Ruether & Chung - Seminar

Ruether & Chung - A Seminar

Chung Hyun Kyung

Chung Hyun Kyung, is an Associate Professor of Ecumenical Theology, she graduated from Ewha Women's University in Seoul with the B.A. (1979) and the M.A. (1981). She holds the M.Div. from the School of Theology at Claremont (1984), a diploma from the Women's Theological Center in Boston (1984), and the Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary (1989). She studied in North America for 9 years before returning to Korea to teach. Her teaching and research interests include Christian Buddhist dialogue; feminist and eco-feminist theologies and spiritualities from Asia, Africa and Latin America; as well as mysticism and revolutionary social change; she also has a focus on history and critical issues of various Asian Christian theologies and traditions. The two dominant Christian traditions in Korea are the United Church and the Presbyterian Church, Chung is a Lay Theologian and teacher in the Presbyterian tradition.

She was 30 years old before she met her mother. Her father's wife could not bear children, so he found a beautiful poor woman and paid her to be his mistress and bear children for him. After he had his children she was discarded. Chung upon her return from North America was encouraged by her best friend, a Buddhist monk to seek out her mother and break the social stereo type, that of being a surrogate's daughter. After finding here mother they performed a ritual to recreate bonds, they bought turtles in the market to set free again in the sea, and the turtles would take away their pain and hurts and bring healing and wholeness to them. Chung stated "I have a PhD, in systematic theology and I felt uneasy doing the ritual of the turtle." Yet she soon came to realize that her illiterate mother had a wisdom that she lacked. From then on she only wanted to only do theology her mother could understand. She began to seek spiritual renewal in different places, one place she found it was in the markets, and the women there who struggle to survive each day. Chung states "I go to the Market as a spiritual place of renewal, by seeing and speaking to the women who are struggling to live. I go to the mountains sometimes for spiritual renewal and sometimes I go to the market." The biggest accusation against Chung is that she is a Syncretist. She herself states: "My Bowel is shamanist, my heart is Buddhist, and my head is Christian. So I have to build this whole reality and I can not cut anything from me to be a real Christian. Who defines a real Christian?" From this we see that she does not fight against the accusations but lives her life as she see's her calling to do so. Her best friend is a Buddhist monk and together they are looking for truth. They both believe that religions can learn from each other. The Merging of religions help us to see the hidden teachings in our own traditions and for Chung Buddhism has helped her to understand contemplation, silence and symbolism which she thinks much of protestant Christianity has lost. She also has learnt from her friends that the best way to grow is to ask questions. Another of her close friends was trained as a theologian and yet works as a painter, a liberation theologian painter. Chung has the walls of her lecture hall covered in the paintings by this friend. Showing the empowerment of women and some of their pains and struggles from the past. Chung says that there are many ways of doing theology, theology as dance, song, painting and like herself in the world of academia, as long as it is a reflection of the divine in the midst of their life.

She writes and speaks much against the traditions of her Asian world, She states the old way is "When you are young you obey your father, in midlife you obey your husband, and when you are old you obey your oldest son." Yet she has become involved in a movement to liberate the marginalized of her country, and this group focuses on women. One thing they do is provide child care so women can have other options, school, and work. She believes if she just stays in academic life all the time she will not know what is going on in the real world, at the bottom of her society. Much like Simon Weil who went to work in factories to understand the oppressed in Europe, Chung spends time with the poor and most oppressed in her country. For Chung Liberation theology to be real and vital it must focus on the non-human, or those perceived as non-human and how do we regain humanity and dignity for them and through that for ourselves. That is the main issue to Chung.

In the larger work Struggle to be the Sun Again, the first few sections focus on some interesting area's, the historical and social context of Asian Women's spirituality, Humanity, Who is Jesus?, Who is Mary?, and then our selection Emerging Asian Women's Spirituality. So let us now turn to our text. The poem that begins our section is by Ting Ling, in a collection titled O'Grady, Chung in her footnote stated that she originally was going to drop this quote for it's individualist nature, as she see's spirituality and spiritual development as communal. Yet she decided to leave it in. This poem is intriguing for though it is written for Asian women and their development it can be applied to anyone who wishes to grow and develop as a person of character and integrity. One of the things I think we need to be aware of is that when a theology becomes so narrowly focused it can loose it's power for liberation. I think back to some of our earliest writers writing when the church was oppressed and persecuted and how their faith was vibrant and alive. Of people like Vibia Perpetua, and Irenaeus of Lyons who's writings had a universal approach, not a narrow view. Even feminist theologian Rosemary Radford Ruether states: "All theologies of liberation, whether done in black or a feminist or a Third world perspective, will be abortive of the liberation they seek, unless they finally go beyond the … model of the oppressor and the oppressed. The oppressed must rise to a perspective that affirms a universal humanity as the ground of their own self-identity, and also to a power of self-criticism … Quite simply, what this means is that one cannot dehumanize the oppressor without ultimately dehumanizing oneself, and aborting the possibilities of the liberation movement into an exchange of roles of oppressor and oppressed." Thus there must be caution taken in any endeavor to work at liberation that it does not in turn need to be overcome in a new liberation. On page 92 at the top of the page "Asian Women say that their emerging spirituality takes into concrete relational reality into consideration…" This appears to a central point of Chung's theology that it is communal, the women of her country and region need to work with each other, draw strength when needed and lend the hand when it is called for. At the bottom of that same paragraph it states "There is no place for dualism between body and soul in this spirituality, because it arises from women's everyday, mundane, bodily experience" Chung attends a women's home church, each person has a chance to speak and share. On the video Gentle but Radical, they show one service, with worship, bible reading, then the women passed around a red scarf and shared stories about menstruation, and children, and ended with Chung giving a lesson about the women with the Hemorrhage. For them faith is about every aspect of life, and every aspect is open to the church service.

