Thesis (J.C.L.)--Catholic University of America, 1985. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-60).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Duquesne University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliography (p. 172-183) and index.

This thesis explores a long-neglected area of Julian’s work, namely her devotional and pastoral understanding of the nature of sin and the sacrament of penance. Her two texts reveal a deep concern, set within the context of a rise in lay penitential piety, for those devout who continued to experience a sense of shame and dread of sin, even after confession to a priest. By means of a close comparative reading of Julian's short and long texts of A Revelation of Divine Love, and an examination of a wide range of Middle English devotional texts and manuals, as well as a breadth of Julian scholarship to date, I argue that Julian addresses the devotional and ecclesiastical concerns of late fourteenth-century England in the problem of sin and confession for the ordinary believer. By articulating her revelation in the penitential terms of the manuals of the Church, Julian reveals the extent to which the daily devotional life of 'holy moder church' is the means by which the saving love of Christ is realised and made accessible to the penitent. Within her writing Julian seeks to reassure her reader that God has dealt with sin and triumphed over the devil but in order to do this she must alter their understanding of a contrition-centred sacrament. For this reason Julian sets up a crisis of understanding within her long text between the 'common teaching of holy church' and her revelation of love. This conflict is deliberately left unresolved in order that, in scholastic terms, two opposing arguments in opposition may jointly illuminate the necessity of sin and penance in bringing the soul to the proper state of humility and the mercy and grace of the loving Lord in forgiveness. In so doing it is argued that, within Julian’s writing, the pastoral process of penance is integral to those who desire a more intimate relationship with God. The thesis consists of four chapters which first, locates Julian's short and long versions of A Revelation of Divine Love within the climate of the late-fourteenth century; secondly, it charts the rise of the significance of the role of the penitent within the history of penance which led to an increasing lack of confidence within the late fourteenth century in the ability of the confessional encounter to alleviate the sense of sin experienced by some devout souls; thirdly, I analyse the extent to which Julian's short and long version of a Revelation of Divine Love reflect and address this catechetical and penitential climate in her theology of sin and penance; and finally the thesis poses the question of the extent to which Julian's work can be considered as a penitential text which seeks to bring ease and comfort of the assurance of sins forgiven through the everyday practices of the Church. It is concluded that Julian's writing reveals a fascinating and significant contribution to late fourteenth-century thought on penance and brings a fresh reading of Julian's texts.

This dissertation explores the activities of the Friars Minor relating to penance, seeking to identify the distinctive characteristics of their penitential ideals and practices and understand how they affected the penitential lives of those around them. The first three chapters draw from sources dating to the thirteenth and occasionally early fourteenth centuries from all over Western Christendom, while the last two chapters use sources mainly from thirteenth-century Northern Italy. In the Franciscan Summae confessorum, handbooks for confessors, three distinctive Franciscan penitential ideals emerge: a willingness to undermine the established order of the Church in order to gain more influence in the penitential forum; a desire for more lenient interrogation methods and imposition of penances; and a conception of indulgences as a normal part of the penitential process rather than as extraordinary privileges. These ideals influenced the way Franciscans directed penitential policy when they became prominent under the Franciscan pope Nicholas IV. Absolution and dispensation were made more available through delegation, bishops were left out of the process, and indulgences were granted in larger numbers. Franciscan penitential ideals also spread to the laity through preaching. Franciscans’ emphasis on lenient penances was paired with sermons that urged the laity to do lifelong penance and exalted their spiritual status. Franciscan spiritual advice also moved holy women such as Angela of Foligno and Margaret of Cortona to moderate their excessive penitential practices, seek out indulgences, and criticize prelates. But many lay people resisted Franciscan influence, such as the confraternities of Florence who rejected Franciscan guidance. In general, there was a relationship of mutual influence between the friars and laity in which the friars aimed to control penitential practice to some extent, but also left room for and encouraged lay autonomy, which can be seen in testaments from Bologna.

Thesis (S.T.D.) -- Pontificia Universitas Urbaniana, 2001. / At head of title: Pontificia universitas Urbaniana, Facultas S. theologiae. Includes bibliographical references (p. [115]-125).

Thesis (J.C.D.)--Catholic University of America, 1924. / Bibliography: p. 97-98.

No description available.

<p>This project examines the medieval practice of the sacrament of penance and the innovative ways in which medieval literature engaged with the pastoral project of the Catholic church to provide the penitent with a way to deal with sin. Drawing from medieval literature, religious writing and theological sources, this project begins by illustrating the extent to which each of these didactic texts produces a "model of confession" that reaffirms the teachings of the church. However, approaching these texts with careful attention to language and to the grammar of sin and penance, I show that each of these undeniably orthodox works departs from traditional accounts of the sacrament of penance in significant ways. I suggest that such departures point to moments of theological exploration. My dissertation thus interrogates the category of orthodoxy, showing it to be more capacious and exploratory than is generally recognized. Further, I suggest that the vernacular penitential literature of the late medieval period, motivated by pastoral considerations, actively engages with academic and clerical theological debates surrounding the heavily contested sacrament of penance. </p><p>Chapter one examines <italic>Jacob's Well<italic>, a fifteenth-century vernacular penitential treatise. I argue that the narrative exempla often work against the instruction offered within each chapter, compelling the reader to consider theological problems not addressed within the doctrinal material. These resistances, I suggest, are intentional and not only suggest certain limitations in traditional penitential manuals, but encourage a more conscientious penitential practice and a better understanding of church doctrine. In chapter two I consider the <italic>Showings<italic> of Julian of Norwich. I show how Julian critiques the church's penitential system and offers an alternative form of confession and penance that holds the sinner accountable for sins while reassuring the penitent of God's love and forgiveness. Chapter three compares two fifteenth-century morality plays, <italic>Mankind<italic> and the <italic>Castle of Perseverance<italic>. Through a reading of the treatment of mercy in both plays, I suggest that the Castle's departures from traditional accounts of sacramental confession allow the author to explore the scope of God's mercy and experiment with the idea of universal salvation while still promoting orthodox instruction. I conclude this dissertation with Thomas Hoccleve's poem "Lerne to Die," one of the earliest treatments of the Ars moriendi theme. Examining some of the differences between sacramental confession and deathbed confession, I show how the absence of the sacrament in this dramatic account of unprepared death emphasizes the power of God's grace and limitations of human effort. However, Hoccleve ultimately reaffirms the necessity of final confession by the end of the poem.</p> / Dissertation

Thesis (J.C.L.)--Catholic University of America, 1988. / Bibliography: leaves 53-54.

Thesis (Th. M.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 1984. / Includes bibliographical references.