1. The Catholic Reformation:
Change and Religious Exploration
Humanities II
Dr. Vandiver
August 22, 2012

2. History
 Martin Luther’s 95 Theses
 Catholicism vs. Protestantism
 Religious Orders
 International Missions
 The Council of Trent

3. Luther’s 95 Theses
 He disagreed with salvation by good works and Church mediation—
believed salvation was by faith alone: ―the just shall live by faith‖ (Romans
1:17)
 He dismissed many Catholic traditions as unnecessary:
• justification by charity and good works
 indulgences
 veneration of relics
 intercession of saints and Mary
 clerical celibacy
 the Pope’s infallibility
 discouragement of Christians to interpret scripture individually
 He accused Catholic authority of living in a worldly manner rather than
imitating disciples’ lifestyles– ―86…why does not the Pope, whose riches
are at this day more ample than those of the wealthiest of the
wealthy, build the single Basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather
than with that of poor believers?‖

4. Luther’s 95 Theses
 Originally written in Latin, it was translated into German and circulated
among communities, drawing much more attention to the issues than Luther
had likely intended.
 Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X, burned the edict denouncing
his Catholicism, and was accused of heresy, to which he refused to recant his
statements.
 His 95 Theses is one of the most influential religious documents ever written.

5. remaining
differences between
Protestantism
& Catholicism
CATHOLICISM PROTESTANTISM
• One universal church • Multiple denominations
• Pope’s authority and • No single earthly
infallibility representative
• Only direct prayer to
• Intercessory prayer
Christ/God
• Eucharist and • Communion/sacramental
transubstantiation union/spiritual presence
• “Purgatory” • Direct ascension to
Heaven
• Confession
• Individual confession with
• Baptism required God
• Baptism encouraged

6. Catholic Religious Orders
 Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
 initially a soldier for the Spanish King Charles I
 became a traveling hermit who went to Jerusalem to convert Muslims to
Christianity
 founded the Society of Jesus—the Jesuits—in 1530
 provided an iron will in traditional Catholic teachings and practice
 Jesuits
 acted most commonly as teachers (tradition continues today)
 aimed to convert foreign communities and overcome Protestantism
 used language as their tool for conversion: India, China, Japan, Native
American tribes, Mexico, Central America, and South America
 Spiritual Exercises (1548)
 Jesuit training of mysticism and militancy—Christians should be obedient
and faithful to the views of the Church, viewed as the holy Mother‖
 Examples of Loyola’s call to return to Catholic tradition (p. 3) show his
staunch stance on Catholic reform

7. Catholic Religious Orders
 Capuchins (ca. 1520)
 a development of the Franciscans
 felt the original aim to imitate the life of St. Francis had been lost and
called for a return to a life of solitude and penance for members
 cappuccino is derived in reference to their brown hoods
 Ursulines
 initiated as a conference of nuns for the education of young women and
care of the needy
 the first Catholic nuns to visit North America, working in
Canada, alongside Jesuits for education of indigenous people
 The Ursuline Convent of Quebec City is the oldest educational institution
for women in North America (1639)

8. Council of Trent
 Met from 1545-1563
Re-evaluated and made reforms regarding doctrine, ecclesiastics, and spiritual
beliefs:
 reconfirmed all seven sacraments and basic beliefs previously challenged
 encouraged intellectual activities within monasteries (recall the
expectations of laity)
 approved religious orders
 reconvened the court of the Inquisition to try heretics
 established Index Expurgatorius (Latin, index ―n. list; v. to point out‖;
expello ―v. to expel‖)
Dante Alighieri Francis Bacon John Milton
Descartes John Calvin
Victor Hugo Galileo Galilei (lifted in 1718)
Alexandre Dumas Niccolo Machiavelli
 provided guidelines to minimize clerical abuses
 emphasized preaching to uneducated laity

9. International Missions & Political Ties
 Asian Missions
Jesuits, through language, converted Chinese and Japanese scholars.
They faced issues with Franciscan monks and European commercial
enterprises.
Japanese Buddhists believed Christians were subversive to the social
order—Christianity was outlawed in Japan in 1606 and Westerners were
cast out of in 1624.
 Mexican Missions
 Jesuits arrived after other religious orders, dominating cultural religious
influence.
 European Catholic and local traditions blended.
 Miracle of the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531
 the Virgin appeared before a peasant and asked for a church
honoring her
 cult-like culture has been built around her and image was promoted
by the Jesuits