The next section focuses on characteristics of this emerging spirituality, it is Creative, flexible, prophetic, and historical, Community Oriented and Pro-life. These characteristics should be evident in any church that wishes to grow in a post-modern world. We can learn much from these new religious movements and bring it back to our own traditions.

Chung presents a view of religion that many in a postmodern world could embrace. It should not be limited to Asian women because that is the tradition she emerges from. But should be offered for all to examine and draw the strength to stand up for the humanity and dignity of all people, in all places and from all classes.

Rosemary Radford Reuther

Rosemary Radford Ruether is the Carpenter Professor of Feminist Theology she has a B.A., Scripps College, 1958; M.A., Claremont Graduate School, 1960; Ph.D., Claremont Graduate School, 1965. Rosemary Radford Ruether is a pioneer Christian feminist theologian for nearly five decades and is among the most widely read theologians in the world. Her book, Sexism and God-Talk, is a classic, and is reported to be the only systematic feminist treatment of the Christian symbols to date. With her very wide-ranging scholarship, Dr. Ruether has edited over thirty books and hundreds of articles and reviews as well as published over two dozen books of her own work. Her primary research and her specialization in teaching interest is that of women and social justice in theological history. Her work explores how Christian theology has been biased by the exclusion of women's experience and female symbolism, and thus she seeks to shape an inclusive theology. She has always been a strong voice for those without a voice, women, children, minorities, yet she was a faithful wife and mother to three children. So with all this in mind let us now turn to our text.

It is interesting to note at the beginning that we are back into a predominantly biographical text again. It appears that through out each of the five periods of Christian history that spirituality is often demonstrated through personal example, and story. Through 'our story' we are the continuing church, the book of acts from the bible, the Acts of the Apostles is continued by each person who shares there story and their interaction with God, Son, and The Holy Spirit, and through them with the communion of saints the body of believers. This piece is her story of how she came to begin thinking in feminist ways, and from the excerpt we have we see that such thinking began at a very early age.

From the very first lines we hear her voice state: "It is hard to trace my awakening to feminism … because it seems to me that I was implicitly always a feminist, if by being feminist one means a woman who fights for her full realization." But such a statement could be true of any Christian seeking to become all that God has called them to be. For her it includes the title Feminist and role of Feminist theologian. On the first paragraph on page 455 "My older sister remarked …" Was her first internal realization that some would put limitations on her, or roles they saw for her, and from that young age she stood firm against these stereotypes. In the second full paragraph on that page she speaks about Mary, as the one to turn to in prayer, for having been raised by women, and being in school with an all women faculty, men were a distant presence.

In the next paragraph she sums up her experience of this environment and how it nurtured her future idea's: "Although I occasionally glimpsed a narrower and more authoritarian side of nuns, most of my memory is of a cozy, female-run world where I felt myself a favored daughter." She thus grew up believing she could be anything she wanted to be, a position her mother encouraged. Men were a curiosity to her she states "But secretly, one suspected that their aura of superiority was a fragile façade, a bombast concealing secret impotence." And further in the paragraph, "For endless generations women have paid public deference to male authority while, privately, not really believing in or counting on it." This resonates with my experience growing up, I was raised in an Irish Catholic home, and the Irish are one of the few remaining Matriarchal societies. Andrew M. Greeley in many of his theologian and fictional works affirms the Matriarchal nature of the Irish culture, he states often "Irish women let their men think they make the decisions and run the home, but they know that it is not so." Later on the same page Ruether shares how she started her husband with the goal of an academic career but he adjusted to that reality quickly.

I the final paragraph on page 457 she states, "It takes a new consciousness to go back and isolate the whole body of material as a problem rather than as normative tradition." She here advocates that Christianity and Christian spirituality must re-examine it's roots and origins, and traditions if it will be a church that draws women, and embraces them. She does not want to destroy the church but to reform it. To make it a church that is appealing to men and women. As I quoted earlier in the section on Chung, if a theology does not go beyond it's own narrow focus it will become the oppressor. Ruether does not want a new women's only spirituality. She would like to see a new spirituality that speaks to both men and women, black and white, European and Asian. But one that grows out of the needs of individuals to be fulfilled and growing.

Endnotes:

1. Gentle But Radical Korean Theologian Chung Hyun Kyung, Video
2. Gentle But Radical Korean Theologian Chung Hyun Kyung, Video
3. Gentle But Radical Korean Theologian Chung Hyun Kyung, Video
4. Gentle But Radical Korean Theologian Chung Hyun Kyung, Video
5. Liberation Theology, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Paulist Press, 1972, p.16
6. Struggle to be the Sun Again, Chung Hyun Kyung, New York, Orbis 1990, p92
7. Struggle to be the Sun Again, Chung Hyun Kyung, New York, Orbis 1990, p92
8. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.454
9. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.455
10. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.455
11. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.456
12. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.455
13. Paraphrased from memory.
14. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.457

Bibliography:

Tyson, John R. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. New York: Oxford UP, 1999

Placher, William C. A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction
Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1983

Chung, Hyun Kyung Struggle to be the Sun Again: Introducing Asian Women's Theology. New York: Orbis, 1990

Ruether, Rosemary Radford Liberation Theology, New York: Paulist Press, 1972

Webpages
http://www.uts.columbia.edu/
http://witness.peacenet.or.kr/
http://www.scmcanada.org/
http://www.psr.edu/

Video
Gentle But Radical Koren Theologian Chung Hyun Kyung
Kilimann Production, From the World Council of Churches

(First written for RS 383 Shapers of the Roman Catholic Tradition in the winter of 2003.)

