%e!Jvfarian Library ~ws{etter
No. 28 (New Series)
Spring-Summer, 1994
Honorary Doctorate to John Macquarrie
Dr. john Macquarrie at the University of Dayton
On March 23, 1994, Bro Raymond Fitz, S.M., president of the University of Dayton, and Fr. james Heft, S.M. , university provost, conferred upon Professor john Macquarrie the degree of Doctor of Divinity honoris causa. Originally from Scotland, Dr. Macquarrie taught at Union Theological Seminary in New York, 1962-1970; he was Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford, 1970-1986, and served as canon of Christ Church, Oxford, until his retirement. Dr. Macquarrie has written extensively both on philosophical and theological topics. He believes that contemporary philosophy must be understood and mastered in order that the Gospel and the doctrines of Christianity may be communicated and understood in our world. The citation accompanying the degree noted his efforts "to formulate presentations of the traditional contents of Christian faith in a manner more relevant and appropriate for people today. " Because of their clarity and depth, his works have been used as textbooks or required reading in many courses. A longtime member of the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary. he recently published Ma ry for All Christians, a work well received by Christians of many different denominations. The book was written in the hope that all Christians may find in Mary "resources for reconciliation rather than conflict. " The text which follows is the lecture which Dr. Macquarrie gave at the academic convocation at which degree was conferred.
The Annunciation Address given at the University of Dayton, March 23, 1994 The Feast of the Annunciation commemorates that incident recorded in the Gospel of St. Luke when, we are told , the angel Gabriel was sent from God to an obscure town in Galilee to a young woman named Mary, and announced to her that she had found favor with God and would bear a son to be named Jesus . This very name announced that he would be a Savior and Liberator, restoring to the people of Israel the dignity and hope that had been theirs in the days of their great King David. The story is told with such beauty and simplicity that it has deeply impressed itself on the minds of all readers of the New Testament. In the Middle Ages, the Angelus bell rang out three times a day across the fields of Europe, and it can still be heard today if you can find a quiet place where you get away from the noise of the traffic. I used to hear it regularly myself as I walked my dogs in the early morning round the Christ Church meadow in Oxford-it came from a religious house somewhere on the other side
of the Cherwell River. And when people heard the bell (at least in former times , if not today) they would pause in their occupations and recite the devotion based on the words of the angel, what we call the "Hail Mary! " or Ave Maria, and they commemorated in their hearts the moment of the Incarnation. The story, as one might expect, made a special impression on artists, and there must have been tens of thousands of paintings of the Annunciation made in medieval and Renaissance times. Indeed, I have a reproduction of one of them hanging in my study at home, The Annunciation, by Fra Angelico. The original was painted about 1440 on a wall at the top of a staircase in the old monastery of St. Mark in Florence . In the picture, Gabriel is provided with multicolored wings, like those of a butterfly. He is standing slightly bowed in a deferential attitude, as he delivers his message. Mary, seated on a stool with her arms crossed (Continued on next page)