvary a lot of people forget this we
• 18:00 - 18:30 have Jesus and we have Mary but we also have the last gift Jesus gave after he gave his mother he gave up his spirit and here what do we have we have redemptive suffering and we have the same three agents involved finally bringing humanity to God in prayer when is humanity first brought in Mass when is the birthday of the church that
• 18:30 - 19:00 Pentecost who's praying for it Mary who's there the Holy Spirit where's Jesus his body the church all they're all there and you notice by the way that the church is there - in the sacraments in this sacrament of the Eucharist God is brought to humanity again at the moment of consecration we have Calvary made present and in Baptism we have
• 19:00 - 19:30 humanity brought to God by the prayer and the power of the church okay the Catechism says that Mary is the master work of the Sun and the spirits mission that's a very strong statement that's not some medievalist that's the Catechism Mary is the master work of the Sun and the spirits mission what does that mean it means that she is doing
• 19:30 - 20:00 supremely what we are also to do that is participate in the work of Christ and in the work of his spirit so if you go on the back of the page you see everything we talked about in one gorgeous paragraph from lumen gentium they are for the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the church under the titles of Advocate helper benefactress and
• 20:00 - 20:30 Mediatrix this however is so understood that it neither takes away anything from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficacy of the one mediator no creature could ever be counted along with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer but just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways both by his ministers and the faithful and as the one goodness of God is radiated in different ways among his creatures so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a
• 20:30 - 21:00 sharing in this one source in other words the church is saying we all do this all the time just by existing just by breathing just by being baptized just by praying we are always sharing in Christ's work in the work of the Spirit that's why it gives merry titles that the scriptures give to Jesus there it is look Mediatrix Timothy Paul says to Timothy there's one mediator Jesus right and Mary participates that without
• 21:00 - 21:30 addition subtraction competition so do we all people freaked out because the council called Mary advocate this is wait wait wait scripture calls the Holy Spirit advocate right the Holy Spirit is advocate and so is Mary and so are we all okay pretty straightforward right is so straightforward so what here's how I'll end what's the problem right what's the problem is is the problem just that people are thinking in terms of material
• 21:30 - 22:00 participation is everybody really stuck at the pizza image when they think of our Lord's work when they think of the life of grace that you have to be careful there's only so much for Jesus and if you keep participating he won't have any pizza left is that really the issue maybe maybe but I think there's another issue and I think it's an issue even fighting for hundreds of years there was a guy he was a late medieval his name was William of Occam he was a logician a very smart
• 22:00 - 22:30 guy but boy he said a lot of bad stuff he came up with this principle that's been very important ever since in the life of thought the principle is called the law of parsimony or more commonly Occam's razor and the law of parsimony says that simpler is always better it's called Occam's razor because basically it says look if you don't need something cut it out get rid of it and actually actually the law of parsimony
• 22:30 - 23:00 is a wonderful rule in the realm of logic that is in the realm of mathematics and so logistic argumentation because basically if you can make a mathematical proof and you don't need all those axioms we'll get rid of the ones you don't need make it simpler if you can make an argument a syllogism and you don't need all those premises well get rid of the ones you don't need it makes it more elegant absolutely but what happened and a lot of people
• 23:00 - 23:30 have talked about how Martin Luther was impacted by Occam what happened is that a guy named Martin Luther came along and he took this law of parsimony which said if it's simpler than it's better and he took it out of the realm of logic and you know where he put it right smack dab in the realm of family and the law of parsimony doesn't belong in family Occam's razor doesn't apply to family
• 23:30 - 24:00 because the ruling family the ruling family isn't simpler is better the ruling family is the more the merrier but Luther looked at God's family he looked at the church and he starts applying his razor and he says wouldn't it be simpler without Mary without the bishops without the hierarchy without all these sacraments without the Pope wouldn't it be simpler so let's get rid of it and ever since that's been every
• 24:00 - 24:30 one's objection to the church's marian teaching why do we need Mary wooden things be simpler without Mary when things be simpler without all the Catholic stuff which she primarily represents and two that the Catholic response will always be not no we don't want simpler simpler is not better the law of family isn't parsimony its extravagance we want more and more and
• 24:30 - 25:00 more the complexity that God first chose to do when he made more bean in the sense of more participation in his only beam when he made more participants in His goodness when he made more participants in his knowledge in his desire in his love when he made more participants in his fatherhood more participants and his son's priesthood in his son's suffering when he made us all
• 25:00 - 25:30 potential Co Redeemers he said the more the merrier that's how I want my world to look thank you so much let's pray to Our Lady for grace - to take delight in the excess that God has been pleased to grant us through his sacred family nemeth father and Son the Holy Spirit amen hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with thee blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus
• 25:30 - 26:00 Holy Mary Mother of God pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death amen Our Lady Help of Christians name the Father the Son the Holy Spirit amen thanks so much [Applause] you