This year (18 XI 1965) it is the 40-th anniversary of the proclamation of the council constitution Dei verbum, which has influenced the dovelopment of the theology of revelation. In this article the author tries to relecture the reality of revelation according to the constitution, which has an interpersonal character whose Author is God revealed and the man is an adressat. God reveals Himself because of love to invite a human being to take part in eternal life. The fullness and endness of revelation has taken place in the incarnated Son of God. God has been revealing since the beginning of creation, in a particular to the first people (primitive revelation), during of history, different nations, until the election of Abraham. In the choosen nation God revealed the mistery of His will and he was acting for them to prepare humanity for His comming in Jesus Christ, which particulary has been shown by profets. The incarnated Son of God was revealing God by all of His life, His teaching, acting, behaviour towards people, and by passion, death and resurrection. In this article the author shows the meaning of revelation to the faith and christian life, Church, the world and theology. In his light the author criticises the pluralistic theology of religion.
Der Artikel behandelt eine äußerst wichtige und zugleich schwierige Thematik der Beglaubigung das Faktums der Inkarnation in der gegenwärtigen Theologie und Anthropologie. Die systematische Überlegung wird auf die praktische Seite des christlichen Lebens übertragen. Diese spezifische Eigenschaft der Theologie von Karl Rahner dringt in die grundsätzliche christliche Relation ein, die Relation zwischen der göttlichen und der irdischen Welt auf der Ebene der personalen Vereinigung der beiden Naturen in Jesus Christus. Das Ereignis der Inkarnation macht die Rolle der Menschheit Christi im Erlösungswerk sichtbar. Es bringt die radykale Selbsthingabe des Menschen an den sich selbstmitteilenden Gott zum Ausdruck. Der heutige Mensch verwirklicht sich (erlöst sich) dank sejner Transzendenz zu Gott, die in Jesus Christus den absoluten Ausmaû erreicht hat. Das Emporsteigen des Menschen als transzendetalem Wesen zu Gott ist keine Autosoterie, sondern vollzieht sich seitens Gottes, der sich dem Menschen mitteilt und auf diese Weise zu seinem Erlöser wird. Zurecht bemerkt also Rahner, dass die Relevanz der Menschheit Jesu darin besteht, dass Gott durch den Gott-Menschen erlöst, d.h. „im Menschen erlöst”, wie die Römische Schule lehrte.
La teologia praticata nella Chiesa, e sotto la sua direzione, deve avere sempre la coscienza della responsabilit della fede di tutto il Popolo di Dio, e per questo deve adoperarsi di tale insegnamento che non trasgredisce alla dottrina della fede. Non viola questo ± evidentemente ± la libertà della ricerca teologica. Questa libertà dovrebbe però realizzarsi nell’ambito della fede della Chiesa, su cui l’integrità vigila il suo Magistero. Così praticata la teologia può dare il contributo alla formazione cristiana degli studenti. Benchè la teologia possiede il posto privilegiato e responsabile nella formazione dei candidati al sacerdozio, tuttavia non può essere trattata oggi come il privilegio riservato ad essi, alle suore o ad alcuni solo laici, che si preparano all’insegnamento della religione nelle scuole pubbliche. La pastorale accademica, parrocchiale, diocesana, nazionale, come anche internazionale, nella sempre più unita l’Europa, e la collaborazione nell’ambito della ricerca alle nostre facoltà teologiche ed universitarie, dovrebbero fare il fondamento della nostra comune riflessione. La proposta delle aperte lezioni e conferenze alle facoltà teologiche, anche per gli studenti delle altre facoltà universitarie, potrebbe risultare utile per fare l’unione dei differenti ceti sociali, che rimanevano più di una volta chiusi nei propri circoli. Non si può dimenticare, che gli odierni destinatari del messaggio cristiano hanno la loro comprensione culturale ed il loro modo di pensare modellato da una mentalità scientifica e tecnica, che tende a pervadere la pluralità delle culture, che pretendono di appagare i bisogni dell’uomo. In questo contesto, la teologia si sente particolarmente chiamata ad affrontare a livello critico-scientifico il dialogo con la cultura e la scienza, nella convinzione che un messaggio che non si incarna in una cultura storica non viene seriamente accolto. Negli ultimi anni in Polonia, quando si nota la seria apertura delle universit statali alla teologia, si è creato un clima do reciproca stima e ci sono realizzati tanti concreti progetti di collaborazione. E tutto questo è stato possibile fare, perchè alla base di entrambi istituzioni esiste la profonda convinzione, che la teologia, con il suo speciale oggetto di ricerca, esercita il completamento della formazione umana, intellettuale e cristiana dell’uomo.
Der Autor ist Begründer eines originalen Personalismussystems. In der Abhandlung erklärt er sich für die Verwendung der maximalistischen Philosophie, darunter auch des Personalismus in der systematischen Theologie als Lehre vom Glauben. Er weist weittragende Bedeutung des Personalismus in der Hermeneutik Joh 1, 14 auf und macht einen Entwurf des Personalismus in Neigung zur dogmatischen Theologie, die heutzutage vom Reismus abgehen muss.
