Resume of the Doctoral Thesis in Theology of Msgr. Joao Scognamiglio Cla Dias, EP
To read Part 2 click here: http://heraldsgospelsinengland.blogspot.com/2011/03/living-example-of-gift-of-wisdom-part-2.html
It is easier to experience the gifts of the Holy Spirit than to explain them scientifically, as an emminent theologian affirmed. Monsignor Joao Cla overcame this problem by taking a unique approach to his doctorate in theology.
In his thesis The Gift of Wisdom in the Spirit; Life and Work of Plinio Correa de Oliveira, Msgr. Joao Cla Dias, EP, decided to approach the theme from a unique perspective, by examining the power that the gift of wisdom acquires in one who profoundly lives it, rather than presenting its strictly abstract aspects. Thus the thesis focuses on analysing the action of the Holy Spirit in one of the greatest Catholic leaders of recent time: Plinio Correa de Oliveira, “an important figure in the history of the Brazilian Church,” according to a member of the examination board, Fr. Marcelo Neves.
Maintaining an objective perspective - as members of the examination board affirmed - Msgr. Joao gives his personal testimony regarding the gift of wisdom in Plinio Correa de Oliveira, which forty years of close contact allowed him to observe in detail. “No one could have explained this secret od Dr. Plinio Correa de Oliveira’s life and work with such insight as Msgr. Joao, his son and disciple” attested another examiner Fr. Alberto Ramirez.
Fr Carlos Arboleda highlighted an additional point: the thesis “aims at showing that salvation history is not isolated from human history , that the faith experience does not exclude an existence that interprets and acts upon it.” Consequently, to be more efficacious , theological teaching should provide living examples, making stated truths more tangible.
The need to live out the Faith.
Msgr. Joao Cla portrays and writes with balance and love, and “does the work of a theologian and not merely a narrator,” as Fr. Marcelo Neves notes.
Indeed, while the thesis is strongly biographical in character, it remains within the ambit of authentic theology. In order to produce a masterly and appealing theological work which not only instructs but also inspires the practice of virtue, it is necessary for the author to have lived the truths examined. Either the Faith is lived, or, as St James teaches, it is dead. (cf. Jms 2:14-26)
This important aspect of theological study was noted, in other terms by Pope Benedict XVI in a speech to the members of the International Theological Commission: “From the viewpoint of one who does theology, the fundamental virtue of the theologian is to seek obedience to faith, the faith that opens our eyes. This humility renders the theologian a collaborator of the truth. In this way it will not happen that he speaks of himself. Interiorly purified by obedience to the truth, he will reach, instead, the point that the Truth itself, that the Lord, can speak through the theologian and theology." [1]
The power of St Anthony’s testimony: “I saw Him!”
From the outset, in presenting his thesis defence, Msgr. Joao makes a point of demonstrating that the efficacy of personal testimony is superior to theological arguments alone. In this regard, he recalls how important for the faithful of Alexandria was the example of St Anthony in proclaiming the divinity of Christ, in the fight against the arians. “St Anthony - his thesis states - had mystically seen the divinity of Our Lord. He was a live witness to this truth of Faith. For this reason, he was sought by St Athanasius to come to Alexandria, where countless Christians and heretics gathered in the Basilica to see him. The nonagenarian hermit, whose mere presence imposed respect, sat near the altar while the Archbishop ascended the pulpit and proclaimed the divinity of Our Lord. Suddenly, a voice of protest arose from amidst the crowd. St Anthony was astonished by the unseemly interruption and asked for a translation of the words he had heard, since he did not understand Greek. ‘The Lord - they translated for him - was only a man, created by God and subjected to death and transition.’ St Anthony arose and exclaimed: “I saw Him!” A murmur ran through the naves of the church. On their knees, the faithful cried out: ‘He saw Him! He saw the divinity of Our Lord!, The authoritative voice of this man, for whom the supernatural truth of Christ’s divine nature had become, in effect, evident by virtue of a supernatural vision, was the greatest blow the heresy suffered, more than the splendid and logical doctrine exposed in the Council. This is an example of the value and contribution of a living witness.