Underhill & Bonhoeffer - Seminar

Underhill & Bonhoeffer A Seminar

Evelyn Underhill

Evelyn Underhill was a unique and intriguing woman at a point where it was not all that easy to be those things in the church. She is remembered by a friend as, "slight and thin … and not very tall, her body carrying her spirit with as little fuss as possible" She has a number of experiences that lead her to becoming a Christian and in 1907 was even very close to becoming a Roman Catholic. Yet her soon to be husband persuaded her to wait a while before making that commitment. During this period of waiting a Papal Bull Condemning modernism, published by Pope Pius X, caused her to turn away from Catholicism and all organized religion for many year. She continued to have encounters with the divine over the next twenty years. These years would be very productive. Evelyn was incredibly productive writer in her 39 years of publishing she produced 40 books, collections, editions and over 350 essays, reviews and articles. She was also a woman of many first as this list from Todd E. Johnson: "She was the first woman to lecture in theology at Oxford college, the first woman to lecture Anglican clergy, and one of the first women to be included in Church of England commissions. These accomplishments, along with her work as a retreat leader, made Evelyn Underhill a prominent figure in her day."

Mary Ford-Grabowsky in the book she edited, Sacred Voices: Essential Women's Wisdom Through the Ages; states: "By the 1030's, Evelyn had become the first women in the twentieth-century England to be taken seriously as a theologian, a stunning feat in an era when women were forbidden to even teach theology." Yet why did she turn to mysticism as a field of study and personal experience? Mary Ford-Grabowsky in the book she edited, Sacred Voices: Essential Women's Wisdom Through the Ages; postulates this possibility: "An only child whose upper-class parents often left her at home alone while they went yachting, she took to Plotinus at an early age, perhaps finding in his idea of 'the flight of the alone to the Alone' a solution to her own loneliness and an impetus to study the mystics…" So now that we have some background on the woman let us turn to her writings.

We will begin by noting the contrast she makes between her understanding of the marks of a mystic with the list she quotes from William James, James list consists of "Ineffability, Noetic Quality, Transiency, and Passivity" whereas Underhill has these four characteristics:

1. Active and Practical, not Passive and theoretical
2. It aims are wholly transcendental and spiritual
3. It draws one homeward, but always under the guidance of the heart.
4. Living union with the One(God)

Paraphrased from page 382 of our text. I would like to highlight a few lines from this section, from the last full paragraph on page 382 "it is the art of establishing his conscious relation to the Absolute" This is the best definition of he goal of mysticism that I have encountered to date. I am intrigued that in her writings she quotes so often from those who have gone before her. Almost as if she saw her role more as that of compiler and explainer then original source. She quotes Recejec, Blake, William James, St Teresa, Plato, John of the Cross, in just these four short pages we have from her writings.

I would like to draw our attention to the middle of page 383 Underhill states: "Taken all together, they constitute phases in a single process of growth; involving the movement of consciousness from lower to higher levels of reality, the steady remaking of character in accordance with the 'Independent spiritual world.'." From here she goes on to outline these phases of the mystical life, the three that I focused on are:

1. The Awakening of the Self to consciousness of Divine Reality
2. The Self, aware for the first time of Divine Beauty, realized by contrast its own finiteness and imperfection.
3. The development of the great and strenuous seekers after God.
4. Union: The true goal of the mystic quest.

These are some of the Items in this selection that really spoke to me. Now can we share some of the items in these sections in this selections that spoke to you the class.

I would like to conclude our study of Evelyn Underhill by stating that she was an amazing woman in a time when the church was not looking for nor necessarily wanted amazing women in their traditions. Yet she stood behind her beliefs in her intellect and her faith and pursued both.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich was another amazing person in the Christian tradition in the 20th Century, He had his first Phd. At age 21 and a second by 24 years of age. His two most influential books are Cost of discipleship and Life Together. He also co-authored with Karl Barth The Confession of the Underground Church. Throughout his life he pursued the question 'What does it mean to live for Christ today?' To understand Bonhoeffer's work we must understand the man. Bonhoeffer and his family were all influenced by the natural sciences. His Father was a Physician and his brother was a Physicist. He believed that Christ was found in the midst of persons. He believed that costly grace was won in battles in our heart. In defying Hitler he ended up fighting both the Church and the Nazi's. He ran an underground seminary in Nazi Germany. There were eight Children in his home growing up and Bonhoeffer, two brothers and two brothers-in-law died in the camps for their activities against the Nazi regime. He saw himself as an ecumenical pastor and respected the Roman Catholic Church, he saw the church as One Body, one Universal church under Christ. He saw salvation as more that the soul, it is the restoration of people, families, friends and social justice. He once told Hitler face to face what he thought of his policies and Hitler's reported response was 'I only have to pick up the phone and you die.' Which would later be fulfilled William Platcher states: "Dietrich Bonhoeffer tried to follow one side of Barth, his seperation of Christianity from culture and religion, to its radical conclusion. Bonhoeffer participated in church opposition to Hitler but remained in Germany. The Nazis arrested him for playing a minor part in a plot on Hitler's life, but he continued to write theology in letters from his prison cell."

With this in mind let us now move into our selections. The First selection 'Costly Grace' is a key though in Bonhoeffer's life. He outlines How Grace is either cheap and of no use or value or else it is costly and of ultimate value. He states "Cheap Grace therefore amounts to a denial of the living Word of God, in fact, a denial of the incarnation of the Word of God.". He also later on page 391 states: "Cheap grace is preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confessions, absolution without personal confession." From this we see that he contrasts being religious with being Christian, Being religious make grace cheap and of no value. Whereas "Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ." For Bonhoeffer grace cost God a lot in sacrificing his son, but was not to high a price to pay, and if we are to be followers of Jesus the Son, we too will have a cost to pay.

The call to discipleship is part of costly grace, for if we are to be Jesus's disciples we must be willing to live with the costs of that relationship. On the bottom of page 392 Bonhoeffer says: "He is called out, and has to forsake his old life in order that he may 'exist' in the strictest sense of the word. The old life is left behind, and completely surrendered. The disciple is dragged out of his relative security into a life of absolute insecurity (that is, in truth, into the absolute security and safety of the fellowship of Jesus)." He also states that when we are called to Jesus it is an exclusive relationship, we become attached to Jesus and through him to the family of God.

