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

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Silent journey into the sacred chamber of true self—echoes of the interior castleRahner’s spiritual theologians are resigned, patiently waiting for God to enable them toenter their inner sanctuary and offer their lives as a prayer of love. Rahner, in hismeditation on pastoral work and the ‘care of souls’, demonstrates that entering deeplyinto the heart of the psyche is synonymous with drawing closer to the heart of God. Helaments the resistance he experiences when he attempts to offer spiritual direction.When I knock on the door of their interior life and they let me in, they usuallylead me only into the rooms in which they live their ordinary daily lives…they tryto make themselves and me forget why I have actually come, to bring You likethe Blessed Sacrament into the inmost chamber of their hearts, where the eternalspark within them is sick unto death, where an altar to You should be erected, onwhich the candles of faith, hope, and love should be burning 71 .He speculates whether his task is to ‘be…an errand boy who leaves Your gift and Yourmessage at the delivery entrance, with no thought of being invited inside’, and suggeststhat maybe it’s ‘just not my business to enter the interior castle of another’s soul’72 .Rahner’s mention of an ‘interior castle’ in the construction of his understanding ofspirituality and spiritual direction evokes the influence of Teresa of Avila (1515–82). Inher imaginative framing of spiritual growth as ‘contemplative prayer in silence and love’,Teresa marks the stages of the journey moving from a conventional ritual Christianitytowards a consummation of the love between self and God in a ‘united[active/contemplative]…apostolic life’ 73 .Teresa describes the human person as like a castle or a great house with a moataround it and many rooms inside, like the ‘many mansions’ in heaven. The castleis made of diamond or crystal, and its rooms are arranged in concentric circles.God dwells in the central (seventh) rooms, so the light of God’s presence shouldfill the castle and shine out through it but the castle is darkened by sin. Thespiritual life is a journey that begins outside the castle and leads inwards, towardsthe innermost rooms where God dwells. God calls us on this journey, and it isaccomplished through prayer. Its goal is the union of our love and will with the71 Ibid, 65.72 Ibid, 65-66.73 Ibid, 207.73
will and love of God: then the diamond that is our self can shine out in its fullbeauty 74 .Her vision of the interior castle seems to be a primary influence in Rahner’s resolution ofthe pastoral dilemma. He concludes that the way into the inner sanctuary of those heworks with as a spiritual director is mystically connected to the progress that he iscurrently making in praying his way, contemplatively, into the interior castle of his ownsoul.No matter how hard…[people] try to break off relations with You, You arealways present to them…You are there at the very core of these futile efforts…thus it is that the one who is entrusted with the help and care of souls can drawnear to them only by drawing near to You, O King of all hearts…If I had prayedmore then I would be closer to souls. For prayer, when it is not just a begging forYour favours, enables me to grow in intimate, loving union with You. Thus it isnot merely a useful aid in my work for souls but the very first and last act of myapostolate 75 .Rahner’s words echo the Ignatian practice of ‘making’ spiritual exercises a means ofenabling others to embark on their own spiritual pilgrimage. The spiritual director’s silentdescent into the loving mystery of God at the centre of his psyche becomes the axis forhis ministry as spiritual director.The silent, immediate experience of God in all thingsRahner’s writings clearly echo aspects of the apophatic, wordless, contemplativetradition: the cloud of unknowing; the dark mystery of infinity silencing all humanconcepts and knowledge; the contemplative descent into the inner chamber of the interiorcastle. The fascinating, and unexpected feature of Rahner’s Encounters, is that theimmediate experience of God occurs in, through and around a very real engagement with,and an immersion in, the minutiae of the everyday.Rahner’s struggles with the tedium of ordinary existence and his processing of theendless streams of data result from a life of scholarship and routine human socialtransactions. He finds his priestly duties difficult and challenging, and his relationships74 L. Carmichael, ‘Catholic saints and reformers,’ in Mursell, G. gen.ed. The story of Christian spirituality,(Oxford: Lion Publishing, 2001), 206.75 Encounters, 67.74
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‘A Spirituality of silence’An i
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Chapter 4: The human experience of
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Summary of thesis:This thesis offer
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The particular angle from which thi
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somewhat superseded by more recent
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Rahner: I have nothing against that
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One brief but notable spiritual inf
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dialectic between these two, has le
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odies of knowledge, history and alt
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superiors, having decided that he w
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High School Week, Rahner began his
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Earlier in this chapter, Rahner’s
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These anecdotes testify that Rahner
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As you see, at the top of the carto
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Central to Rahner’s thinking is t
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Chapter 5: Word and sacrament—exp
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The centrality of scripture, and it
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What makes the words of scripture d
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silence. He felt that the movement
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with humanity—his ‘economic’
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Having discerned their revelatory c
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fulfilment in following the absolut
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Rahner’s transcendental perspecti
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toward which it points. God’s wor
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sacramental: a sign in which God’
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In light of the implications of Rah
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who, like mystics, experience such
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The juxtaposition of two articles
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These two interpretations of Rahner
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Rahner advocates that all believers
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The sacrament of the wordIn reflect
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‘theological aesthetics’. With
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Many things in life act as signs th
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Rahner’s dual commitment to recei
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living human being, and each indivi
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The church is sacramental in the se
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spiritual rhythms that trace direct
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the missionary tasks of the Church;
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unhelpful assumptions that diminish
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expressions of mystagogical 142 ini
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Does this lead Rahner into compromi
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) ) an ongoing contemporary influen
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Hosek shifts the soteriological foc
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Is this vision of silent spirituali
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Being in silence as a way of creati
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word of life and hope within them.
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Level 1:PremoralStage 2:Instrumenta
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These new monastics see the local c
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eliefs that have been tried and tes
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of mature theological reflection co
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ecognised in his Christological ass
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inability or unwillingness of the e
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Kanyini—an Australian Aboriginal
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The film Kanyini demonstrates the c
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estless and always in a hurry to ge
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considered the sole and ultimate au
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We define spirituality as a conscio
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supportive conversation with expres
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A glance at table 4 75 (above), Hug
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In the worldview of contemporary Au
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It certainly seems somewhat disinge
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A good starting point for examining
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Christian contemplative-prayer trad
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Of course, a small number of the vi
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For better or for worse, and despit
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energy, intellect, prayer, love and
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Rahner, K. Karl Rahner - Prayers an
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Kelly, G.B. (ed.). Karl Rahner - th
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Van Vorst, B. ‘Kung and Rahner: d
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Harden, J.A. ‘Ignatian Spirituali
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Tyson, P. ‘Contemporary Australia
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