2025 Conference

Theme: “Reasons for the Hope That Is in Us” (cf. 1 Peter 3:15)

Br. André Marie, MICM  — A Modern Commonitory: St. Vincent of Lerins' Certitude as a Remedy to Our Modern Confusion

Br. André Marie, Prior of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary styles his talk as an effort at helping us comport ourselves with serene virtue in the midst of the “interesting” times in which we live. Addressing the Crisis of Confusion on a doctrinal level specifically, Br. André works to bring hope to his audience by holding out the standard of St. Vincent of Lerins that enables any Catholic in any period of history to determine what is and is not salvific Church teaching. This principle, called the Vincentian Canon, consists in three elements: antiquity, universality, and consent; it states that Catholics should take care to believe that which has been believed, “always, everywhere, and by all.” Basing himself on the thinking of this great saint, Brother goes on to distinguish true doctrinal development from the novelties of “dogmatic Darwinists.” To love God with all our minds, Brother says, implies a radical commitment to truth; if a Church leader contradicts or waters down this truth, we have to love God enough to cling to it regardless, even to the point of being ready to die for any one of the Church’s teachings on Faith or morals.

File Size: 621 MB