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

We see from Rahner’s pastoral concerns, which emerge from his perception of the gulfbetween the doctrines of the church and the experience of everyday people, that heexercised a deep posture of listening to the voice of contemporary culture. This enabledhim to penetrate the ‘white noise’ of the ecclesial ghetto and to break through into a deepempathy with regard to the spiritual needs of the broadest constituency. His spirituality ofsilence enabled him to hear things that other church leaders—their ears blocked with thecotton wool of uncritically examined theological ‘formulas’—were simply not able todetect. In his attempt to enable his beloved church to exercise a ministry of word andsacrament that connects with the reality of human existence and the potentialincarnational spirituality of everyday life, Rahner exercised a deep and profoundlydisciplined listening to the contemporary voices of western philosophical traditions.Karl Rahner has gained a reputation for his complex and prolific use of words. He has—particularly amongst theology students and professors of theology—a reputation foracademic prose that borders on the undecipherable in its multi-layered dimensions ofexpression and meaning. Despite this complexity, his words have penetrated the humanunderstanding and experience of God both deeply and broadly. The eloquence andprofundity of Rahner emerges most poignantly from his spirituality of silence, expressedin part through a deep and penetrating posture of listening. It is this posture of listening,in all of its facets, that enables Rahner—when he does speak—to penetrate to the heart ofthe being of fellow humans, facilitating a space for a journey of spiritual companionshipin the deepest places of individuals’ experiences of both themselves and God.28