katholieke universiteit leuven faculty of theology and religious studies abiding in minne's demands

285 Pages·2014·3.41 MB·English

KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN
FACULTY OF THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES

ABIDING IN MINNE'S DEMANDS
A THEOLOGICAL RETRIEVAL OF JAN VAN RUUSBROEC AND ITS
INTERDISCIPLINARY ENCOUNTER WITH JEAN-LUC MARION

A dissertation presented in partial
fulfilment of the requirements for
the Doctor’s Degree in Theology and
Religious Studies
Promoter: by
Prof. Dr. Lieven Boeve Patrick Ryan Cooper
Co-Promoter:
Prof. Dr. Robertus Faesen S.J.

2014
A.M.D.G.
Acknowledgments

When acknowledging gratitude, one necessarily encounters an impossibility. That is, the
unavoidable failure to graciously respond, in an adequate manner, to all that which we have
uniquely, yet commonly received. There is nothing false about such humility. Over these past years of
research, while daily reflecting and writing upon Ruusbroec's theology of minne, I have been
humbled by the concrete fact that its better yet to heed love's demands than simply write about
them. However, our failures should not deter us and keep us quiet. If anything, let the magnanimous
impossibility to satisfy love with a just response reflect the joyful extent to which we are, and will
thus remain, indebted to others.

I wish, therefore, to first thank the members of my immediate family in the United States and
in Switzerland for their continuing support over these past years in Leuven. And in particular, my
mother, Amy Searcy, and her tireless example of a life lived in service of others as well as my mother-
in-law, Theresa Wittwer, for her many trips to Leuven over the years in helping out with our young
family. I wish to thank my father, Terry Cooper and father-in-law, Daniel Wittwer, Hugh McDonough
and Robert Bibbo, as well as Meghan Boyle, Anna and Vince Cooper. As a bridge between the US and
Leuven, additionally I wish to thank Joseph Boel S.J. for his council and guidance, as well as for having
gently planted the 'Leuven seed' in the first place.

As the outgoing Dean of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies and as my promoter, I
first wish to thank Prof. Lieven Boeve, especially for his motivation, loyalty and generous
commitment. As well as for the members of the Research Group, Theology in a Postmodern Context,
I wish to express my gratitude for its broadened perspective, as well as for its mutual sharing in the
challenges and possibilities inherent in our joint endeavor. To my co-promoter, Prof. Rob Faesen S.J.,
your unwavering patience and strong commitment in transmitting both the texts and traditions of
the Brabantine 'Master' is an invaluable gift. To the members of the Institute for the Study of
Spirituality, I wish to express my gratitude for our regular gatherings around the texts of Ruusbroec
and the stimulating conversation that unfailingly emerges from such close readings. To the members
of the Research Group Anthropos, I also wish to express my gratitude and excitement in its vision and
in particular, Prof. Yves De Maeseneer for his lived example as a teacher and for his generous advice.
Additionally, I want to express my gratitude to the members of the Ruusbroecgenootschap, its
tradition of scholarship, as well as for its admirable work in completing the critical edition of
Ruusbroec's complete works, thereby making available the Brabantine's works to a larger readership.

To my fellow council-members and the wider community at Sint Kwinten's, I wish to thank
you for providing a spiritual home for my family. In particular, Fr. Thomas Gricoski O.S.B. and the late
Fr. Cyril Crawford, O.S.B. whose voice can still be recalled and thus heeded. To my dear friends, Ellen
Vandenbroeck and Eric De Wilde for your confidence, sharing and loving support. To the Manderfield
family and in particular, my dear friend Bradford, for the endurance of your commitments. To the
Gonzales family, and to my dear friend Philip, with whom the task of loving integration and concrete
synthesis knows no end.

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To my dear sons Martin, Francis and Laurence—your inexhaustible life is an endless joy. And
to my dearest wife Helena, with whom I flow out and ebb back daily in the demands and desires of
God's common love. This work is as much your own as I am yours.

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PREFATORY REMARKS

In this work, one may well read, as in a mirror, the insatiability of thought that persists in
saying what cannot be said, while sufficiently aware of its own deficiencies. In seeking to
communicate my ongoing scholarly research, the following dissertation evidences traces of such a
process of reflection and its continuing trajectory of research. It compromises mainly of various
conference presentations and peer-reviewed articles that have been or are intended for future
publication. If its repetition becomes at times tedious, then be assured that a change in format and
further revision will be in order, if in the event of its future publication.

