Defense Date

7-7-2026

Graduation Date

Summer 8-10-2026

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

thesis

Degree Name

MA

Department

Theology

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

Bede Ukwuije

Committee Member

Mark Enemali

Keywords

Doctrinal development, divorce between theology and spirituality, private revelation, Immaculate Conception

Abstract

Since the scholastic era, the pursuit of God has occurred preeminently through reason, leading to an imbalanced theology of God that persists to the present day in the form of intellect-centered theology. As a resolution, this work proposes that the mobilization of private, mystical revelation as a source of legitimized theological knowledge of God has the potential to close the existent epistemological gap between reason/belief and theology/spirituality, demonstrating the integral unity between authentic knowledge of God and the receiver’s personal acceptance of God in faith. After examining the required methodological components for the discipline of theology and identifying criteria for the ecclesiastical mediation of private revelation, this work analyzes the spiritualized theologies of Venerable María of Ágreda (1602-1665) and Maria Valtorta (1897-1961) in a study of the Immaculate Conception, examining the pastoral value of spiritually integrated theology for the reception of public revelation and the catalyzation of personal conversion.

Language

English

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