Hello. I am George Martin, and I again welcome you to selected sermons of Monsignor Joseph b McAllister. This being disc number two of 12. As indicated in disc number one, there is no particular theme for each disc, so no preface is needed. But what may be in order is some background information on what produced the thoughts expressed here.
That he spent the better part of his life both as a student and professor at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC does not of itself provide the answer. With this audio presentation, it is my belief that we are the beneficiaries of unadulterated Catholic teaching for one of those few men trained during what I believe history will show as the high watermark of priestly formation in America. We are a young nation, and the Catholic church in America is younger yet, but the real growth of Catholicism not taking place until the middle of the nineteenth century. It was not until 1887 that the Catholic University of America was founded as the first pontifical university in The United States. Less than twenty years later, Joseph McAllister is born to Joseph and Virginia McAllister within a few miles of the historic roots of the Catholic church in America.
In subsequent CDs, we will briefly review his early development, both personal and professional, towards his ordination as a priest in 1935. How rigorous was his education? He had mentioned many times that upon graduation from high school and on entering the seminary, he was required to take high school over again, even though he had been taught, like myself, by the Christian brothers. That the quality of priestly formation during the early and mid twentieth century will likely not be seen again is regrettable. The all but forgotten study of logic appears to have been the staple of his education.
The study of logic carried over into his personal life, where I suspect he made more enemies than friends, with his innocent inquiry as to your meaning of things, or of defending your position, or worse yet, to give your definition of the words or terms you use. Without any offense intended by him, I have seen numerous people fumble horribly under such request for clarification. Following on his training in logic, I had mentioned in disc number one that he would refer to himself as a Thomas or Aristotelian. When he would frequently speak affectionately of his good friend, Saint Thomas Aquinas, I would always be reminded of Harvey, the six foot tall rabbit and imaginary best friend of Jimmy Stewart in the 1950 movie classic. Clearly, this association with Saint Thomas and his education became more intense during his preparation for his dissertation, concerning the translation and analysis of a letter by Saint Thomas on the causality of heavenly bodies.
Thomism was to dominate church teaching in America for the better part of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It was not self aggrandizing that he bemoaned the present lack of training for the priesthood. On the personal side, I hope you will find interesting insights from his niece, Betty Gettner, who will relate personal stories of her uncle Joe, which reflect the balance he sought to the rigors of his profession, his generosity and playfulness, and his self deprecating humor. In that regard, my son John had noted his oft repeated words for which these CDs have been titled. My well chosen remarks.
And now we continue selected sermons from on senior Joseph b McAllister.