As a stylistic note to the reader. In the following, I will not italicize my frequent use of
Ruusbroec's middle-Dutch term, 'minne' (as a substantive), or 'minnen' (in its verbal form) hoping to
forestall any undue distraction from disrupting the overall flow of the text. I do, however,
consistently try to provide in brackets the Middle-Dutch equivalent to various key terms, or to
accentuate a particular nuance in the Brabantine's corpus. As for textual citations of Ruusbroec, I
deliberately not only provide the original vernacular, but furthermore, when citing a passage from
the critical edition, the footnote citations for the appropriate section and lines are according to the
original Middle-Dutch version. I use the English translation provided by the Ruusbroec critical edition,
except for when I occasionally modify the translation, in which case, I provide the alternative
translation.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

WORKS BY JAN VAN RUUSBROEC

The Spiritual Espousals and Other Works. Ed. and trans. J.A.Wiseman, with introduction by Louis
Dupré. New York: Paulist Press, 1985.

Boecsken der verclaringhe. Ed. Guido De Baere. Translation into English by Ph. Crowley and Helen
Rolfson, translation into Latin by L. Surius, Opera omnia, 1; CCCM, 101. Tielt: Lanoo;
Turnhout: Brepols, 1989.

Die geestelike brulocht. Ed. Jos Alaerts. Translation into English by Helen Rolfson, translation into
Latin by L. Surius, Opera omnia, 3; CCCM, 103. Tielt: Lanoo; Turnhout: Brepols, 1988.

Vanden seven sloten. Ed. Guido De Baere. Translation into English by Helen Rolfson, translation into
Latin by L. Surius, Opera omnia, 2; , 102. Tielt: Lanoo; Turnhout: Brepols, 1989.

Vanden blinkenden steen; Vanden vier becoringhen; Vanden kerstenen ghelove; brieven. Ed. Guido De
Baere. Translation into English by André Lefevere, translation into Latin by L. Surius, Opera
omnia, 10; CCCM, 110. Tielt: Lanoo; Turnhout: Brepols, 1991.

Vanden XII beghinen. Prolegomena. Ed. Mikel. M. Kors. Translation into English by Helen Rolfson,
Opera omnia, 7; CCCM, 107. Tielt: Lanoo; Turnhout: Brepols, 2000.

Vanden XII beghinen. Text and Apparatus. Mikel. M. Kors. Translation into English by Helen Rolfson,
translation into Latin by L. Surius, Opera omnia, 7A; CCCM 107A. Tielt: Lanoo; Turnhout:
Brepols, 2000.

Een spieghel der eeuwigher salicheit. Ed. Guido De Baere. Translation into English by André Lefevere,
translation into Latin by L. Surius, Opera omnia, 8; CCCM, 108. Tielt: Lanoo; Turnhout:
Brepols, 2001.

Dat rijcke der ghelieven. Ed. Jos Alaerts. Translation into English by Helen Rolfson, translation into
Latin by L. Surius, Opera omnia, 4; CCCM, 104. Tielt: Lanoo; Turnhout: Brepols, 2002.

Van seven trappen. Ed. Rob Faesen. Translation into English by Helen Rolfson, translation into Latin
by L. Surius and edited by Rob Faesen. Opera omnia, 9; CCCM 109. Tielt: Lanoo; Turnhout:
Brepols, 2003.

Van den geesteliken tabernakel. Ed. Thom Mertens. Translation into English by Helen Rolfson,
translation into Latin by L. Surius, Opera omnia, 5-6; CCCM, 105-106. Tielt: Lanoo;
Turnhout: Brepols, 2006.
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WORKS BY JEAN-LUC MARION

(English)

God Without Being: Hors-texte. Translated by Thomas A. Carlson. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1991.

"Christian Philosophy and charity." Communio XIX, Number 3 (1992) 465-473.

"Metaphysics and Phenomenology: A Summary for Theologians." Translated by Angus McGeoch. In
The Postmodern God: A Theological Reader. ed. Graham Ward, 279-296. Oxford:
Blackwell, 1997.

