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Nov. 6, 1963 THE SKYSCRAPER Page Five New Testament Scholar Visits College Stanley Speaks on Campus; Provokes Varied Reaction Reverend David M. Stanley, S.J., associate professor of the ology at the State University of Iowa, is on leave from On tario's Regis College. He received his licentiate in theology from St. Louis Uni versity and his doctorate in Scriptural Study at the Ponti fical Biblical Institute in Rome. Father Stanley is the author of a commentary on St. Matt hew's Gospel, the revised edi tion of which is currently being used in Mundelein New Testa ment classes. He is also a con tributor to the Catholic Biblical Quarterly, The Bible Today and Worship. by Rae Paul Reactions to Reverend David Stanley's three days on campus were as varied as the students, fac ulty members and general public who attended his lectures and dis cussions. Certainly, the student body was impressed by Father Stanley's clear-cut presentation of the sacra ments. The faculty, too, must have been inspired by his direct approach to the Liberal versus Conservatism question which he discussed Friday evening in Mc Cormick Lounge. However, the insights Father presented Thursday, closely uniting the sacraments with the Mystical Body, were probably the most valuable, according to Sister Mary Carol Frances, B.V.M., chairman of the theology department. This is the orientation we are trying to present here at Munde lein, she said. For this reason, Father's lecture should have been a stimulating experience for every one. And, obviously, everyone ex pected it to be just that. Thurs day's lecture was originally sched uled for McCormick Lounge which jammed so quickly that the en tire party was moved to the more spacious auditorium, where Father addressed a comparatively large audience for a non-required assem bly. Audience Searches is the question which must have loomed in the minds of theology de partment members as they watched this quiet, serious crowd move from one building to the other and pro ceed to take notes on Father's every word. Reality is the answer, says Sis ter Mary Ann David, B.V.M., We are beginning to realize that we have lost sight of the essentials which will be found again only in reality. But one can't help wondering whether or not this reality was found during Father's three-day visit. So many complained that they heard nothing from the dis tinguished scripture scholar that they hadn't heard before. I expected a vital force, said Mr. Joseph Scheidler. Instead, he described the experience as going out and coming home with an empty basket. Laity Starves The laity is starved, he said, drawing a parallel between the present Church situation and Fa ther's three-day lecture series. He stated that there is a lack of com munication between the clergy and laity which will not be corrected until the truths are expressed more vitally. But, as Sister Mary Thomas Daniel, B.V.M., commented, The truths are not always going to be novel; all we can do is re-translate them into modern cultural terms. Present Viewpoints Mr. Kenneth Weeks, on the other hand, saw Father's view as one of many. The sacraments, presented as gestures of Christ, is one view point. In order to keep the truth in sight we have to look at it from all angles; to leave one out is to distort reality. We have to admire this man for his humility also, stated Fa ther William Clark. According to him, Father Stanley presented his opinions merely as views of reality. Reality sought; reality found and not found; reality touched upon. End result? Reaction di- Reconcile Questions Either Mundelein was in no posi tion to be inspired by this new orientation, because she herself is presenting it, or Father Stanley failed to make his point. Perhaps, both alternatives may be reconciled by one question Could this great scholar have underestimated Mun delein, its theology department and students? Whatever conclusion is drawn, one thing is certain the college has experienced what Sister Mary Carol Frances, B.V.M., terms the joy of recognition. Skyscraper Photo by Rae Paul THE FACULTY greets Father David Stanley, SJ, after one of his lectures. Theology instructors, Mr. Joseph Scheidler and Sister Mary Ann David, B.V.M., clarify key issues of Father's talk. Noted Theologian Stresses Social Idea of Sacraments by Tina De Rosa Presenting his student audience Oct. 17 with the challenge that the theology of the sacraments today is an unfinished business, Reverend David Stanley, SJ, keynoted his address on The Sacraments: Gestures of the Risen Christ with an emphasis on the social nature of man's worship and personal encounter. One of the most common complaints in the Church today, according to the noted theologian, is that Catholics have become too mechanical in their reception of the sacraments What were they looking for? lemma. and tend to regard them as doses of medicine. Father Stanley traced some, of the present-day at titudes toward the sacraments to the Middle Ages. The discovery of Canonical Law, he pointed out, in troduced a legalistic sacramental vocabulary: definitions presenting the sacraments as instituted and promulgated stilt modern