In our final selection Bonhoeffer states: "To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us." We begin to see here that even though discipleship is costly, we have the means of attaining it through the guidance of Jesus Christ and through his working in and through us. It is interesting that Bonhoeffer using the examples of this calling being costly of the first disciples, and Luther. For we have seen again and again in our readings how often people go back to the beginning, the disciples the church fathers, and even many of the authors we have covered thus far. Here Bonhoeffer is doing the same, drawing different examples from the past. I would like to end my highlighting of selections with 2 final quotes from our last 2 paragraphs first: "If we refuse to take up our cross and submit to suffering and rejection at the hands of men, we forfeit our fellowship with Christ and have ceased to follow him." And "Discipleship means allegiance to the suffering Christ, and it is therefore not at all surprising that Christians should be called to suffer." We know that Bonhoeffer lived this, they were not just words to him. He could have stayed teaching theology in the states during the war. But he felt he could not play a role in helping to rebuild Germany after the war if he was not willing to work for change there during the war. He died at the hands of the Gestapo just weeks before the end of the war.

From my rereading of course notes for RS 100K Introduction to theology as well as my research for this seminar, I believe that Bonhoeffer has a few area's of focus in his writings and life, they are as follows:

1. What does it mean to live for Christ today
2. "Only he who believes if obedient and only he who is obedient believes
3. Costly grace
4. The combination of the transcendence and the Imminence of God
5. That Bonhoeffer is a synthesis of the though of Tilloch and Barth

So we see a man deeply committed to living a vital, real Christian life.

Endnotes:

1. Life of Evelyn Underhill; Cooper, Margaret, Harper & Brothers, New York, 1990, p.109
2. Evelyn Uderhill's Pneumatology: Orgins and Implications; Johnson Todd E. Downside Review, 1998, 116, no. 403 p.109
3. Sacred Voices: Essential Women's Wisdom Through the Ages; Ed. Mary Ford-Grabowsky, HarperCollins, San Francisco, 2002, p.155
4. Sacred Voices: Essential Women's Wisdom Through the Ages; Ed. Mary Ford-Grabowsky, HarperCollins, San Francisco, 2002, p.155
5. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.381
6. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.382
7. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.383
8. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.383,384 Paraphrased.
9. A History of Christian Theology; Placher, William C., The Westminster Press, Philodelphia, 1893, p.295
10. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.391
11. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.391
12. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.392
13. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.392
14. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.393
15. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.394
16. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.394

Bibliography:

Tyson, John R.:Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. New York: Oxford UP, 1999

Fanning, Steven Mystics of the Christian Tradition;
Routledge, New York, 2001

Ford-Grabowsky, Mary Sacred Voices: Essential Women's Wisdom Through the Ages; HarperCollins, San Francisco, 2002, p.91

Placher, William C. A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction
Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1983

Cooper, Margaret. Life of Evelyn Underhill; Harper & Brothers, New York, 1990, p.109

Johnson, Todd E. Evelyn Uderhill's Pneumatology: Orgins and Implications; Downside Review, 1998, 116, no. 403 p.109

McEvoy, Steven R. Course Notes RS 100K Introduction to Theology
Fall Term 1998, Professor P. Frick

(First written for RS 383 Shapers of the Roman Catholic Tradition in the winter of 2003.)

Ignatius of Layola - Seminar

Ignatius of Layola

If we are to understand the spirituality of Saint Ignatius, in the context of Christian spirituality, then we will need to understand Ignatius and his times. Ignatius had three stages in his life and development, the would be romantic hero, the courtier or soldier, and finally the religious. Each of these stages played a specific role on his development. We will look briefly at each of these stages then move on to our specific text. Ignatius was born of noble family of significant influence. He was wounded in battle and during his convalescence had his conversion experience.

Ignatius was in the first stage, prior to his injury, was very fond of romantic novels. From these he would sit for long periods of time and have 'fantasy's' or 'day dreams' of all that he could be, or do. With himself always as the romantic hero, and victory never in doubt, at least in his mind. To some extent this continued even after his injuries and carried over till a later period in life. This can be seen on page 245 of our text, in the first paragraph of 'A Soldier for Christ,' "And So whilst a fortress that the French were attacking …" we see here he was so convinced of the romantic fantasy that he persuaded his commander against all others judgments to fight and not surrender. It was only after his being hit by a cannonball that they surrendered. This period leads to the second period, that of the courtier or soldier.

We see now that after his injury he came to the conclusion that he would not win his fame in battle so he fantasized about doing so in court, and doing so to win the hand of a specific woman. He was so intent upon this goal he was willing to undergo unnecessary surgery in order to remove a lump from the repaired le, and treatments to stretch the leg to make their difference in length almost unnoticeable. On page 246 of our text there is a long and detailed account of his treatments and recovery. During this recovery he request some of fiction to read, but all that was found in the house was a 'Life of Christ' and a book on 'Saints'. During this period he read these two books many times and they started to have a positive effect upon him. And this is the turning point into the third stage of his life. That as religious thinker and spiritual leader, and this is the stage of his life we are most interested in.

Our first except if mostly biographical, but I would like to highlight a few key sections before we open this up to discussion. The first was his realization that some thought patters left him satisfied and some empty after he had pursued them. On page 247 he states "When he was thinking of those things of the world he took much delight in them, but afterwards, when he was tired and put the aside, he found himself dry and dissatisfied … but even after he put them aside he remained satisfied and joyful." As this passage goes on to say, he did not immediately make the connections but eventually he perceived the difference that reflections upon things of the world versus things of man could have upon him. Another key point in this section is the bottom of the last full paragraph on this page, "But his brother as well as all the rest of the household came to know from his exterior the change that had been wrought inwardly in his soul." Not only were his reflections and meditations having an effect upon him, but also that effect was noticeable to those who were around him. Now I would like to know what from this first passage was most significant to you?

