The Theologian of Auschwitz: St. Maximilian M. Kolbe on the Immaculate Conception in the Life of the Church

366 Pages·2020·15.98 MB·English

by  Peter Damian Fehlner

W 11
fol
0m fc [L0?@ @ff tite Oweifri I
l
P®EE Fliwa^ ©oEoftflo ©2W0
g W dteta d ^Iwdhwfc
is replete with Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner’s scholarly insights
that are fundamental to understanding St. Maximilian
8 in© ©il.o©
© 11 © © rotors
©LT© > ©fi A'.:;
©i@7©ol . • ■ © ©©©!©■
©I ©Tflj© ©W'1 . ©fj i. |jo IW(ofXl
@ mO9I Xs©©© @10; ©
(£- © ©I Oniin) |D.vu'ii'<
i[iTj'iro,<u© |WW1'jl© ©i ©
©
wo
____
In this volume.. In© - - K ^ytioirly
©fef©tr•( •i tr»@ <§>: ■i; © ©i HSF^'(o'©:iy,llonllilihi?n©i <oi|n(5' ©iui©in, :.v.'©©p(.£<?©• 1i t.ed
thought[ -r SyyM©
l@© r© inn©. iiln©ili l&SIlpj© i'§ <01 :i©@iii§i;P ’
W Infall; l?©lo©"§ gwi?falsfweiii4irri©i iWyginiii, - ;>•?
IW @ff^ (UW(©@ii©<§i lwann©©(yfeiii@ C@in©©©iii©rn
iWK<§ (£©fnt:(§4W@WS@I'^ l^'i !>©lnrn©( ©vi-.i©
Ifa© feTnWfy fai© C@n€@i§i!W ® i?@o l©p
@0 lvc IO.rt^l SUInW^I fa ©it ifa@
(6©giinW M'W
feuW Ooinrfeo
S : •. ->■: ,, [otfdgi . 1 /
-J© [KoffiS ©Rot§7 ©f IMo®
le^©olxoosuoln /a; ^a@©r®v
e? ftl7©o©1©n'i ©fi |n<.fa
foe ©oilsw^l^row, |oln,l,o^.p, u ; h .. ■ 5
the< l.V©oj
(Oj (gjjo;g v'
I
r 4^ ISBN fa S -1 - 0 4 3 “101 -13 - S 1
G©©]ib©
III H 11 90000 ;
tSliG L©©rlLiO41£
HI
www.l r - c 9 781943 901135

Peter Damian Fehlner, O.F.M. Conv.
THE THEOLOGIAN OF AUSCHWITZ
St. Maximilian M. Kolbe
on the Immaculate Conception
in the Life of the Church
lec$o
Lectio Publishing, LLC
Hobe Sound, Florida, USA
www.lectiopublishlng.com
© 2019, all rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without prior
written permission of the publisher.
Cover image: Painting of Saint Maximilian Kolbe and Virgin Mary of Lourdes in
Chiesa di San Francesco d’Assisi church (Brescia, Italy) by A. Girardi (1984). ©
Jozef Sedmak, Used with Permission.
Curator: J. Isaac Goff
Cover and Book Design: Linda Wolf
ISBN 978-1-943901-13-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019955273
Published by Lectio Publishing, LLC
Hobe Sound, Florida 33455
wwv.lectiopublishing.com
Publisher’s Note
This work is entirely the genius of Fr. Peter Damian Fchlner, yet it never would
have have been made ready for publication without the contributions of these
three assistants to Fr. Peter during the writing, revising, and editing of the
volume:
J. Isaac Goff, as curator and editor of the volume
Louis M. Smith, O.F.M. Conv., as editorial assistant
Charles A.M. Robinson, EL, as editorial assistant
iii

CONTENTS
1
INTRODUCTION
PARTI
Theological Foundations of the Koibean Vision
CHAPTER 1 11
The “Order of Intention”
CHAPTER 2 .23
Koibean Theology and the Critical Question
Kolbes Theological Acumen: Additional Considerations...............26
Thomistic Theology: Priority of the Intellectual over the Affective. 29
Primacy of Will and Notion of Theology: A Franciscan View ... .30
Two Approaches to Theology Guiding Formulation
of the Critical Question.............................................. 34
Proper Formulation of the Critical Question:
Love of Learning and Desire for God 35
Additional Considerations of the Thomistic Approach 36
The Critical Question
According to Bonaventure, Scotus and Newman........ 38
The Critical Question According to St. Maximilian:
A “Fixed Idea,” the Immaculate.................................... 39
A Fixed Idea and Genuine Doctrinal Development:
Newman and Kolbe.................................................... 41
Use of Newton’s Law of Action-Reaction and Force Equivalence .42
The Critical Question and the Two Pages of Franciscan History' . .43
Marian Epistemology-Metaphysics.................................................44
v
The Theologian of Auschwitz
CHAPTER 3.................................................. 51
The Cause of the Immaculate at the Heart of the Franciscan
Charism
The Franciscan Response to Kant....................................... 53
The Bonaventurian Context
for Assessing Kolbe’s Theological Contribution ................ 55
St. Maximilian:
True Franciscan (Bonaventurian and Scotistic) Theologian 58
The Problem of the Secular-Scientific
and the Bonaventurian-Scotistic Resolution....................................61
From Partial to Full Resolution: The Three Modes of Theology. . .63
Full Resolution and the Transitus of Martyrdom..............................66
The Cornerstone of Koibean Theological Development:
The Immaculate Conception and Marian Mediation............... 67
St. Maximilian Kolbe:
Standard-Bearer of the Marian-Franciscan Theological Tradition. . 69
PART II
Historical Genesis and Development
CHAPTER 4..................................... 83
The Foundation of the M.I.
The Primitive M.I. Statute............................................ 88
The Formula of Marian Consecration......................... 89
“A Global Vision of Catholic Life in a New Form” .. . 91
The Problem of the Autonomous Will and Secularism,
and the Kolbean-Scotistic Solution............................. 93
The Origins of Koibean Mariology
Behind the Historical Development............................ 96
CHAPTER 5.................................................... 105
Implementation of the M.I. Statute at Niepokalanow
Nature of the M.I. Statute: Its Three-fold Practical Expression . . 106
The Critical Question in Relation to Niepokalanow:
vi
Introduction
Formulation of Objections 107
“Blind Obedience”
and the Threat Posed by Voluntarism (and Rationalism) 110
Leveling: Various Proposals and Their Dangers 112
The Problem of “Naturalism” 118
Reconciling Total Consecration to the Immaculate
with the Spirit of the M.I 118
The Perfection of Marian Devotion
and Transubstantiation into the Immaculate 120
St. Maximilians Response 123
PART III
The Golden Thread of Franciscan History
INTRODUCTION 131
The Koibean View of Spiritual Evolution
Relation to the Theology of History in St. Bonaventure 132
CHAPTER 6 135
The Historical and Doctrinal Context
Doctrinal Backdrop 146
CHAPTER? 157
At The Heart of the Matter
Marian Metaphysics as a Basis for Interpreting History 158
Metaphysics of Marian Mediation:
Its Role in the Intellectual Life 160
Evidence of St. Maximilians Scotistic Approach 164
A Metaphysical Hermeneutic:
“I am the Immaculate Conception” H4
Univocity of Being:
Its Presence and Application in Koibean Thought.... 177
Infinity 178
VII