The Philosopher's Cloak

Objective: Learn how the French philosopher Maurice Blondel defined Christian philosophy and how his ideas can inspire us to integrate our own intellectual and spiritual lives. The Man Behind L'Action Picture a quiet getaway in Provence in the late 19th century. French philosopher Maurice Blondel was deep in thought, wrestling with the nature of philosophy itself while preparing his massive doctoral dissertation. That dissertation became L'Action (Action)—an unusual topic at the time that demonstrated just how visceral and active human life truly is. For Blondel, Christian philosophy was essentially philosophy in good faith. In fact, he often preferred the term catholic philosophy , meaning it was meant to be universal for all of humanity. Swimming Against the Current Blondel’s path wasn't easy. He faced heavy turbulence from two sides: The Academic Backlash: The professors on his examination board at the Sorbonne severely criticized his work. He was eventually offered...

 The sensible is a portal to the divine. The first thing is analogy. We cannot see God in the glory of the three persons. What we see is darkness. This is the dark night of the soul according to John of the Cross. Ascetiscm, faith, and God are all darkness from the vantage point of broken man.  Yet this darkness does not signify a nothingness. The cosmos depends on God for its existence. Everything in the cosmos is indicative of its creator. Yet the cosmos is not God. This would be pantheism. The essence of the cosmos is analogous to God's essence. This essence is light. God is light. That is objectively. God is darkness subjectively to man and woman because they have fallen. God is too bright for man to see. In this way we are closer to God when we pray in earnest then when we speak of God. In this Christianity is not primarily a philosophy. But it must be a philosophy because man is created to reason and to search for God. Then when God has found man, man may have faith in G...

  Francis was a beggar and poet. His father was in commerce, and Francis was a soldier. Yet he decided to devote his life to Christ. He did this by preaching the Gospel to all of creation. His successor Anthony would even preach to fish. Francis too is associated with animals. Many non-Catholics even show reverence to him by displaying a statue of him in their gardens. Francis was not a 60’s hippy. Rather he was a man touched by the Gospel. He roamed the streets of the Italian villages and towns and cities and country begging for food. Not only for himself but for the other poor. A man would give him a half eaten piece of bread or chicken and he would hold it out, showing it to the poor to come take and eat. If they would not eat then he would huddle in the corner and eat. After all a man has to eat. Yet there’s something poetic about Francis life. It’s not disgusting and repulsive. It’s moving. It’s difficult. It’s against the grain. It’s what attracts men and women to Franciscan ...