Let us now move on to the Spiritual Exercises them selves. I will skim though what from these selections has impacted me firs. Then we will open it up to discussion. I would like to pass around the complete exercises now, as well as 3 modern versions of them to designed to be done by laity. Ignatius later realized that not all people could take 4 weeks to go on personal retreat and a modification of the Spiritual Exercises was written to be used over a longer period of time at home.

I was immediately struck by the focus of the four weeks, week one on consideration and contemplation of sins, week two focuses on the life of Christ up to the passion, week three focuses on the passion, and week 4 focuses on the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. As well as that each day of the exercises the prayer is to be done in the order of thanks, confession, examination of the day, confession, to make amends and close with the Our Father.

From these the major focus in the first exercise that I notice is the focus on sins Ignatius states on page 253: "I see how many people have been damned for committing a single mortal sin, and how many times I have deserved eternal damnation for my many sins", he also states on the next page "For one sin they went to hell; then how often have I deserved hell for my many sins!" What about this section has really impacted you, or have you noticed.

The final selection 'Rules for the Discernment of Spirits' are one of a series of appendix to the rules. The two rules here that impacted me most were rules four and five. That is "the Fourth, about spiritual desolation" and "The Fifth, during a time of desolation one should never make a change." Now I would like to ask you what did you see in this section.

What hit me most was that the Christian life would not necessarily be one of constant happiness and joy, or success. Much like the health and wealth gospel some evangelical's teach. But that there will be good times and bad times, and in the good time we are to prepare for the bad, and in the bad remember the good. Ignatius faced personal adversity both before and after his conversion. He developed the Spiritual Exercises which are one of the most widely used spiritual formation and mentoring tools today. They are a tool used widely within and without the catholic church. His contribution to Christian spirituality has been immense.

If I can share on a personal level with you the class. I was in a period of desolation yesterday. My computer crashed because of my roommate and I lost my entire seminar just shortly after finishing it. I scoured my hard drive for any fragments of it, but to no avail. I had only worked on the computer so lost all my primary research and all my secondary sources. So I rewrote this seminar late last night knowing I had to work at 6am this morning. Last night I came close to dropping this course. I was tired stressed, my roommate was moving out. I am making plans for the wedding and furniture deliveries … involved with that. And rewriting this from scratch just seemed so daunting. But here I am writing the last lines, and smiling and thanking God. Consolation does come again.


Endnotes:

1. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.246
2. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.247
3. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.247
4. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.251
5. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.251
6. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.253
7. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.253

Bibliography:

Tyson, John R. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. New York: Oxford UP, 1999

Caraman, Philip. Ignatius of Loyola : a biography of the founder of the Jesuits

Lonsdale David. Eyes to see, ears to hear : an introduction to Ignatian spirituality

Henry F. Birkenhauer et al. New introduction to the Spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius

Ganss, George E. Spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius : a translation and commentary

(First written for RS 383 Shapers of the Roman Catholic Tradition in the winter of 2003.)

Julian of Norwich - Seminar

Julian of Norwich

Julian of Norwich, a visionary mystic, her life can be broken down into three periods: life before the visions; the visions; and life after the visions. From a historical or biographical perspective, there exists little data to help understand our author. What little evidence we have about her is derived from her own writings, both the longer and shorter texts and some court documents. Today in fact we still know very little about Julian of Norwich's life, before or even after her visions. Though there is a lot of academic debate about her, her life and many aspects of both, we can in fact only draw a few authoritative conclusions from her own writings and some legal documents from her time. We can piece together some information from the accounts of her visions both the Longer and Shorter texts. What we do know or know to be close to appropriate dates are as follows:

1343: December, born somewhere around New Year's.
1373: May13th, Received first revelation.
1380: 2nd Revelation
1388: Fifteen years of reflection since first revelation
1390: Further understanding (Thus the Longer Text)
1413: Still living, based on court documents of Wills being bequeathed to her.

So with these sketchy materials we have little specific information. Compared to some of our other authors there is relatively little personal information to get an understanding of our author from.

Perhaps one other historical detail worthy of mention is some background of Norwich. I would like to state that historically, Norwich at that time was the second largest city in England. It was second only to London, in size, and population, as well as wealth and social development. But even with how little we know about this woman outside of her own writings, there is currently immense interest in her and her words. Steven Fanning in his book Mystics of the Christian Tradition puts it is this way: "Julian's interpretation of her revelations has drawn intense modern interest, for she presents a view of God this is personal and unique, brimming with optimism and couched in simple and direct language." In fact that is one of the points we will focus on later while looking at our specific selections, that she presents God as both our Father and Mother, but specifically Christ as Mother and Ideal mother for us who are children of God in faith. In fact that theme of Christ as Mother, is a focus in most of the commentaries and outside sources I have found. Mary Ford-Grabowsky in the book she edited, Sacred Voices: Essential Women's Wisdom Through the Ages; states: "Julian's spirituality of the motherhood of God has made her one of the most popular mystics of our time, as she was in the fourteenth century. In a daring departure from the dominant language of her era, she portrays the three masculine persons of the Christian Trinity (Father, Son, and Spirit) as a nursing mother overflowing with kindness and love." We will notice this theme of the motherhood of God, again and again as we examine our writings. But before we get to that specific task, I would like to bring up some speculation about Julian's credentials. Cooledge & Walsh in A Book of Showings to the Anchoress Julian of Norwich: Part 1, do a very critical analysis of Julian's life, and times, both of her writings and other contemporary historical documents, such as court Wills, and other papers. They state that Julian had a very high level of academic training and they draw this conclusion from the fact that her works, both the shorter and longer texts, have extensive quotes from the bible as well as other Christian authors that precede her. They surmise: "Before she began to compose the shorter text, Julian already knew all of the Vulgate; especially, she can be seen to be deeply familiar with all four gospels, the Pauline and Johannine epistles and Hebrews, the Psalms, the sapiential books and Deutero-Isaias. We can only make conjectures about how she acquired her Latin and her learning, for she is as reticent about this as over every other part of her external life;" Again here we see hr unwillingness to discuss her life before becoming a hermit in the cell at the Church of Norwich. Cooledge & Walsh conclude that Julian possessed a high level of academic training, which they find in evidence, through her extensive quotes of the bible ad other authors that proceed her. This will to either privacy or secrecy may impede a biographical examination, but her writings lay open and ready for examination.

