AmericanCatholic.org
 
advertisement
advertisement
Sunday, November 08, 2009
'Nation's Parish' Celebrates 50 Years of Prayer, Pilgrimage
WASHINGTON (CNS)—The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington—the largest Catholic church in North America and one of the 10 largest churches in the world—is a familiar place to U.S. Catholics who regard the immense structure as their own. The basilica, which marks the 50th ...
FULL STORY

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in the late afternoon.
MORE CURRENT NEWS
Hungarian Bishop Who Froze in Communist Prison Beatified
ESZTERGOM, Hungary (CNS)—Hungarian Bishop Zoltan Meszlenyi, who froze to death in a Hungarian prison in 1951, has ...
 
Priest's Wines Raise Awareness of Saints, Funds for Charity
MILWAUKEE (CNS)—A holy water font at each door, candles, home altars, crucifixes in every room, statues and ...
 
Parish Raising Funds for Statue in Hungary of Cardinal Mindszenty
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (CNS)—At the crossroads of the past, present, faith and heritage, members of St. Ladislaus ...
 
More Top Catholic News
All Saints and All Souls

Death Is Not the End
In November, the church celebrates the communion of saints and God's promise of eternal life.
  Send an e-Greeting.
  Read about saints in the news.
  Bookmark Saint of the Day!
John Duns Scotus: A humble man, John Duns Scotus has been one of the most influential Franciscans through the centuries.<p>Born at Duns in the county of Berwick, Scotland, John was descended from a wealthy farming family. In later years he was identified as John Duns Scotus to indicate the land of his birth; <I>Scotia</I> is the Latin name for Scotland.<p>John received the habit of the Friars Minor at Dumfries, where his uncle Elias Duns was superior. After novitiate John studied at Oxford and Paris and was ordained in 1291. More studies in Paris followed until 1297, when he returned to lecture at Oxford and Cambridge. Four years later he returned to Paris to teach and complete the requirements for the doctorate.<p>In an age when many people adopted whole systems of thought without qualification, John pointed out the richness of the Augustinian-Franciscan tradition, appreciated the wisdom of Aquinas, Aristotle and the Muslim philosophers&#151;and still managed to be an independent thinker. That quality was proven in 1303 when King Philip the Fair tried to enlist the University of Paris on his side in a dispute with Pope Boniface VIII. John Duns Scotus dissented and was given three days to leave France.<p>In Scotus&#146;s time, some philosophers held that people are basically determined by forces outside themselves. Free will is an illusion, they argued. An ever practical man, Scotus said that if he started beating someone who denied free will, the person would immediately tell him to stop. But if Scotus didn&#146;t really have a free will, how could he stop? John had a knack for finding illustrations his students could remember!<p>After a short stay in Oxford he returned to Paris, where he received the doctorate in 1305. He continued teaching there and in 1307 so ably defended the Immaculate Conception of Mary that the university officially adopted his position. That same year the minister general assigned him to the Franciscan school in Cologne where John died in 1308. He is buried in the Franciscan church near the famous Cologne cathedral.<p>Drawing on the work of John Duns Scotus, Pope Pius IX solemnly defined the Immaculate Conception of Mary in 1854. John Duns Scotus, the "Subtle Doctor," was beatified in 1993. What is the significance of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima? Transformation is the purpose of our lives—to change and be changed until the Christ consciousness is fully developed and the ego sufficiently starved so that it becomes too weak to influence our behavior and choices.
 
PICK OF THE DAY
Advent Prayer Door Hanger
Use this unique door hanger to spark and enhance Advent prayer among families, friends, neighbors, co-workers and classrooms.

CATHOLIC COMMUNITY SPEAKS
Help Wanted Help Wanted
America—Rising unemployment and the stalled creation of new jobs are dampening morale on Main Street ...
Principles, Not Prizes Principles, Not Prizes
Our Sunday Visitor—What the world needs now is more than sentiments and high-sounding rhetoric. It ...
We Should Celebrate Darwin We Should Celebrate Darwin
St. Anthony Messenger—Across the globe this year, people are commemorating the 200th anniversary of the ...

More Catholic Community Speaks
The Price of Death
Dorothy’s Gift
We Need to Name More Married Saints
Health Care: What's a Catholic to Do?
"For I Was Ill and You Cared for Me"
No Waiting Room
WEEKLY POLL
How do we attain salvation?
 
 
Last week's results   This week's results

 
CATHOLIC GREETINGS
All Saints Day

Who's your patron? Send a Catholic Greetings e-card and share your devotion to him or her.


ENTERTAINMENT
A Christmas Carol
Acclaimed on its publication and so popular since that it has never ...
The Men Who Stare at Goats
The Army's Cold War-era experimentation with psychic and paranormal techniques of warfare ...
New Movies
Eye on Entertainment
  A Christmas Carol  (CNS/Disney)
Ebenezer Scrooge, voiced by Jim Carrey, in the animated movie "A Christmas Carol."
 
advertisement
American Catholic is for Catholics, all Christians and seekers. Find Roman Catholic Saints, Catholic Church Questions and Catholic News. Post Prayer Requests and send Catholic e-cards. Discover Catholic Books, Catholic Audio Books, Catholic Videos, and a leading Catholic Magazine.

An AmericanCatholic.org Site from the Franciscans and St.Anthony Messenger Press Copyright © 1996-2009