DOCTORAL DISSERTATION INTERNATIONAL MARIAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON PONTIFICAL THEOLOGICAL FACULTY 11 MARIAN UM/' ROME Very Reverend James Presta CORNELL US A LAPLDE'S BLBLLCAL METHODOLOGY USED LN MARLAN TEXTS AND LTS COMPARiSON WLTH A CONTEMPORARY APPROACH. A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the international Marian Research Lnstitute of the University of Dayton and the Pontifical Faculty of Theology 11Marianum11 in partial fulfiUment of the requirements for the Degree Doctor of Sacred Theology Specialization in Marian Theology Director of Thesis Reverend Bertrand Buby1 SM July 2005 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 8 SITUATING THE THESIS: STATUS QUAESTIONIS .9 CHAPTER ONE: THE LIFE OF CORNELIUS A LAPIDE IN THE POST-TRIDENTINE PERIOD I. 14 Biographical information about the person and work of Cornelius a Lapide II.
19 Cornelius a Lapide's Marian spirituality and devotion and the influence of Ignatian spirituality in his life and writings III. 21 Post-Tridentine Theologians and Mariologists who influenced a Lapide Francis Suarez, Peter Canisius, Michael Ba1us, Leonard Lessius, Robert Bellarmine IV. 23 Situating Cornelius a Lapide within the time of the Reformation, Zwingli, and Luther CHAPTER TWO: BIBLICAL METHODOLOGY OF CORNELIUS A LAPIDE AND VATICAN AND POST-VATICAN II I. 33 The four senses of scripture in patristic times II.
35 Catechism of the Catholic Church_and its continuity with Henri de Lubac's definition of the four senses III. 38 Understanding of in time of Trent IV. 41 Understanding in the post-Vatican ll period 2 v.51 Cornelius a Lapide's Method of Scripture Interpretation CHAPTER THREE: OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS ACCOMMODATED TO THE VIRGIN MARY I.65 A chronological study of Old Testament passages accommodated to the Blessed Virgin Mary by Cornelius a Lapide II. Presentation of a Lapide's commentary B.
Presentation of Post-Vatican II: Bertrand Buby, S.77 Passages in Old Testament A. Genesis 3:15- The Protoevangelium B. Exodus 15:20- "So Mary the prophetess, the sister. Isaiah 7:14- "The Virgin shall bear a son.
Micah 5:2- "And Thou, Bethlehem. Wisdom Literature in the commentaries of a Lapide, selected texts in Proverbs 8, 9, 14, 31, and 32; Song of Songs 4:4 and Sirach 24. Song of Songs 4:4 3 15. Esther 2:7 - "And he had brought up his brother's.
1 Kings 26:41 -"And she arose and bowed herself down with. Judges 4:21 -"So Jael Haber's wife took. Judges 5:8- "The Lord chose new wars, and he. Judith 13:10- "And she struck twice upon.
Judith 15:10- "And when she was come out to him, ." CHAPTER FOUR: THE VIRGIN MARY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT I. 182 A chronological study of New Testament passages commented upon by Cornelius a Lapide. Methodology: Similar to Old Testament passages II. 183 Passages in New Testament A.
Galatians 1:19 - "But other of the apostles, I saw none. Galatians 4:4- "Foreshadowing of a woman. Mark 3:31-35- "Who is my mother and my brethren?" D. Mark 6:1-6 - "Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary?" E.
Matthew 1: 1-17 - Genealogy of Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25- The Birth of Christ. Matthew 2:1-7- The Visit of the Magi. Luke 1:26-38- The Annunciation.
Luke 1:39-45- The Visitation of Mary to her cousin, Elizabeth. Luke 2: 1-7 - The Birth of Christ. An Exegetical Comparison I Contrast of Luke 2:19 and 2:51. Luke 2:21-40- The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple.
Luke 2:41-52- The Finding of Jesus in the Temple. Acts 1:14- Mary at Prayer with the Apostles. John 1:13- "Born of God. John 2:1-12- Mary at the Wedding Feast in Cana.
