St. Albert the Great

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

(This blog entry is a repeat of one that I wrote a year ago.)

Today we remember one of only thirty-three men and women who are designated as Doctors of the Church.  “Albertus Magnus,” Albert the Great, was a bishop and a Dominican friar.  There is some dispute about the date of his birth.  Some place it as early as 1193 and some as late as 1206.  He died in 1280; so he was at least seventy-three and possibly as old as eighty-six at the time of his death.  For the thirteenth century, either age would have been considered a long life.

St. Albert was a very learned man, a great scientist, a perceptive philosopher, and a learned theologian.  He was one of the teachers of St. Thomas Aquinas, another great Dominican theologian.  He was a renowned teacher and lecturer.  He is considered by some to be the greatest philospher and theologian of the thirteenth century.  His claim to fame is the fact that he successfully taught that science and theology were able to coexist peacefully in any worthwhile university and certainly in the world.

All of his academic prowess, however, did not protect him from what some consider the scourge of old age.  In his later years, Albert began to suffer from some form of dementia, what was commonly known as senility, and suffered some humiliation because of it.  He was not able to continue his teaching, preaching, and lecturing as his mental prowess diminished with the passing of time.  He died surrounded by his brother Dominicans who were singing the “Salve Regina” as he slipped away to his eternal home.

Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia, senility - no matter what the diagnosis - is one of the great medical concerns of our age.  Doctors have been able to extend the human life through medication and remediation.  It is thought that babies born today will live on average at least 100 years.  However, while the medical world has been able to push the boundaries of our mortality further and further away, they have inadvertantly created a situation in which more and more people suffer from some form of mental frailty.

There is some evidence that St. Albert suffered a stroke, what the thirteenth century would have labeled “apoplexy.”  Current thought posits the theory that the onset of dementia is usually associated with some sort of cerebral accident.  While medical science has done much to help patients recover after stroke, we all know too well those who permanently live with disability after a stroke.

St. Albert the Great stands, therefore, as a model for us who deal with these kinds of issues.  CUSANS know well the debilitating effects of stroke and dementia.  Let us call on St. Albert to intercede for all who are so afflicted.