Before we begin just a note of textual correction of the textbook, on page footnote 69 states that this is from chapters 55 and 56 of the longer text. Yet in the three different translations I looked at the selections are actually from chapters 59 and 60.Let us now turn to our specific texts and begin to examine them. The texts are taken from two different versions of the same book, now known as the Longer or Shorter text depending on which is used. The Shorter was written after reflection upon her 16 Showings or Visions or Revelations depending on the term you are most comfortable with. Our first excerpt comes from the shorter text, and the other is from the Longer text. The Longer text was written after further understanding was given to Julian around the year 1390, close to 30 years after the initial revelations. Even though she later wrote a much expanded and revised version of her understanding of the revelations and their meaning, there is little evidence that there was ever doubt of their authenticity. Steven Fanning states in Mystics of the Christian Tradition; "Nonetheless, it is obvious that she never doubted the truth of her revelations and she was confident that somehow the infinite love and power of God would be able to make all things well." So now let us proceed to the texts themselves.

The first except we are to look at is part of her first showing/revelation. The first showing acts like a prologue to the other fifteen, it shows us her understanding of spiritual quest, and her understanding of God. It also introduces us to the concept of God as Mother. This is in strong contrast to Clare of Assai, who on page 166 of our text presents a strong masculine image of Christ as Bridegroom. In this first excerpt Julian shows us that she desired to be close to God. She hungered for Him and she sought gifts from God. She was deliberate and intentional about seeking God, and specifically sought answers to specific prayers. She sought to be brought to the point of death, so that she might experience God's closeness in a new and profound way. Through this experience she sought, sickness, Christ's Passion, and the seeking of 3 wounds. It appears that all of her prayers were answered and beyond her expectations. In this first revelation she had an understanding of six things as seen on the bottom of page 191, and top of page 192, she has an understanding of the following:

1. His (Jesus) Passion
2. The Virgin Mary
3. Divinity
4. The goodness of creation
5. Everything is made for love
6. God is good, and that which is good is of God.

Yet even after seeing all this, she desired more as she states at the end of this section: "Rejoicing in what I saw and wishing, as much as I dared, to see more, it that were God's will, or to see for a longer time what I had already seen …"

We now move on to our final two excerpts, which are both from the longer version of the text. The first is on the Trinity, which is one of our theme's from Tyson's introduction. She begins with a short statement, on page 191, but one of profound theological truth, "God the blessed Trinity, who is everlasting being, just as He is eternal from without beginning, just so was it His eternal purpose to create human nature," here we see her understanding of the triune God, and the Godhead. In the next paragraph we have the introduction of the concept of God as our Mother, yet she also has the idea of God as our spouse. In the next paragraph we have many new concepts, she states "I saw and understood these three properties: the property of fatherhood, and the property of motherhood, and the property of the lordship in one God." Julian presents us with her view of how the different aspects of the Trinity interact with us, and us with them. The first aspect, the Father, is our protection and bliss. Her understanding interprets Christ, as brother, mother and savior. Finally, the Holy Spirit is a reward and gift. These are more than concepts to Julian, who outlines the different ways that each of these aspects of the Trinity interact with us. On page 193 she states that that the trinity as Father, Mother and Lord as our nature.

In the next paragraph she focuses again on how the different aspects of the Trinity interact with humankind. She states on page 193: "And our substance is in our Father, God almighty, and our substance is in our Mother, God of all wisdom, and our substance is in our Lord God, the Holy Spirit, all goodness, for our substance is whole in each person of the trinity, who is one God." Even though her language is new, and she introduces us to the concept of God as mother, her theology is sound, unlike other authors like Master Eckhart who was sanctioned by the church for his writings and interpretations, Julian was never under such scrutiny. Julian's writings were accepted by the Church of her time. She appears to push the boundaries on what was acceptable in her time, and stretch the thoughts of her contemporaries and even some modern readers. Yet she always stays true to the God, and sound doctrine.

Then we come to our final selection. Here again we see a strong focus on the trinity, and especially different roles for each person of the trinity. Julian states "Our Father wills, our Mother works, and our good Lord the Holy Spirit confirms" We see a strong focus here on different roles, but each significant in how the trinity work in our life. As we have noted Julian's writings focus primarily on the trinity, but not just the trinity, specifically her understanding of the trinity. Which is now and expanded.

I see Julian as a mystic who stretches me to see an aspect of God that I had seldom approached before. (What is that) The American Catholic Priest, Sociologist and author Andrew M. Greeley always refers to God as "She", and though I enjoyed his writings it was always hard for me to relate to a female mother, because of my own family situation. Yet through these readings, I can now have an appreciation for such language and can even see a need to approach God as both Mother and Father, Christ as Brother, savior and Mother. As far as contributions to the concept of spirituality within the Christian tradition, Julian has stretched me most. She presents a close, intimate personal God, a God she experiences as both Father and Mother, and a God who is active in her life. Her visions only serve to draw her deeper into relationship with God, and seeking God even more. Therefore I would like to leave you with a quote about Julian and her writings. Austin Cooper in his introduction to Julian of Norwich, reflections on Selected Texts; states: "She comes across these centuries as a great Christian woman who has much to teach us and whose message reminds us of the beauty and joy that are inseparable from the Christian faith." And that is what I would like for you to take from today's readings, a renewed joy and sense of beauty, in God, Creation and in the spirituality we are pursuing.

