Mary Harrington discovered Aristotelian categories through a rather circuitous route, namely trying to understand motherhood and the mysteries of new life. Then, through that, she seems to have found her way to Eucharist theology and thus Christianity. Her recent First Things lecture deals, not only with this journey, but with what she calls the “anti-Thomistic epistemological straightjacket” that now plagues mainstream scholarship (a point I had occasion to reflect on yesterday when Rod Dreher shared that Aristotle is now persona non grata at many universities).
One glorious side-effect of listening to Harrington’s talk is that it made me sympathetic with the doctrine of transubstantiation. As an Orthodox Christian I naturally believe in Real Presence, yet I had always unthinkingly dismissed the Roman Catholic doctrine, assuming it adopted an over-explanatory approach to the Sacred Mysteries, or perhaps mechanized Holy Communion. That stereotype is very strong in the Orthodox world, as indicated by Dr. Peter Gillquist’s dismissal of transubstantiation as amounting to “better living through chemistry.” But after listening to Harrington, I realize that my suspicion of transubstantiation is because I was using a modernist definition of “substance.” After listening to this lecture twice and doing a little reading on hylomorphism, I understand that transubstantiation is likely what I’ve been believing all along without realizing it, but that it is a necessary framework for preserving the sacred mysteries. (And yes, I realize the matter is complicated and includes lots of debates above my pay grade.)
Anyway, Harrington’s lecture is truly brilliant. Thank you Jesus (and Aristotle).
Listening to Mary Harrington’s First Things lecture today!