Hans Urs von Balthasar on the Spiritual Exercises

Hans Urs von Balthasar on the Spiritual Exercises PDF Author: Hans Urs von Balthasar
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 1621642798
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
"I would like one day," Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote in 1952, "to write a book on Ignatius of Loyola, the saint of whom I will always consider myself the least of sons." The Jesuit-formed theologian from Switzerland—widely considered one of the greatest thinkers and spiritual writers of modern times—never got the chance to fulfill this dream. Instead, Balthasar's whole theology, from Theo-Drama to Dare We Hope "That All Men Be Saved", is imbued with the influence of Saint Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus and author of the Spiritual Exercises, a multi-week retreat guide that has rejuvenated Catholic spirituality since the sixteenth century. Throughout Balthasar's priestly life, he led countless retreatants in the Ignatian Exercises, accompanying them in their discernment of God's call. This anthology is an aid for those either giving or making an Ignatian retreat. Full of citations and equipped with four indexes, as well as many texts never before translated into English, it sifts Balthasar's writings for insights into almost every element of Ignatius' "libretto", sometimes diving into themes scarcely explored by others. Moreover, it maps out those hidden strains of Jesuit spirituality that run unnoticed through the theologian's oeuvre. Yet the book may help anyone at all who wants to engage more deeply with Jesus or come to grips with Church doctrine, for as Balthasar himself says, the Spiritual Exercises are both a "great school of Christocentric contemplation" and a "genuine interpretation of the deposit of the faith".

Hans Urs von Balthasar on the Spiritual Exercises

Hans Urs von Balthasar on the Spiritual Exercises PDF Author: Hans Urs von Balthasar
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 1621642798
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
"I would like one day," Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote in 1952, "to write a book on Ignatius of Loyola, the saint of whom I will always consider myself the least of sons." The Jesuit-formed theologian from Switzerland—widely considered one of the greatest thinkers and spiritual writers of modern times—never got the chance to fulfill this dream. Instead, Balthasar's whole theology, from Theo-Drama to Dare We Hope "That All Men Be Saved", is imbued with the influence of Saint Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus and author of the Spiritual Exercises, a multi-week retreat guide that has rejuvenated Catholic spirituality since the sixteenth century. Throughout Balthasar's priestly life, he led countless retreatants in the Ignatian Exercises, accompanying them in their discernment of God's call. This anthology is an aid for those either giving or making an Ignatian retreat. Full of citations and equipped with four indexes, as well as many texts never before translated into English, it sifts Balthasar's writings for insights into almost every element of Ignatius' "libretto", sometimes diving into themes scarcely explored by others. Moreover, it maps out those hidden strains of Jesuit spirituality that run unnoticed through the theologian's oeuvre. Yet the book may help anyone at all who wants to engage more deeply with Jesus or come to grips with Church doctrine, for as Balthasar himself says, the Spiritual Exercises are both a "great school of Christocentric contemplation" and a "genuine interpretation of the deposit of the faith".

Christian Meditation

Christian Meditation PDF Author: Hans Urs Von Balthasar
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 1681490919
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 67

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Book Description
While von Balthasar's classic Prayer is unparalleled in its development of the Trinitarian, Christological, Mariological and ecclesiological dimensions of prayer, Christian Meditation is a short, readable and eminently practical guide to that form of prayer which God's revelation in Jesus Christ has made indispensable: meditation on the word of God revealing the inner depths of God to man and--since it comes from God made man--the inner depths of man to himself. In a treatment that is both fresh and profound, Balthasar describes the central elements of all Christian meditation, provides a guide for making the meditation and then points the way to the union that prayer achieves in the footsteps of Mary, within the Church and in and for the world. "Consequently, Christian meditation is entirely trinitarian and at the same time entirely human. In order to find God, no one need reject being human personally or socially, but in order to find God all must see the world and themselves in the Holy Spirit as they are in God's sight." - Hans Urs von Balthasar

Von Balthasar & the Option for the Poor

Von Balthasar & the Option for the Poor PDF Author: Todd Walatka
Publisher: CUA Press
ISBN: 0813229480
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
Hans Urs von Balthasar’s vast corpus of theological, philosophical, literary, and pastoral writings remains one of the most impressive achievements in 20th century thought. In light of liberation theology and now the papacy of Francis, however, a theological affirmation of the option for the poor remains dangerously weak in Balthasar’s corpus. Von Balthasar and the Option for the Poor offers a sympathetic reforming of Balthasar’s account of the drama of salvation – what he calls “theodramatics” – in response to this weakness.

Word and Silence

Word and Silence PDF Author: Raymond Gawronski
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Asia
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description


Ignatian Mysticism

Ignatian Mysticism PDF Author: Stephen J Costello
Publisher: James Clarke & Company
ISBN: 0227180240
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
This work explores the influential Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola, the sixteenth-century Spanish soldier, saint, mystic, and founder of the Jesuit Order. The Ignatian Exercises, including the Examen, are brought into dialogue with the psychologies of C.G. Jung and Viktor Frankl, the philosophies of Eric Voegelin and Bernard Lonergan, as well as the thought of Teilhard de Chardin, von Balthasar, and Eastern philosophy. Their enduring relevance and implications for the Recovery and wellness movement are also articulated. Drawing on key themes such as gratitude, forgiveness and consciousness as a springboard for reflection and interpretation, the mystical dimension of Ignatian spirituality is emphasised throughout. This book will benefit the beginner, serious scholar, spiritual seeker and anyone intent on gaining an understanding of this unique 'way of proceeding'.