Reduction and Givenness: Investigations of Husserl, Heidegger, and Phenomenology. Translated by
Thomas A. Carlson. Evanston, Il. : Northwestern University Press, 1998.

Cartesian Questions: Method and Metaphysics. Translated by Jeffrey L. Kosky. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1999.

On Descartes' Metaphysical Prism: The Constitution and the Limits of Onto-Theo-Logy in Cartesian
Thought. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999.

"In the Name: How to Avoid Speaking of ‘Negative Theology’." In God, the Gift, and Postmodernism.
eds. J.D. Caputo and M.J. Scanlon, 20-53. Bloomington, IN.: Indiana University Press,
1999.

"'Christian Philosophy': Hermeneutic or Heuristic?" In The Question of Christian Philosophy Today.
ed., Francis J. Ambrosio, 247-264. New York: Fordham University Press, 1999.

"The Saturated Phenomenon." Translated by Jeffrey L. Kosky. In Phenomenology and the 'Theological
Turn': The French Debate. New York: Fordham University Press, 2000.

"Is the Ontological Argument Ontological? The Argument According to Anselm and its Metaphysical
Interpretation According to Kant." In Flight of the Gods: Philosophical Perspectives on
Negative Theology. eds. Ilse N. Bulhof, Laurens ten Kate, 78-99. New York: Fordham
University Press, 2000.

The Idol and Distance: Five Studies. Translated by Thomas A. Carlson. New York: Fordham University
Press, 2001.

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"The Formal Reason for the Inifinite". In The Blackwell Companion to Postmodern Theology. ed.
Graham Ward, 399-412. Oxford: Blackwell, 2001.

Prolegomena to Charity. Translated by Stephen E. Lewis. New York: Fordham University Press, 2002.

"They Recognized Him and He Became Invisible to Them." Translated by Stephen E. Lewis. Modern
Theology 18.2 (2002): 145-152.

Being Given: Toward a Phenomenology of Givenness. Translated by Jeffrey L. Kosky. Stanford, CA.:
Stanford University Press, 2002.

In Excess: Studies of Saturated Phenomenon. Translated by Robyn Horner and Vincent Berraud. New
York: Fordham University Press, 2002.

"Thomas Aquinas and Onto-Theo-Logy." Translated by B. Gendreau, R. Rethy, and M. Sweeney. In
Mystics: Presence and Aporia. eds., Michael Kessler and Christian Sheppard. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 2003.

"Introduction: What Do We Mean By 'Mystic'?" In Mystics: Presence and Aporia. eds., Michael
Kessler, Christian Sheppard, 1-7. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.

The Crossing of the Visible. Translated by James K. A. Smith. Stanford, CA.: Stanford University Press,
2004.

“The Reason of the Gift”. Translated by S. Mackinlay, N. de Warren. In Givenness and God: Questions
of Jean-Luc Marion, eds. Ian Leask and Eoin Cassidy, 101-134. New York: Fordham
University Press, 2005.

"Mihi magna quaestio factus sum: The Privilege of Unknowing." Translated by Stephen E. Lewis.
Journal of Religion. 85.1 (2005) 1-24.

The Erotic Phenomenon. Translated by Stephen E. Lewis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.

“The Impossible for Man—God”. In Transcendence and Beyond: A Postmodern Inquiry. eds. John D.
Caputo and Michael J. Scanlon, 17-43. Bloomington, IN.: Indiana University Press, 2007.

The Visible and the Revealed. Translated by Christina M. Gschwandtner. New York: Fordham
University Press, 2008.

"The Phenomenality of the Sacrament—Being and Givenness." In Words of Life: New Theological
Turns in French Phenomenology. eds. Bruce Ellis Benson and Norman Wirzba, 89-102. New
York: Fordham University Press, 2010.

The Reason of the Gift. Translated and with an introduction by Stephen E. Lewis. Charlottesville, VA.:
University of Virginia Press, 2011.
viii
"Resting, Moving, Loving: The Access to the Self according to Saint Augustine." Journal of Religion.
91. 1 (2011) 24-42.

In the Self's Place: The Approach of Saint Augustine. Translated by Jeffrey L. Kosky. Stanford, CA.:
Stanford University Press, 2012.

Jean Luc Marion: The Essential Writings. ed., Kevin Hart. New York: Fordham University Press, 2013.

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