Origin of the thesis, the testimony of the author: ‘I saw him!’
After this introduction, Msgr. Joao continues: “Now, mutatis mutandis, it must be declared that this thesis was also born of the author’s witness. “With profound emotion he recalls, in the first chapter of the thesis, the day -March 15, 2005- that he made his profession of Faith at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica.
“As the pen moves across the paper in writing these lines, the left hand of the author rests once again on Sacred Scripture; and from the depths of his soul this declaration springs forth, with the same spirit, gravity and consciousness as in the previous oath”
The author solemnly declares that all transcriptions of Dr. Plinio’s words “are faithful to the reality of his expression during that time,” since they were taken directly “from the archive of his conferences, commentaries and conversations, in addition to his writings. If there be any disproportion in my appraisement of him, it would be for having fallen short of his true worth.”
Msgr. Joao goes on to consider the true joy he has had in knowing this treasure of oral and written works which rank among the doctrinal explanations produced by the Holy Church, based on Revelation, over the centuries. Nevertheless, he emphasises, having known “Plinio Correa de Oliveira intimately for forty years,” he was also the recipient of another “very noteworthy” blessing in seeing the “wealth and grandeur” of these doctrines “in a living manner, that is to say, “producing their effects in the soul of a man.”
Therefore, this thesis has been prepared not simply as a discourse of reason, but above all, as a testimony from the depth of the heart, declaring the importance of living example. For the supernatural truths regarding grace and the action of the Holy Spirit is souls -more specifically the gift of wisdom- became a virtually palpable reality for the author in his contact with Dr. Plinio, who was his teacher, leader, model and guide; his father and founder. He could well exclaim, “I saw Him!”
To read Part 2 click here: http://heraldsgospelsinengland.blogspot.com/2011/03/living-example-of-gift-of-wisdom-part-2.html
It is easier to experience the gifts of the Holy Spirit than to explain them scientifically, as an emminent theologian affirmed. Monsignor Joao Cla overcame this problem by taking a unique approach to his doctorate in theology.
In his thesis The Gift of Wisdom in the Spirit; Life and Work of Plinio Correa de Oliveira, Msgr. Joao Cla Dias, EP, decided to approach the theme from a unique perspective, by examining the power that the gift of wisdom acquires in one who profoundly lives it, rather than presenting its strictly abstract aspects. Thus the thesis focuses on analysing the action of the Holy Spirit in one of the greatest Catholic leaders of recent time: Plinio Correa de Oliveira, “an important figure in the history of the Brazilian Church,” according to a member of the examination board, Fr. Marcelo Neves.
Maintaining an objective perspective - as members of the examination board affirmed - Msgr. Joao gives his personal testimony regarding the gift of wisdom in Plinio Correa de Oliveira, which forty years of close contact allowed him to observe in detail. “No one could have explained this secret od Dr. Plinio Correa de Oliveira’s life and work with such insight as Msgr. Joao, his son and disciple” attested another examiner Fr. Alberto Ramirez.
Fr Carlos Arboleda highlighted an additional point: the thesis “aims at showing that salvation history is not isolated from human history , that the faith experience does not exclude an existence that interprets and acts upon it.” Consequently, to be more efficacious , theological teaching should provide living examples, making stated truths more tangible.
The need to live out the Faith.
Msgr. Joao Cla portrays and writes with balance and love, and “does the work of a theologian and not merely a narrator,” as Fr. Marcelo Neves notes.