Love Itself Is Understanding

Love Itself Is Understanding PDF Author: Matthew A. Rothaus Moser
Publisher: Fortress Press
ISBN: 1506418996
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 351

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Book Description
Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905–1988) sets out to reunite Truth and holiness by returning the saints to their proper place at the heart of philosophy, theology, and metaphysics. Love Itself is Understanding is one of the first systematic treatments of Balthasar’s theology of the saints. Matthew Rothaus Moser presents Balthasar as an alternative to Idealist philosophy, a thinker who develops a religious metaphysics in which the saints’ practices of prayer and contemplation are the chief mode of knowing that the Truth of Being is divine love. Love Itself is Understanding casts new light on dominant themes in Balthasar’s thought and invites a renewed vision of the theological and metaphysical significance of the spiritual practices of prayer, obedience, and charity.

Dare We Hope - 2nd Edition

Dare We Hope - 2nd Edition PDF Author: Hans Urs von Balthasar
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 158617942X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
This book is perhaps one of the most misunderstood works of Catholic theology of our time. Critics contend that von Balthasar espouses universalism, the idea that all men will certainly be saved. Yet, as von Balthasar insists, damnation is a real possibility for anyone. Indeed, he explores the nature of damnation with sobering clarity. At the same time, he contends that a deep understanding of God’s merciful love and human freedom, and a careful reading of the Catholic tradition, point to the possibility—not the certainty—that, in the end, all men will accept the salvation Christ won for all. For this all-embracing salvation, von Balthasar says, we may dare hope, we must pray and with God’s help we must work. The Catholic Church’s teaching on hell has been generally neglected by theologians, with the notable exception of von Balthasar. He grounds his reflections clearly in Sacred Scripture and Catholic teaching. While the Church asserts that certain individuals are in heaven (the saints), she never declares a specific individual to be in hell. In fact, the Church hopes that in their final moments of life, even the greatest sinners would have repented of their terrible sins, and be saved. Sacred Scripture states, “God ... desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:4–5).

Mass Exodus

Mass Exodus PDF Author: Stephen Sebastian Bullivant
Publisher:
ISBN: 0198837941
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
In 1962, Pope John XXIII opened the Second Vatican Council with the prophecy that 'a new day is dawning on the Church, bathing her in radiant splendour'. Desiring 'to impart an ever increasing vigour to the Christian life of the faithful', the Council Fathers devoted particular attention to the laity, and set in motion a series of sweeping reforms. The most significant of these centred on refashioning the Church's liturgy--'the source and summit of the Christian life'--in order to make 'it pastorally efficacious to the fullest degree'. Over fifty years on, however, the statistics speak for themselves. In America, only 15% of cradle Catholics say that they attend Mass on a weekly basis; meanwhile, 35% no longer even tick the 'Catholic box' on surveys. In Britain, the signs are direr still. Of those raised Catholic, just 13% still attend Mass weekly, and 37% say they have 'no religion'. But is this all the fault of Vatican II, and its runaway reforms? Or are wider social, cultural, and moral forces primarily to blame? Catholicism is not the only Christian group to have suffered serious declines since the 1960s. If anything Catholics exhibit higher church attendance, and better retention, than most Protestant churches do. If Vatican II is not the cause of Catholicism's crisis, might it instead be the secret to its comparative success? Mass Exodus is the first serious historical and sociological study of Catholic lapsation and disaffiliation. Drawing on a wide range of theological, historical, and sociological sources, Stephen Bullivant offers a comparative study of secularization across two famously contrasting religious cultures: Britain and the USA.

The Life of Luigi Giussani

The Life of Luigi Giussani PDF Author: Alberto Savorana
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 0773552170
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 1444

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Book Description
Monsignor Luigi Giussani (1922–2005) was the founder of the Catholic lay movement Communion and Liberation in Italy, which has hundreds of thousands of adherents around the globe. In The Life of Luigi Giussani Alberto Savorana, who spent an important part of his life working and studying with Giussani, draws on many unpublished documents to recount who the priest was and how he lived. Giussani’s life story is particularly significant because it shares many of the same challenges, risks, and paths toward enlightenment that are described in his numerous and influential publications. Savorana demonstrates that the circumstances Giussani experienced and the people he encountered played a crucial role in defining his vocation. Illuminating details are shared about Giussani’s parents, professors, and friends in the seminary, the things he read, his priesthood, his experience teaching, misunderstandings and moments of recognition, and illness. Luigi Giussani considered Christianity to be a fact, a real event in human life, which takes the form of an encounter, inviting anyone and everyone to verify its relevance to life’s needs. This is what happened for so many people all over the world who recognized in this priest and leader, with his rough and captivating voice, not only a teacher to learn from, but above all a man to compare oneself with – a companion for the journey who could be trusted to answer the question: how can we live? In addition to providing the first chronological reconstruction of the life of the founder of Communion and Liberation, The Life of Luigi Giussani provides a detailed account of his legacy and what his life’s work meant to individual people and the Church.

Balthasar for Thomists

Balthasar for Thomists PDF Author: Fr. Aidan Nichols, O.P.
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 1621643395
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
Students of Catholic theology are often presented with a choice between two great masters: Thomas Aquinas and Hans Urs von Balthasar. What starts as a cordial difference in form and method often morphs into a bitter rivalry. Dominican theologian Father Aidan Nichols sees no need for competition. Balthasar for Thomists gives a panoramic view of Balthasar's thought and spirituality, unearthing many of his innumerable debts to Aquinas and providing context for their points of divergence. The enormous cultural project of Balthasar, writes Father Nichols, differs too much from St. Thomas' pedagogical one "to count as a rival to Thomism on the latter's own ground (and, of course, vice versa)". While constituting an original form of faithful Catholic thought, Balthasar's approach may be regarded as a synthesis of the influences of Thomas and his Franciscan contemporary St. Bonaventure. In its breadth, Balthasar for Thomists serves as a general introduction to Balthasar for those unacquainted with his profound and wide-ranging theology.