Endnotes:

1. Mystics of the Christian Tradition; Steven Fanning, Routledge, New York, 2001, p.125
2. Sacred Voices: Essential Women's Wisdom Through the Ages; Ed. Mary Ford-Grabowsky, HarperCollins, San Francisco, 2002, p.91
3. A Book of Showings to the Anchoress Julian of Norwich: Part 1, Cooledge & Walsh, Universa Press, Wetterren, Belgin, 1978, p. 43
4. Mystics of the Christian Tradition; Steven Fanning, Routledge, New York, 2001, p.126
5. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.192
6. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.192
7. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.192
8. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.193
9. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.194
10. Julian of Norwich, reflections on Selected Texts; Austin Cooper OMI, Twenty-third Publications, Mystic, Connecticut, 1988, p.4

Bibliography:

Tyson, John R. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. New York: Oxford UP, 1999

Cooper, Austin OMI Julian of Norwich, reflections on Selected Texts
Twenty-third Publications, Mystic, Connecticut, 1988

Fanning, Steven Mystics of the Christian Tradition;
Routledge, New York, 2001

Ford-Grabowsky, Mary Sacred Voices: Essential Women's Wisdom Through the Ages; HarperCollins, San Francisco, 2002, p.91

Cooledge & Walsh A Book of Showings to the Anchoress Julian of Norwich: Part 1, Universa Press, Wetterren, Belgin, 1978, p. 43

(First written for RS 383 Shapers of the Roman Catholic Tradition in the winter of 2003.)

A Holy Family - Seminar

A Holy Family:
A Study of Macrina the Younger
and her brothers Basil the Great
and Gregory of Nyssa

Before we begin looking at this group of siblings I would like to fill you in on some background information. I would like to do a brief run through of some important dates, in the history of Christianity and theology to frame in these 3 authors.

• 325 Council of Nicea Issue of Christology
• 367 Easter Letter by St. Athanasius outlining what we use as
• New Testament Cannon to be used by the Church
• (This cannon confirmed at future councils in 392, 397, 405, 419)
• 380 Christianity Becomes the State Religion of Rome
• 381 Council of Constantinople
• 391 Prohibitions on Pagan Religions
• (Christianity is now the persecuting Majority)

So our three siblings grew up in troubled and turbulent times in the church and society. Even though the issue of Christology was to have been settled at Nicea the Arian Heresy was still going strong. We also need to remember that the 3 Authors were relatives and close relatives. As can been seen in this quote from Platcher's A History of Christian Theology: "Basil and Gregory came from a remarkable family. Their sister Macrina may have been its most powerful personality. She devoted herself to the ascetic life, shamed Basil out of his youthful pride in his oratorical abilities, and confronted Gregory on Basil's death. Gregory's own account of her own deathbed conversation portrays a woman of deep piety and a formidable theological learning" Furthermore Cory & Landry in their writings The Christian Theological Tradition: Second Edition refer to the three Cappadocians Fathers as being the Vanguard of defense of Nicea even fifty years after the fact. The third being Basil's and Gregory's friend Gregory of Nazianzus, Cory and Landry state: "The Clarification of the original creed of Nicaea reflects important theological advances made by Basil of Caesarea (330-79), his brother Gregory of Nyssa (331/40-395), and Basil's friend Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 329-390). These three are often referred to as the Cappadocian Fathers, because the came from the central region of Asia Minor." Thus we see that they were central to the issue of Christology. I will now endeavor to give some views on the major contributions and issues the brother's addresses, and then move on to an analysis of our specific texts.

Basil The Great, Basil of Caesarea, Basil of Cappadocian Caesarea
330-379. Basil from the time of his election to the role of Bishop was a tireless worker for what he believed in, "Once elected Bishop of Caesarea, Basil worked to reconcile West and East, 'old' and 'new' Nicene's, in the struggle with Arianism." He also fought against two new heresy's the first, that the Holy Spirit was not fully god. And the second that the Father and son were unlike in nature because the son was generated and the father not. So we see that Basil's focus was threefold.

Basil's life and teachings focused on a three fold concern: Comby in his work How to read Church History: Volume 1 sums up Basil's focus this way: "the organization of charity during a period of frequent famine (he set up a relief city); the organization of community living the monastic life (he composed Major and Minor rules); and a concern to orthodoxy in a period troubled by the Arian disputes." In this regard Basil's brother continued his work. Gregory of Nyssa 335-395. In A History of the Christian Church: Fourth Edition, it is put forth this way: "The second of Basil's associates was his younger brother Gregory of Nyssa. … but he surpassed both Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus in theological depth and penetration. His extensive writings, which mostly came from the period after his brothers death, when Gregory took up his pen to defend and develop Basil's teaching," By the time of the Council of Constantinople and in the East and the Council of Aquileia both councils stood against Arianism in the year 381. Gregory of Nyssa wrote the following about the debates and struggles leading up to this council in his Theology in the streets, "Every part of the city is filled with such talk; the alleys, the crossroads, the squares, the avenues. It comes from those who sell clothes, moneychangers, grocers. If you ask a money changer what the exchange rate is, he will reply with a dissertation on the begotten and unbegotten. If you enquire about the quality and the price of bread, the baker will reply: 'The Father is greatest and the Son subject to him.' When you ask at the baths whether the water is ready, the manager will declare that the son came forth from nothing. I do not know what name to give this evil, weather frenzy of madness…"

These theological debates had ramifications on day-to-day life. I have heard that there were even brawls in the streets on the issues of Christ and the Holy Spirit. So with this in mind let us return to our text and examine our three authors.

