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Marie is a Ph.D. candidate in systematic theology. She holds a B.A. in Christian History and Theology from Hope College and an M.A. in Constructive Theology from Saint Louis University. In her dissertation, she draws from the writings of the thirteenth century sister, scholar, and saint Gertrude the Great of Helfta to provide a constructive account of the centrality of the Eucharist in Christian deification.

 

In addition to her interest in the intersection of church, sacraments, and salvation, Marie is fascinated by all things ecumenical. She is a Wisconsin native raised in the Lutheran tradition, but she spent her college years immersed in the Dutch Reformed culture of Holland, MI. After that, she worked for a year with the Franciscans in central New York before heading to St. Louis to do her master’s degree among the Jesuits. Now, as a Roman Catholic, she enjoys plenty of hearty conversations with the Methodists at Perkins School of Theology, and she continues to investigate the ecumenical implications of her academic work.

 

When she is not in her carrel at Bridwell Library, Marie is most likely to be found immersed in a good book, biking around White Rock Lake, or backpacking in the wilderness. She is a lover of Jesus, coffee, Bedrock Sandals, and the Pacific Crest Trail.   

 

Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Bruce D. Marshall

Dissertation Title: "The Eucharistic Shape of Christian Deification: St. Gertrude of Helfta on Participation in the Life of God"

Publications:

"Aquinas, Scotus, and the Sacramental Character of Meritorious Acts." In Love Become Incarnate: Essays in Honor of Bruce D. Marshall, edited by Justus H. Hunter, T. Adam Van Wart, and David Whidden III, 113-128. St. Paul: Emmaus Academic Press, 2023.

 

Presentations:

 

"'Is Not Christ a General Direction?' The Christological Deification of Eugene Vodolazkin’s Laurus." American Society of Church History Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, January 5, 2024.

"The Doxological Contrition of St. Gertrude the Great." Patristic, Medieval, and Renaissance Conference, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania, October 22, 2022. 

 

"'Scattered All Over the Lot:' Sin and Self-Fragmentation in the Sermons of Johannes Tauler." Ad Fontes Academic Week, Eighth Day Institute, Wichita, Kansas, June 3, 2022.

 

"Eucharist and Community in the Mysticism of Gertrude the Great." International Congress on Medieval Studies, The Medieval Institute at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 12, 2022.

 

"Grounded in Love and Free from Fear: What Augustine's Approach to the Donatist Controversy Teaches Us about Doing Ecumenism Today." Ad Fontes Academic Week, Eighth Day Institute, Wichita, Kansas, June 4, 2021.

 

'''If the Word is Spoken, All Things Are Possible:' Martin Luther and the Creative and Re-Creative Power of God’s Word." North American Luther Forum, St. Louis, Missouri, April 6, 2019.

 

"I am Baptized, I am Deified: Baptism as Theosis in Martin Luther’s Theology." Ad Fontes Academic Week, Eighth Day Institute, Wichita, Kansas, July 12, 2018.

 

"Worship for the Anxious: Existential Anxiety, Christian Liturgy, and Tillich’s Courage to Be." Saint Louis University Graduate Student Association Research Symposium, St. Louis, Missouri, April 27, 2018.

 

"Forensic Favor, Effective Gift: The Finnish Luther in the Baptismal Theology of the Lutheran Church." Saint Louis University Graduate Student Association Research Symposium, St. Louis, Missouri, March 31, 2017.

 

Fellowships and Awards:

 

2024 Provost's Summer Research Grant (91��Ƭ�S�ϼ�)

 

2024 Outstanding Graduate Student Instruction Award (SMU Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies)

 

2023 Graduate Ethics Essay Prize, Third Place (SMU Cary M. McGuire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility)

 

2022 Hank Fellowship in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition (Loyola University Chicago)

 

2018-2023 University PhD Fellowship (91��Ƭ�S�ϼ�)