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Introductory notes for readers of this thesis - Theses - Flinders ...

Introductory notes for readers of this thesis - Theses - Flinders ...

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Christ. This is not to say, however, that the saving presence <strong>of</strong> Jesus is exclusive and mayonly be experienced within the (Roman Catholic) church 119 .Rahner envision a graced humanity, a universal family living together within theuniversal effect <strong>of</strong> the redemptive Incarnation. There<strong>for</strong>e, it is possible <strong>for</strong> the Christianto discern in alternative religions, in various artistic expressions, and even in honest,thought-through expressions <strong>of</strong> agnosticism and atheism, a sense <strong>of</strong> sacramentaltranscendence.If the Christian sees that the non-Christian is kind, charitable and true to…[their]own conscience…[the Christian] will no longer be able to say nowadays ‘Allthose are “natural” virtues’…On the contrary…[the Christian] will think ‘Therethe grace <strong>of</strong> Christ is at work even in one who has not yet explicitly called upon itbut who, at the same time, has already hungered after it in the unexpressed andunacknowledged longings <strong>of</strong>…[the] heart 120 .In each and all <strong>of</strong> these areas <strong>of</strong> their lives, individuals are seeking to express and live outthe true symbolism <strong>of</strong> their primordial, unconscious spiritual experience <strong>of</strong> themselves.People all over the world are seeking to respond to the movement <strong>of</strong> the Spirit and theirunconscious, yet very real, cosmic connection to Christ. It is, however, only in the churchthat people experience the benefit <strong>of</strong> a sacramental <strong>for</strong>m that is truly and fully congruentwith the life <strong>of</strong> the Spirit, in Christ, that enables the true flowering <strong>of</strong> the transcendentlife121 .There<strong>for</strong>e, the sacramental life <strong>of</strong> people outside <strong>of</strong> the church is at its deepest level a truesymbolic expression, and is responding to a genuine movement <strong>of</strong> the Holy Spirit. It isalso true in the sense that it is the Incarnation <strong>of</strong> Jesus that releases and liberates <strong>this</strong>movement <strong>of</strong> the Spirit. Outside-<strong>of</strong>-church sacramental expressions are genuine‘spirituality-on-the-way’ but are also genuinely in need <strong>of</strong> guidance, <strong>for</strong>mation andcompletion. Participation in the life <strong>of</strong> the church enables spirituality-on-the-way toconnect more congruently with its true source and to benefit from the tried and true119 Egan, The mystic <strong>of</strong> everyday life, 162-164; O’Donnell, Life in the Spirit, 70-72; Kilby, Karl Rahner, 46-47.120 K. Rahner, Theological Investigations, Vol X, 14-24, in The content <strong>of</strong> the faith, 397.121 Dych, Karl Rahner, 61-62; Egan, The mystic <strong>of</strong> everyday life, 151-170.165

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