man's ability to appreciate them as gifts with God on the giving end. With the growing emphasis on the social character of man, the 20th-century Catholic should rec ognize the liturgy as his social response to God and the sacra ments as a personal encounter with Him. The practice of our religion, he emphasized .. . has an undeniable social character. The sacraments can be under stood, Father asserted, only in the context of the risen Christ because they are part of Christ's risen personality. The Gospels, he stated, discount the nostalgic THE STUDENTS meet with Father Wall, Alice Madgey, Cathy Riplinger climaxed his three days on campus Skyscraper Photo by Rae Paul Stanley after an informal discussion in the social room. (L. to r.) Pat and Sue Worny. After addressing students and faculty members, Father by speaking to the general public. viewpoint that it would have been easy to believe in Christ when He was on earth. The evangelical ac counts prove that the Incarnation was not enough; the Apostles didn't realize fully until after the Resur rection that Christ was the Son of God in a sense that surpassed any metaphorical usage in the Old Tes- t a m e n t. This encounter with Christ, therefore, involves a mani festation of the Spirit that the mere physical contact with Him could not supply: this is why the Apostles needed Pentecost; this is why the Catholic can encounter Christ in the sacraments. By His Incarnation, Father said, Christ was initiated into the family of sinful Adam. By His life and death He introduced a new family of grace. By His resurrection and ascension, He became the first fully redeemed man, the Head of that Mystical Body which was to follow Him. According to Father Stanley, therefore, the birth, life, death and glorification of Christ marked the turning point in that dialogue between God and man which be gan in Genesis and will culmi nate in His Second Coming. Man responds to God's initiative, Father emphasized, not only as an individual but also as a member of society. The sacraments, therefore, have a broader scope than that of the individual human soul and should make us more sensibly aware of our solidarity with our neighbor. Baptism, for example, should be regarded as the initia tory rite into the whole body of Christ as well as a personal entry into Him. Father extended the social con cept of worship of God to an in dividual's love for Him. Efficacious love, Father pointed out, involves exchange; by His very definition, there is nothing creatures can give God that He hasn't already given them. Man, therefore, can love God only through his fellow man: It is in that part of your neighbor that suffers, in that part which is not glorified, in that part which needs your help that you can love God. This, Father Stanley said, is man's way of giving. In answer to a question as to how Christ's redemptive acts can be extended through the sacra ments when the essence of history is that it is past, Father clarified again the reality of encounter with Christ in the sacraments. Christ's obedience to His Father, the theo logian asserted, His act of will, is what redeemed mankind Nineteen- hundred sixty-three years ago, this act of will was exteriorized by His visible presence and miracles. The exterior expression of His love, Father concluded, has changed there is now the Mass instead of Calvary but Christ's act of sub mission endures eternally. Stanley Poses Biblical Query At the Saturday afternoon gath ering of clergy and teachers Oct. 19, Reverend David Stanley, S.J., emphasized the challenge posed by that library called the Bible. This challenge, as pointed out in his address Contemporary Biblical Studies A Challenge to Chris tian Faith? , lies in the Bible's po tential influence in the conversion of non-Christians and in the spir itual guidance of Catholics. As Father repeatedly pointed out, this challenge is not a threat but an opportunity. A scholar, however, must know the Bible be fore becoming its apostle. He con tinued with a discussion of the dif ficulties the scholar as well as the ordinary student meets in conduct ing personal research in or inter pretation of the Bible. Often, Father said, a student's question can't be answered because the student himself doesn't under stand the question. On the other hand, Father remarked that it will be a sad day when there are no more questions. This challenge in the Scriptures, Father asserted, is being met by non-Catholics and Catholics alike.
title:
1963-11-06 (5)
publisher:
Women and Leadership Archives http://www.luc.edu/wla
creator:
Mundelein College
description:
Student newspaper for Mundelein College
subject:
Newspapers
subject:
Religious communities--Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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Students
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Universities and colleges
subject:
Women's education
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Mundelein College Records
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English
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Chicago, Illinois
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Mundelein College