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excellent excerpts from St. Alberts Mariale!

Started by Geremia, November 17, 2016, 01:17:00 PM

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Geremia

Check out this scan of St. Albert's Mariale (his complete works scanned here). St. Thomas never wrote a freestanding treatise on Our B.V.M., but St. Albert did, and, from what I read of it in Charles de Koninck's Ego Sapienta: The Wisdom that is Mary (pp. 1 ff. of this), it's excellent. Here're the quotes in Latin from the notes section of de Koninck's article (cf. the article body for the English translation for another perspective/interpretation):
Quote12. Albertus Magnus, Mariale, sive quæstiones super Evangelium, q. 141, Opera Omnia (ed. Borgnet), t. 37 p. 200a. "...mater Dei est causa Dei et origo Dei secundum illud quod natum est." M.-M. Desmarais, O.P., S. Albert le Grand, Docteur de la Mediation Mariale (Paris-Ottawa, 1935) has been our guide in the Mariology of St. Albert.

13. St. Albert, Mariale, q. 145, p. 206a: "Ipsa est mater omnium, et Deus Pater est origo omnium: quidquid autem per se origo et causa causæ est, per se est origo et causa causati: sed ipsa est mater ejus qui est causa et origo omnium: ergo ipsa per se est mater omnium."

37. St. Albert, Mariale, q. 34, par. 4 (t. 37, p. 73a): "Plenitudo beatissimæ Virginis privat vacuitatem: quamdiu enim vas potest recipere aliquid, tamdiu habet aliquid de vacuitate. Unde omnis creatura alia habet aliquid vacuitatis: quia majorem gratiam potest recipere. Ipsa autem sola gratia plena, quia majorem gratiam non potuit habere: nisi enim ipsa divinitati unireretur, major gratia non potuit intelligi, quam quod de ipsa accipieretur quod uniretur: hoc enim est, nisi ipsa (esset) Deus, non posset major gratia intelligi, quam quod ipsa esse Dei mater."

74. "Concedimus etiam quod a Filio suo in omnibus privilegiis suis antecellitur: nec in hoc laus matris suæ diminuitur, sed exaltatur in eo quod non tantum genuit sibi filium coæqualem, sed infinitum meliorem. Quod etiam ex hac parte quodammodo infinitat bonitatem matris: omnis enim arbor ex fructu cognoscitur proprio; unde si bonitas fructus bonificat arborem, infinita bonitas in fructu adhuc ostendit infinitatem in arbore bonitatem" (St. Albert, Mariale, q. 197, p. 287b).

102. St. Albert, Mariale, c. 141 (t. 37, p. 200): "Quod non posset homo esse pater Dei, sic probatur: Dicit Philosophus, quod masculus est, qui generat in alio: ergo ille qui esset pater Dei, aut generaret in alio, aut in seipso. Si in alio, ergo duo: unus generans in alio, et unus vel una ab altero generans: ergo esset ibi masculus et femina. Si autem ille pater generaret in se: ergo non esset masculus, ergo non esset pater.—Item quæ est ratio quare diceretur pater quam mater? ... Esset nec pater nec mater."

121. St. Albert, Mariale, q. 63, p. 119a: "Ubi humilitas, ibi sapientia. Prov. XI, 2. Hæc propositio est per se in theologia: ergo ubi major humilitas, ibi major est sapientia: ubi summa, ibi summa. Sed in beatissima Virgine improportionabilis fuit humilitas: ergo improportionabilis sapientia. Minor patet in Evangelio ubi dicitur: Qui se humiliat exaltabitur [Mt. 23,12]. Quæ similiter est per se: ergo qui improportionabiliter aliis exaltatur, etiam aliis improportionabiliter demonstratur humilis: sed beatissima Virgo omnes choros Angelorum in quartam hierarchiam secundum Hieronymum exaltata, improportionabiliter aliis ascendit: ergo omnium hominum et Angelorum humillima fuit: ergo et omnes in sapientiæ transcendit."

125. St. Albert, Mariale, q. 165, p. 247b: "quia ad consentiendum in mirabilia maxime disponit fides, et maxime fides de omnipotentia: quia qui credit et advertit Deum omnia posse facere, acquiescit ipsum posse naturas mutare, et naturis imperare. Unde cum hic omnium novorum novissimum nuntietur beatissimæ Virgini. ..."

137. St. Albert, Mariale, q. 24, p. 53a: "Ut sapientia Dei misericordior appareret. Est enim exitus quo de bono bonum, et exitus est quo de malo malum. De primo, ViditDeus cuncta quæ fecerat: et erant valde bona. De secundo: Initium omnis peccati est superbia. ... Tertius exitus est, ut de bono malum, ut de muliere initium peccati. Quartus exitus est, ut de malo bonum, et hoc solius Dei est proprium, cujus sapientia vincit malitiam, attingens a fine usque ad finem."