John 19:25-28a- Mary at the Foot of the Cross. 12:1-17- Woman Clothed with the Sun. 339 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS On May 24, 1986, I was ordained a priest at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago through the imposition of hands by the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, Archbishop of Chicago ( 1982-1996). The ordination took place on the feast of Mary, Help of Christians.
I dedicate this paper to the Blessed Virgin Mary who has been my help and my solace throughout my entire life. In a special way, I wish to remember my dear parents, Giovanni and Gemma Presta, who taught me how to love God and honor Mary. My desire is to acknowledge the following people who have been so helpful to me in my dissertation work and research: Father Bertrand Buby, SM, my director, confidant and friend; Father Johann Roten, SM, Director ofiMRI, and my professors at IMRI, including Father Luigi Gam hero, SM, Father Thomas Thompson, SM, Father Eamon Carroll, 0. and the late Fathers Frederick Jelly, OP and Walter Brennan, OSM; as well as Ms.
Clare Jones of the Marian Library for all her help and encouragement over the years. I also wish to acknowledge the work of those who assisted me in translating the Latin commentaries of a Lapide to English: Mr. Lawrence Strittmatter, former high school Latin instructor (Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 7:14, Micah 5:2-3, Proverbs 8: 15,23); Dr. William Napiwocki, Ph., Professor of Latin at Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary (Proverbs 8, 9,24 and 31, Song of Songs 4, Judith, Esther and Judges); Father Christopher Doering, Pastor of Our Lady of Victory in Chicago (Revelation 12).
6 I am grateful to those who translated the German texts of Raymond Noll's dissertation, especially: Father Emery de Gaal, Professor of Systematics, Mundelein Seminary (Noll, pages 13-22, 81-127); Sister M. Isabell Naumann, IMRI faculty member (Scheffczyk's article); Ms. Felicitas Samtleben-Spleiss, Marianist affiliate (Noll, pages, 81-127); Mr. Nathaniel Payne, seminarian for the Archdiocese of Chicago, (Noll's quotes).
Special thanks to Mrs. Sally Walsh for her support, patience, and her professional assistance in typing the dissertation as well as Mr. Matthew Walsh and Mr. Mario Borha for their assistance with the thesis.
I also wish to extend a word of appreciation to Mrs. Mary Ocasek, librarian at Mundelein Seminary, for her kind assistance and encouragement. In particular, I owe a debt of gratitude to the priests and seminarians of St. Joseph College Seminary for their constant support and encouragement in completing the dissertation.
In a special way, I also wish to acknowledge my good friend, Ms. Joan Calvert and Mr. Michael Martino, Director of the English Proficiency Program of St. Joseph College Seminary for offering their expertise, proofreading and advice with the dissertation.
Special thanks to the Very Reverend John F. Canary, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Chicago, my spiritual director and mentor, and to the Reverend Robert Barron, Professor of Systematic Theology, my classmate and friend, for all their encouragement and support. I also thank Father Louis Cameli, my STB thesis director, for all his encouragement and support in my doctoral research and writing. Finally, I wish to acknowledge the assistance of Dr.
Cam U rs Van Wahlde, professor ofTheology, Loyola University Chicago, for his assistance in proofreading the dissertation. In a special way, I want to thank my Archbishop, His Eminence Francis Cardinal George, 7 O., for all the interest, support and encouragement. Cardinal George is a scholar in his own right, an outstanding priest, Bishop and a loyal son of Mary and the Church. I also want to offer words of thanks and appreciation to Father Jim Manning, Pastor of St.
Albert the Great Church in Kettering, Ohio, and the staff at St. Albert's, especially Ms. Katie O'Neil and Ms. Marjorie Andrick for offering me a horne and a place to offer Mass each summer.
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us. 8 9 Situating the Thesis: Status Quaestionis The present research is situated within the context of the development of biblical , most notably during the Post-Tridentine period (late 1500- early 1600's). A comparison will be made with the courses on Scripture taught at IMRI (International Marian Research Institute) through the works of Bertrand Buby, SM, Mary of Galilee, Volumes 1 & 2. The monumental commentaries of the Belgian exegete Cornelius a Lapide, also known as Come lis Cornelissen Van Den Steen, ( 1567- 1637), provide the framework for a study of this post-Tridentine exegete and contemporary Scripture.
