Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Coming Soon: Bucketloads of New Doctors of the Church?


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The Candidates:

- Saint John of Avila
- Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort
- Saint Bernardine of Siena
- Saint Thomas of Villanova
- Saint Ignatius of Loyola
- Saint John Bosco
- Saints Cyril and Methodius
- Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
- Saint Bridget of Sweden
- Saint Gertrude of Helfta
- Saint Vincent de Paul
- Saint Hildegard of Bingen
- Saint Veronica Giuliani
- Saint Gregory of Narek
- Saint Lorenzo Giustiniani
- Saint Antonino of Florence

- Blessed Julian of Norwich



Link to "Aliens in This World: Coming Soon: Bucketloads of New Doctors of the Church?"
Link to the Chiesa article, which includes a list of seventeen candidates.

3 comments:

davidforster said...

I hope in that case that we will be told exactly what being a Doctor of the Church implies. It used to mean something more than "a saint who wrote something reliable and worth reading."

If we went back to the stage of the Four Latin Doctors and the Four Greek Doctors, it would be
clear at least that they were towering intellectual figures as well as saints - St Augustine being the standard to emulate.

I mean no disrespect to the saints listed, who are towering figures as saints. But intellectually, and in terms of their writings, do they bear comparison with St Augustine?

This devaluation of Doctorhood will parallel the Canonization machine of JP2's era. At some point, the faithful may just say, "So what?"

Evoken said...

"davidforster said: I mean no disrespect to the saints listed, who are towering figures as saints. But intellectually, and in terms of their writings, do they bear comparison with St Augustine?"

By no means are they on the same level of an intellects like St. Augustine (or St. Thomas, for that matter). Not to say they are not towering saints, but I was always under the impression that the title "Doctor" was something reserved for those who's works were and still are foundational in the development and formalization of The Church's teachings.

Bro. Winston S. Victorino said...

I believe one of the reasons why the Church name a saint Doctor is also because of a particular realization along the path of holiness that he/she practice or write about. A sort of Divine Revelation or Private revelation. Example is St. Therese writing about her Little Way, small acts of holiness; St. Theresa on Contemplative Prayer Life and her Mysticisms. For the new candidates to be Doctors we have St. Thomas of Villanova who discovers extreme charity as the path to holiness; St. Bernardine, who taught us again the importance of the Holy Name. We have much to learn/know from the new candidates to being Doctors of the Church. Each of them dont compare to another, but for me, they compliment and harmonize with the Gospel, telling us greater reasons to attain eternity.