Indeed, while the thesis is strongly biographical in character, it remains within the ambit of authentic theology. In order to produce a masterly and appealing theological work which not only instructs but also inspires the practice of virtue, it is necessary for the author to have lived the truths examined. Either the Faith is lived, or, as St James teaches, it is dead. (cf. Jms 2:14-26)
This important aspect of theological study was noted, in other terms by Pope Benedict XVI in a speech to the members of the International Theological Commission: “From the viewpoint of one who does theology, the fundamental virtue of the theologian is to seek obedience to faith, the faith that opens our eyes. This humility renders the theologian a collaborator of the truth. In this way it will not happen that he speaks of himself. Interiorly purified by obedience to the truth, he will reach, instead, the point that the Truth itself, that the Lord, can speak through the theologian and theology." [1]
The power of St Anthony’s testimony: “I saw Him!”
From the outset, in presenting his thesis defence, Msgr. Joao makes a point of demonstrating that the efficacy of personal testimony is superior to theological arguments alone. In this regard, he recalls how important for the faithful of Alexandria was the example of St Anthony in proclaiming the divinity of Christ, in the fight against the arians. “St Anthony - his thesis states - had mystically seen the divinity of Our Lord. He was a live witness to this truth of Faith. For this reason, he was sought by St Athanasius to come to Alexandria, where countless Christians and heretics gathered in the Basilica to see him. The nonagenarian hermit, whose mere presence imposed respect, sat near the altar while the Archbishop ascended the pulpit and proclaimed the divinity of Our Lord. Suddenly, a voice of protest arose from amidst the crowd. St Anthony was astonished by the unseemly interruption and asked for a translation of the words he had heard, since he did not understand Greek. ‘The Lord - they translated for him - was only a man, created by God and subjected to death and transition.’ St Anthony arose and exclaimed: “I saw Him!” A murmur ran through the naves of the church. On their knees, the faithful cried out: ‘He saw Him! He saw the divinity of Our Lord!, The authoritative voice of this man, for whom the supernatural truth of Christ’s divine nature had become, in effect, evident by virtue of a supernatural vision, was the greatest blow the heresy suffered, more than the splendid and logical doctrine exposed in the Council. This is an example of the value and contribution of a living witness.
Origin of the thesis, the testimony of the author: ‘I saw him!’
After this introduction, Msgr. Joao continues: “Now, mutatis mutandis, it must be declared that this thesis was also born of the author’s witness. “With profound emotion he recalls, in the first chapter of the thesis, the day -March 15, 2005- that he made his profession of Faith at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica.
“As the pen moves across the paper in writing these lines, the left hand of the author rests once again on Sacred Scripture; and from the depths of his soul this declaration springs forth, with the same spirit, gravity and consciousness as in the previous oath”
The author solemnly declares that all transcriptions of Dr. Plinio’s words “are faithful to the reality of his expression during that time,” since they were taken directly “from the archive of his conferences, commentaries and conversations, in addition to his writings. If there be any disproportion in my appraisement of him, it would be for having fallen short of his true worth.”
Msgr. Joao goes on to consider the true joy he has had in knowing this treasure of oral and written works which rank among the doctrinal explanations produced by the Holy Church, based on Revelation, over the centuries. Nevertheless, he emphasises, having known “Plinio Correa de Oliveira intimately for forty years,” he was also the recipient of another “very noteworthy” blessing in seeing the “wealth and grandeur” of these doctrines “in a living manner, that is to say, “producing their effects in the soul of a man.”
Therefore, this thesis has been prepared not simply as a discourse of reason, but above all, as a testimony from the depth of the heart, declaring the importance of living example. For the supernatural truths regarding grace and the action of the Holy Spirit is souls -more specifically the gift of wisdom- became a virtually palpable reality for the author in his contact with Dr. Plinio, who was his teacher, leader, model and guide; his father and founder. He could well exclaim, “I saw Him!”
[1] Benedict XVI, Speech, 5/12/08
To read Part 2 click here: http://heraldsgospelsinengland.blogspot.com/2011/03/living-example-of-gift-of-wisdom-part-2.html
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