Karl Rahner And Ignatian Spirituality

Karl Rahner SJ (1904-1984), perhaps the most influential figure in twentieth-century Roman Catholic theology, believed that the most significant influence on his work was Ignatius Loyola's Spiritual Exercises. This book casts significant new light on Rahner's achievement by presenting it against the background of the rediscovery of Ignatian spirituality in the middle decades of the twentieth century. It offers a fresh and contemporary theological interpretation of Ignatian retreat-giving, illuminating the creative new departures this ministry has taken in the last thirty years, as well as contributing to the lively current debate regarding the relationship between spirituality and speculative theology.

Everyone who came in close contact with Mao was taken aback at the anarchy of his personal ways. He ate idiosyncratically. He became increasingly sexually promiscuous as he aged. He would stay up much of the night, sleep during much of the day, and at times he would postpone sleep, remaining awake for thirty-six hours or more, until tension and exhaustion overcame him. Yet many people who met Mao came away deeply impressed by his intellectual reach, originality, style of power-within-simplicity, kindness toward low-level staff members, and the aura of respect that surrounded him at the top of Chinese politics. It would seem difficult to reconcile these two disparate views of Mao. But in a fundamental sense there was no brick wall between Mao the person and Mao the leader. This biography attempts to provide a comprehensive account of this powerful and polarizing historical figure.

Offering a contemporary theological interpretation of Ignatian retreat-giving, this volume illuminates the creative new departures this ministry has taken, and the relationship between spirituality and speculative theology.

"Ignatian Humanism puts into perspective our contemporary search for a spirituality that responds both to our search for meaning and desire for God." -John W. Padberg, S.J., director, Institute of Jesuit Sources "Modras integrates fascinating history, contemporary theology, and inspiring spirituality with consistent focus on central issues for our day." -Joann Wolski Conn, associate professor of religious studies, Neumann College "A stunning book! Modras has profiled a number of Jesuit thinkers and activists as role models for our time-revitalizing humanism as a model for moderns." -Leonard Swidler, professor of Catholic thought and inter-religious dialogue, Temple University Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order, is one of a mere handful of individuals who has permanently changed the way we understand God. In this vividly written and meticulously researched book, Ronald Modras shows how Ignatian spirituality retains extraordinary vigor and relevance nearly five centuries after Loyola's death. At its heart, Ignatian spirituality is a humanism that defends human rights, prizes learning from other cultures, seeks common ground between science and religion, struggles for justice, and honors a God who is actively at work in creation. The towering achievements of the Jesuits are made tangible by Modras's vivid portraits of Ignatius and five of his successors: Matteo Ricci, the first Westerner at the court of the Chinese emperor; Friederich Spee, who defended women accused of witchcraft; Karl Rahner, the greatest Catholic theologian of the twentieth century; Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the scientist-mystic; and Pedro Arrupe, the charismatic leader of the Jesuits in the years following Vatican II.

While the textual focus of this collection of essays is the Spiritual Exercise of Ignatius of Loyola, the essays are much more than textual analyses; they deal with the tradition and institutions associated with Ignatian spirituality, with historical and philosophical perspectives on Ignatian spirituality, with the contemporary search for spiritual life. In addition, the question of the relationship of the contemporary believer to past events is addressed, as well as the question of the relationship between spirituality and ministry. The strong and effective combination of historical and contemporary concerns, as well as of textual and spiritual concerns, results in a volume of importance to students of religious history and of spirituality. The analysis of the Exercises and the discussion of spiritual direction will also be of great value to ministers and pastors—and to all those pursuing "spiritual life in a secular age."

Although oriented primarily to those less familiar with them, this book offers fresh insights for those experienced in the 'Spiritual exercises.' It includes explanations of their dynamics and correlations between the events of Ignatius' conversion experiences and certain aspects of the 'Exercises.' The meditations on the Kingdom and the Two Standards are viewed from the vantage of contemporary culture. Thus the medieval model of the lord-vassal relationship and the male-dominated imagery are illuminated with the help of insights from Jung. Deeper psychological insight into dying to self in our attachments and desires is linked to our contemplations on the suffering and death of Jesus. The suitability for lay people to make the 'Exercises' is suggested in their adaptation to an open setting of daily life. Finally, a developing personal encounter with Christ in the present is delineated as central to Ignatian spirituality.

Love is one, and love is “all we need.” This book argues against the traditional theological view that God’s love differs from human love. If God is love and love is one, we will find God embodied in all kinds of genuine love experiences. By analyzing Karl Rahner’s theology of love, the author explores how God penetrates and embraces the whole of reality, suggesting implications for Christian spirituality and spiritual direction.

This comprehensive study investigates the role that Ignatian spirituality has played in the renewal of academic theology using three prominent Jesuits as case studies. Over several centuries, spirituality has come to define a field of concerns and themes increasingly treated separately from those of academic theology, as if the latter had little relation to the former. This raises the question for us today: How is spirituality related to the practice of theology? In Renewing Theology, J. Matthew Ashley provides an answer by turning to Ignatian spirituality and three prominent twentieth-century theologians who embraced its spiritual resources: Karl Rahner, Ignacio Ellacuría, and Jorge Mario Bergoglio—that is, Pope Francis. Ashley begins his investigation by considering the historical origins of the widening separation between spirituality and academic theology in the Christian West. He provides an initial overview of Ignatian spirituality, focusing on the openness and multidimensionality of Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises, presented here as a text in which the conditions of modernity that defined its author’s world are present, at least incipiently. Ashley then offers three case studies in order to show how each Jesuit—Rahner, Ellacuría, and Pope Francis—responded to the challenges of modernity in a way that is uniquely nourished and illuminated by themes constitutive of Ignatian spirituality. Their theologies, Ashley suggests, evince a particular clarity and force when the Ignatian spirituality that animates them is foregrounded. Providing new and productive avenues into understanding the theologies of these three individuals, this sophisticated and enlightening book will interest scholars and students of systematic theology, as well as readers who are interested in the future of theology and spirituality in a fragmented age.