Maryja a Duch Święty w kazaniach franciszkanów doby saskiej

Abstract

Not only in Poland but also in the whole world, the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are called the Centuries of Our Lady. Those centuries are signed by an animated marian movement. The Catholics were defending the honor of Our Lady and desired to know Her better and to deepen the marian worship. In the whole Church, the seventeenth century, is characterized by an exaggerated care of marian worship and looking for new form of marian piety. This caused the introduction of new feasts and the rising o f many marian associations. Alongside with the political falling of Poland in the seventeenth century and with the lowering of the standard of social life we notice the lowering of the quality of preaching. The preaching at that time acquired many characteristics o f baroque style, i.e.: form over content, verbal ornamentation, Italian words, imitation, predilection for symbols (often without connection with the contents) and allegories, erudition (without any proper knowledge), use of fables, anecdotes and pagan stories and narratives. The most important deficiency o f sermons was the abandonment of the Bible and the Patrology and not considering these as the sources of preaching. The Bible stories were used in a very liberal way, as illustrative and not linked to the sermon argumentation and also without any biblical exegesis. The baroque preachers vary rarely mention the Holy Spirit and even less they talk about the connection of Our Lady with the Third Person of the Holy Trinity. From the time of the Trident Council we notice some kind of „pneumatological emptiness” and, in consequence, the activities of the Holy Spirit are ascribed to Our Lady. The Holy Ghost remained at that time „an God unknown”. No wonder that the baroque authors do not say much about the relation of Mary to the Holy Spirit. Those who undertake this problem talk only about the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes they say that Mary conceived of the Holy Spirit or Jesus was conceived by the work of the Holy Spirit.