A Lap ide's commentaries, with his baroque style of biblical , span the entire Catholic Bible, with the exception of the Book of Job and the Psalms. 1 Since the object of this study was to assess and review the Mariological thread which appears throughout a Lapide's opus magnum of Scriptural commentary, a number of key texts will be presented. A Lapide's own commentary is given in Chapters Three and Four (Old and New Testament texts with a Marian theme or texts accommodated to the Blessed Virgin Mary) and then compared with the work of Buby. The recent doctoral dissertation by Raymund Noll Die Mariologischen Grundlinien im exegetischen Werk des Cornelius a Lap ide SJ ( 1567-1637) became a significant part of this research2 and will be used throughout the dissertation.
Noll's work is of value to this study because he presented a Lapide's as foundational background for the insights into the dogmas of the Assumption of Mary and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Noll's dissertation is interested in the dogmatic theology which a Lapide presents in both of his Old and New Testament commentaries which will ultimately support the definition of these two Marian dogmas. Taheny, "Cornelius a Lapide," The New Catholic Encyclopedia. Noll, Die mariologischen Grundlinien im exegetischen Werk des Cornelius a Lapide SJ ( 1567-1637).
Mariologische Studien Band XVI, Verlag Friedrich Pustet: Regensburg, 2003. Throughout the dissertation, frequent references will be made to this particular author and his dissertation. 10 thesis differs from Noll's in that it examines the biblical methodology and of a Lapide in his voluminous commentaries and compares and contrasts these texts with a method used in IMRI. Therefore, Noll's concern with a Lapide and scripture is more doctrinal; the concern of this work is directed more to the biblical presentation and method of interpretative development of a Lapide.
3 To build the platform for such a work the first chapter centers on the life and person of a Lapide in the post-Tridentine period. The biographical information regarding a Lap ide is limited; however, the following works were helpful to the writer in situating himself within the mariology of post-Trent and those exegetes of the same period who were influential in the commentaries of a Lapide: The New Catholic Encyclopedia, 4 an excellent article by Leo Scheffczyk "Entwicklungslinien N achreformatorischer Mariologie unter Beruecksichtigung antireformatorischer Tendenzen (Petrus Canisius, Suarez, Cornelius a Lapide"), 5 which situates a Lapide and his mariology in the time of Francis Suarez and Peter Canisius. For the development of a Lapide's exegetical style which involved the four senses of scripture, the writings of the Church Fathers, the hagiographical texts of numerous medieval saints, and the tradition of the church, a few notable sources were used. De Lubac' s monumental Medieval Exegesis demonstrated that the biblical tradition is grounded within the exegetical approach of 3 Throughout my dissertation, I will use Noll's dissertation to identify those Biblical texts that he views as significant in understanding the Mariology of Cornelius a Lapide, SJ.
Also, I will quote from Noll's dissertation, especially in Chapter one, regarding the life and work of Cornelius and in the conclusions of this dissertation. I have also listed Old Testament biblical citations and Marian titles derived from the commentaries of Cornelius which are directly from Noll's thesis which may be found in an appendix of this work. 4 Taheny, 377, "Cornelius a Lapide," The New Catholic Encyclopedia. 5 Leo Scheffczyk, Translated by Sr.
Isabell Naumann, STD, Professor of Theology, IMRI, Dayton, Ohio. "Entwicklungslinien nachreformatorischer Mariologie unter Beriiecksichtigung antireformatorischer Tendenzen (Petrus Canisius, Suarez, Cornelius a Lapide)." De Cultu Mariano Saeculo XVI. 6 The Cambridge History of the Bible7 gave the historical perspective for the development of a Lapide's exegetical style of scriptural interpretation. Defining the four senses of scripture was important to gain an understanding of a Lapide's use of the four senses within his commentary: literal, tropological, allegorical and anagogical.