10. considerations
& avenues
 How does Loyola’s rules in Spiritual Exercises compare with the
differences in belief that Protestantism was spreading? How do you
think those outside of Catholicism in other cultures reacted to the
Jesuits’ militant strictness when approached by the missionaries?
 How does the purpose of the Ursulines compare with that of the
Jesuits or Capuchins? Is this telling of the time period or the belief
system?
 How did the Council of Trent affect the common Catholic? Did it
affect the laity differently than the clergy? What do you think it says
about the Catholic Church’s purpose of the Index Expurgatorius
given that Charles Darwin was never put on later versions of the
list?
 Do you think there was a difference in the laity’s view of the
Church with regard to European Catholics, Asian Catholics, and
Mexican Catholics? Why or why not?

11. Literature
 Themes
 Saint John of the Cross
 Teresa of Avila
 Crashaw
Teresa of Avila
by Peter Paul Rubens

12. Literary Themes & Influences
 Religious exploration continued on a more personal level
 Darker images were being used, ushering in the Baroque period
 Stronger focus on the spiritual ecstasy of God with comparison to
lovers—drawing on sometimes erotic language and a sense of bliss
 Mention of the mystical and visions believed to be brought on by
God or a fevrent passion for God

13. Saint John of the Cross
Juan de Yepes Alvarez (1542-1591)
 Spanish monk
 Trained as a Jesuit but entered a Carmelite life
 Studied theology, philosophy, and humanities at university and
became a top theologian of his time
 His translation of parts of the Bible into Spanish were
controversial at the time.
 Dark Night of the Soul (1585; excerpt online)
 focuses on the journey to enlightenment with God
 encourages work through trials and tribulations to find rest with
God
 the prologue begins with a poem about leaving his house at rest
to be with a lover, a metaphor for a relationship with God

14. Teresa of Avila
 1515-1582
 Began having visions of Jesus in her middle-age
 Visions captures her visions and puts her feelings into comparisons of
sexual bliss
 Symbols in Visions (excerpt pg. 5)
 ―very beautiful, his face so aflame‖
 ―In his hands I saw a long golden spear and a the end of the iron tip I
seemed to see a point of fire.‖
 ―…he seemed to pierce my heart several times so that it penetrated to
my entrails‖
 ―…he left me afire with a great love for God‖
 ―The pain was so sharp that it made me utter several moans‖
 ―…and so excessive was the sweetness caused me by this intense
pain that one can never wish to lose it‖

15. Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (detail)
Bernini; 1647-1652; marble
Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome, Italy

16. Ecstasy of Saint Teresa
Bernini; 1647-1652; marble
Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome, Italy

17. Richard Crashaw
 1613-1649
 He converted from Protestantism to Catholicism and drew on the religious
writings of the late 1500s
 He wrote several works dedicated to Teresa of Avila as a religious writer
and as a topic of social presence for Catholic fever
 Symbols in The Flaming Heart (excerpt pg. 5)
 ―undaunted daughter of desires‖
 ―by thy thirsts of love more large than they‖
 ―all they brim-filled bowls of fierce desire‖
 ―By they last morning’s draught of liquid fire/By the full kingdom of that
final kiss‖

18. considerations
& avenues
 What do the erotic undertones accomplish in the religious poetry
of the late 16th and early 17th century? Do they convey more emotion
than would have otherwise been conveyed?
 How might the common reader have reacted to this form of
religious description? (Remember that literacy was still not highly
common among middle- and lower-classes.)
 Does Teresa of Avila’s gender affect the impact of her work on the
reader, i.e. what if a man had written it?
 Why do you think the Catholic Church did not negatively respond
to this sort of writing?
 Despite being from different points of views and different degrees
of sexuality, what do the writings of Saint John of the Cross, Teresa
of Avila, and Richard Crashaw have in common regarding a
relationship with God?