142. St. Albert, Mariale, q. 24, p. 53a: "... ut confidentiam peccatoribus augmentaretur, per quod mediatrix eorum eadem propinquitate utramque extremitatem conjungeret, ut sicut mater esset et filia Dei, sic esset mater et soror nostra, et sic a natura inclinaretur ad miserendum peccatori."

148. St. Albert, Mariale, q. 75, p. 131a: "Beata Virgo, secundum universalem usum Ecclesiæ appellatur est mater misericordiæ, quod non convenit proprie alicui alteri creaturæ. Dicuntur autem et aliquando viri misericordiæ, id est viri humiles misericordia, et sic habent omnes alii comparationem ad misericordiam per modum principalem et per modum accidentalem, ipsa vero habet comparationem ad misericordiam per modum originis essentialis, quia per modum matris: convenientia autem essentialis improportionabiliter excellit modum inhærentia et modum accidentalem: ergo beatissima Virgo improportionabiliter excedit in misericordia universos."

149. Ibid., q. 162, p. 236a: "Omnis qui est in regno Dei est in misericordia: sed non omnis qui est in regno, est in gloria, vel in gratiam vel in justitia: ergo sola misericordia comprehendit totum regnum: ergo regina super totum regnum potissime dicetur regina misericordiæ."

150. Ibid., p. 236b: "Si construitur intransitive, sensus erit: ipsa est regina misericordiæ, idest, ipsa misericordia: sed adhuc dicitur vere regina misericordiæ: unde et Esther quæ est in figura beatæ Virginis, alio nomine Edissa vocatur, quod est interpretatum misericordia. Item, Isa. xvi, 5: Et præparabitur in misericordia solium sed solium proprie est in proprio loco regni: ergo misericordia est proprius locus regni: sed in utero beatæ Virginis vere et proprie requievit et collocata fuit tota divinitas et humanitas ipsi per Spiritum Sanctum præparato: ergo ipsa proprius locus fuit regni: ergo ipsa fuit misericordia, et cum hoc non immerito regina misericordiæ: quia ipsa seipsam perfecte possidendo semper bene rexit, nam ab ipsa numquam aliquid indirectum processit."

151. Ibid., p. 237a: "... propriissmum nomen quod beatissimæ Virgini secundum suam dignitatem summa debetur est regina misericordiæ. ... Nec dicitur proprie regina pacis et dilectionis: quia hoc est omnibus sui regni universale. Melius dicitur regina misericordiæ quam regina potentiæ vel sapientia. In sapientia enim intelligitur potentia, et non e converso. In misericordia sapientiæ et potentia, et non e converso: unde misericordia illa omnia tria claudit in se: unde regina misericordiæ et regina potentiæ et sapientiæ, et non e converso."
I love these beautiful syllogisms, esp. #74: judging the tree (Our B.V.M.) from her infinitely good fruit (Our Blessed Lord), he concludes that that Our B.V.M. is/shows infinite goodness. Wow!
 #102 shows how God Himself could have only come from the created principle of a woman.
 #121 is a very beautiful argument for intellectual humility and wisdom, and also an argument for the extreme humility and wisdom of Our B.V.M.! Wow!
 #125 shows Our B.V.M.'s faith in God's omnipotence.
 #148 shows that Our B.V.M. incommensurably excedes everything in mercy. Woah.
 #148-151 discuss Our B.V.M.'s mercy and how she is not only mother of mercy (mater misericordiæ) but mercy itself (misericordia ipsa). Wow!
 #149: Since mercy comprehends the entire kingdom (everyone in the kingdom of God is in mercy), therefore Our B.V.M. is queen of mercy!
 #150: I never knew Esther=Mercy. And I love how he shows Our B.V.M.'s womb is the proper place of the Kingdom. She is substantially mercy! Wow!
 #151: Regina / Mater Misericordiæ, not Regina Sapientiæ or Regina Potentiæ, is her most proper title. I never knew that.
 All this really illuminates the reasoning behind the Salve Regina prayer.

Our B.V.M. basically taught St. Albert, in a vision during the night, immense wisdom, transforming him from a man of average intelligence into one of sublime brilliance! See the section on St. Albert in Sr. Dorcy, O.P.'s St. Dominic's Family: Lives of Over 300 Famous Dominicans or Dr. Vost's St. Albert the Great.

Read this astounding, short chapter on St. Albert's love of our Blessed Virgin Mother.

There're some more interesting excerpts/translations from the Mariale in that ch. from his bio., e.g., where St. Albert proves she knew the 7 liberal arts or that her skin was fair and ruddy (yellowish, pretty much like many Fatima statues). It's very interesting he asks physiognomical questions like how tall she was, what color hair she had, her complexion, etc.; he certainly knew the close connection between body and soul, which the Dogma of the Assumption later reaffirmed. I'm absolutely astounded by his scholastic mariology. That bio. ch. also quotes that how he wanted to use reason to know her more and how he wanted to avoid at all costs falling into the trap of using falsehoods to praise her.

Geremia

#1
St. Albert even asks if she knew logic (q. 102, p. 161)!