J. D. Palmer

was a Canadian-born priest associated with the Melkite rite, and a theologian whose influences included Plato, Pseudo Dionysius the Areopagite, St. John of Damascus, St. Augustine of Hippo, and especially St. Thomas Aquinas.

Life and Education

From his obituary: 

"Of fragile constitution (which later came to be described as fibromyalgia), he was often unable to attend school. An avid reader, he educated himself in the many fine libraries available in this city [Ottawa]. He matriculated at the University of Ottawa, St. Paul Campus where he received his Ph.D. in Philosophy...

"In his mid-20s, Owen felt a call to the monastic life, and joined as a postulant at the Carthusian Monastery of Montrieux, near Marseilles in France. Because of his variable health, he was often unable to fully participate in the rigorous prayer schedule of the monks. They counseled Owen to return to the world, resume his teaching and pursue ordination as a priest. He began his teaching career at University of Cincinnati and DePaul University in Chicago.  At the University of Chicago, he studied with and became a friend of the noted Romanian Professor of Comparative Religion, Mircea Eliade, whose works he continued to explicate in his own teaching. 

"In 1965, Owen accepted a momentous offer to teach philosophy at St. Mary’s College in far-away Moraga, California. At the age of 42, he was ordained as a priest by the Archbishop of Ottawa, and assigned to continue his teaching at St. Mary’s. During this time, he also attended the Greek College in Rome, where he received faculties to celebrate the Eastern Byzantine Rite liturgies... 

"Owen’s teaching career at St. Mary’s spanned almost 50 years. His teaching almost always focused on exploring the depths of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. These profound doctors were often explored  through insights provided by his omnivorous reading of such diverse authors as Patrick O’Brian, Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse.

"He also taught as a visiting professor at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, Drew University in New Jersey and Wyoming Catholic College. After his retirement to the Mercy Retirement and Care Center at the age of 82, he continued teaching weekly philosophy-art-music seminars for his fellow residents."

Having dedicated his life to teaching, Fr. Owen is largely unknown except to his students. The Albertus Magnus Institute is working to raise public awareness of this master.[1] 

Philosophy

The central theme in Carroll's writing and teaching is 1) the incompleteness of man, 2) the richness of creation, 3) that man and creation naturally strive toward something greater and outside of themselves, and 4) the transformative power of divine action and the importance of metousia, or participation (as “similitude”) in the mystery of the Triune God.[2] God, as ineffable, personal and, as the source of all life and fulfillment, is revealed and brilliantly understood in the prologue of the Gospel of St. John and in the later Eucharistic chapters of that work.

Select Podcasts (Click on title to listen)

What is Theology?

Is Theology a Science?

Being and Loving in St. Thomas

Select works

In his ninetieth year, Carroll entrusted his unpublished and out-of-print manuscripts to The Albertus Magnus Institute for publication. The first title in the series was released in 2021.

The Sufferings & Glory of Christ (Sacramento: Magnus Press: 2021).

The Religious Implications of the Choukoutien Lower Cave (Berkeley: The James Press, 1981).

"Sartre and Barth," Philosophy Today, Vol. 9, issue 2, 1965.

The Metaphysics of Being in the Writings of Thomas Aquinas (Toronto: Clear Press, 1958).

References

1. The Albertus Magnus Institute website: www.magnusinstitute.org/press.

2. Carroll, The Metaphysics of Being in the Writings of Thomas Aquinas, pp. 156-162.