Macrina The Younger 327-379

In this excerpt attributed to Macrina the themes that I perceive, as most dominant are the nature of sin, justification and eschatology. Particularly the renewal within a person's soul here on earth and that renewal ultimately as seen at the top of page 89 "the reconstitution of our nature in its original form" and this particular line repeats itself more than once in this piece. And again in the final paragraph "the Apostle tells us, to consist in incorruption and glory and honour and power" And also the last part of this paragraph focus on both the grace and power to live now, and for the glory to come.

Basil the Great 330-379

Long considered the father of monasticism in the West, this excerpt focuses on life in community. From the text we see that the focus in this excerpt of Basil's writings is on Community, or Communion of the Saints. In the introduction to our text Tyson states: "Eucharistic fellowship with Christ unites many individual members of the church ('though we are many') in 'the cup of blessing,' and forms them into 'one body' (1Cor 10:16-17)" paraphrasing this passage from first Corinthians our whole excerpt is an expansion of this passage. In our first paragraph "My reasons are, first, that no one of us is self-sufficient…" We see here that Basil believed we needed others to help us in our walk as Christians. Further down he states that we were created to need the help of one another.

This focus on unity and interdependence of the communion of saints of the Christian community is the focus of the whole work. "Besides, if all we are united in the hope of our calling [Eph 4:4] are one body with Christ as our Head, we are also members, one of another [1Cor 12:12]". We see that as Tyson outlined above is an echo of Basil's thoughts here written some 1900 years earlier. He also goes on to focus on the fact that the grace/gifts the Holy Spirit appropriates to each of us are to be used for the whole. In community our gifts bless others, alone they are only of use to self. Which is not the way Basil interprets the Christian life. If we use our gifts in community our gifts are used for all. He also states that community life offers more blessings.

Thus we see his focus on Communion of the Saints as a tool to enhance our individual spiritual lives, but also as a mean's of obedience.

Gregory of Nyssa 335-395

We now come to the youngest member of this family, though by no means the least. As far as actual records we have more attributed to Gregory then either Macrina or Basil. Yet from the research done and the introduction to this talk, we see that his work was often and extension and fulfilling of things begun by his siblings.

In this series of Excerpts from The Life of Moses we have a group of snippets on how Gregory of Nyssa interprets Moses life of servant leadership as a primary example of how Christians are to life. The area's that it focus on are, The nature of God, the quest or personal journey of growth, and serving, as a way of growing in Christian maturity and into friendship with God.

On page 95 the second paragraph focus on the nature of God, and how we should desire to pursue the good, the virtue that is God. The 4th paragraph on this page focuses on the command to be perfect as God is perfect, and this pursuit or quest for perfection is done through the growth of good. At the top of page 97 there is proposed the idea that this perfection or good life is offered to all, but some choose to continue to walk in darkness.

The final section entitled 'The Servant of God' focus's on that Moses attained and how we too should be striving forward to attain those same virtues and good life, the ultimate of which is to be considered God's friend or the servant of God. This is seen in the bottom paragraph on page 97 the argument being one called 'the servant of Yahweh' is so because he has risen above the world. Then the second paragraph on page 98 focus's on the fact that all Christians have been called to serve, to live for others. And finally in the concluding paragraph, we have to command to apply what we have read from Moses life to our own life. So that we can be worthy of the name and honour of being called God's friend, that we seek and Quest for the life of perfection.

Endnotes:

1. A History of Christian Theology; Placher, William C., The Westminster Press, Philodelphia, 1893, p.76
2. The Christian Theological Tradition: Second Edition; Cory & Landry, Prenice Hall, Upper Saddle River, 2003, p. 129 (Advanced Reading Copy)
3. A History of the Christian Church: Fourth Edition; Walker, Norris, Lotz and Handy: Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1985, p.143
4. How to Read Church History, Volume 1; Comby, Jean: Crossroads, New York, 1996, p.108
5. A History of the Christian Church: Fourth Edition; Walker, Norris, Lotz and Handy, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1985, p.143
6. Gregory of Nyssa On divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit as quoted in How to Read Church History, Volume 1; Comby, Jean: Crossroads, New York, 1996, p.94
7. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.89
8. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999 p. 91
9. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999 p.31
10. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999 p.92
11. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999 p.92

Bibliography

Tyson, John R. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. New York: Oxford UP, 1999

McGrath, Alister E. Ed. The Christian Theology Reader
Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1997

Christian Theology an Introduction: Second Edition
Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1997

Comby, Jean. How to Read Church History: Volume I
New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1996

Cory, Catherine A. and Landry, David T. The Christian Theological Tradition: Second Edition Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2003 (Advanced Reading Copy)

Placher, William C. A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction
Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1983

Walker, Williston. et al., eds. A history of the Christian Church: Fourth Edition New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1985


(First written for RS 383 Shapers of the Roman Catholic Tradition in the winter of 2003.)

Spiritual Biographies - Seminars

A few years back in a course called Shapers of the Roman Catholic Tradition, RS 383. The primary text was John R. Tyson's Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. This is a great text as it spans from Ignatius of Antioch (D.117) to many authors still around today including Desmond Mpilo Tuto, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Richard Foster and more. The book has a concise biography of the author then extensive quotations from source material for that author. As such this book is a great introduction to numerous Christian thinkers spanning church history.

This was a very small class 7 or 8 students meeting in the board room. Each week one student had to present and the other students had to be prepared to interact. Each student had to prpepare five lessons to lead. Over the next five days I will post my seminar notes. My Seminars were:

A Holy Family: A Study of Macrina the Younger and her brothers Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa
Julian of Norwich
Ignatius of Layola
Underhill & Bonhoeffer
Ruether & Chung

The way the course worked is the at the readings were assigned for each week and each student signed up for the weeks they would present. We went around the room picking dates and thus topics. The days not selected for student presentations, Dr. Cristina Vanin presented. This was one of the most demanding courses I took and yet also one of the most enjoyable.

(These Seminars were written for RS 383 Shapers of the Roman Catholic Tradition in the winter of 2003.)