Chodziło w naszym studium o pytanie: jakie są granice rozumu w teologicznym poznaniu Boga? Do granic formalnych, to znaczy takich, które wynikają z samej natury teologii należą: pośredni charakter poznania Boga, uwikłanie języka teologicznego w immanencji, brak samowystarczalności rozumu jednostki wobec eklezjalnego charakteru poznania. Z kolei treściowe ograniczenia rozumu ukazują się w ontologicznych twierdzeniach teologii pozytywnej, w przeczeniach teologii negatywnej i w darze mistycznego zjednoczenia.
W konfrontacji z całością przesłania o Bogu niesionego w tradycji chrześcijańskiej, teologia katafatyczna domaga się pomocy dwóch dróg poznania: apofatycznej i mistycznej; teologia w trudzie ogarnięcia całego depozytu wiary przy pytaniu o Boga własnym dynamizmem odsyła od twierdzeń o Bogu do wycofania ich stanowczosści i do przyjęcia daru przemiany umysłu. Zatacza się w ten sposób krąg hermeneutyczy, by stanąć znów u początku drogi, która "od wiary wychodzi i ku wierze zmierza" (Rz 1,4).
Ścisłe powiązanie teologii z mistyką sprawia, że teologia nie powinna być pojmowana jako aktywność jedynie niektórych wiernych w Kościele. Myślenie o Bogu, będące jednocześnie intelektualnym zgłębianiem, modlitwą i pragnieniem stanowi sam rdzeń życia chrześcijańskiego. Każdy z tych elementów może odgrywać różną rolę w podprowadzeniu do zjednoczenia. Ważne jest jednak podkreślenie niezbędności poznania intelektualnego w tym procesie.
The author of the article presents theology of the word in a new light by putting together three categories which explain one another: the word, the person and the symbol. In order to bring closer together the theological perspectives of the Catholic and Protestant theologies, the former being associated with theology of the sacrament and the latter with theology of the word, the author uses many examples from the Bible to show that the word was equated with the personal act of God or even with the Person of the Word as shown in the New Testament. The word incarnate by its united humanity and divinity performs the function of the symbol in the Revelation which (according to a contemporary definition) is a synthesis of what is visible and spiritual, what is divine and what is human, etc. A surplus of meaning is a characteristic feature of the symbol; consequently, it always opens us to a mystery. This suggestion makes it possible to bring together theology of the sacrament and theology of the word. A real criterion of this connection is the Person of the Pre-Symbol.
The author of this article refers to Husserl’s principle that every science should be justified by the experience appropriate to itself, and also refers to the recognition of as many types of experience as there are types of reality. Thus, the author proves in his article that through the power of Christian Faith, Hope and Love and through the power of the gifts of the Holy Spirit we are capable of meeting God who manifests Himself and redeems us in the Mystery of Christ. The author also points out that this specific visuality of Faith, Hope and Love with the sensations of the actions of the Holy Spirit form the basis of Christian Experience, common and mystical. The Christian Experience defined in such a way should be the source of theological cognition in general and be the source of academic cultivation of principal and formal theology. Theology that has its source in such an experience should also be verifiable by the criterion of such an experience. In this sense, Christian Theology is not a rationalistic and naturalistic inference from the Texts of the Holy Bible and Magisterium Ecclesiae, but is a formal explication and interpretation of the aforementioned Christian Experience. The author also argues that the ecclesiastical characteristics of Christian Experience excludes its individualistic perception and does not diminish the role of Magisterium Ecclesiae in the fact of the experience itself and the cultivation of Theology as the explication and interpretation of experience.
The purpose of the present article is to show the link between apology and the Christian testimony of faith. The author points to those moments of testimony which are characterised by justification, substantiation and thus apology of faith. He does not, therefore, talk about the apology of testimony as something additional, supposed to authenicate the testimony as it were beside it, but about a reality essentially connected with the testimony and pertaining to its nature. The subject in question is presented in three points: the apologetic dimension of the testimony of Jesus of Nazareth, the apologetic character of the permanent testimony of the Church, and the recognition and motivational effectiveness of the Christian testimony of faith.
Im zweiten und dritten Jahrhundert nach Christus hat die Auseinandersetzung mit dem Gnostizismus den Anstoß zur Entwicklung der Kirchentheologie gegeben. Wir können das am Beispiel der Theologie von Iraeneus von Lyon beobachten. Seine Polemik hat zur Präzisierung der Kirchenlehre über den Kanon der Heiligen Schrift, des Begriffes der Tradition und der amtlichen Lehre geführt. Typische Probleme der theologischen Diskussion des zweiten Jahrhunderts, wie etwa die Bedeutung des Alten Testamentes für das Christentum und der Auferstehungsglaube, deutlich polemisch gefasst, wie die Auferstehung des Leibes oder die soteriologische Bedeutung des Todes Jesu, waren die Ergebnisse des Kampfes mit Gnostizismus.
Author of the article makes an effort to prove, that the main questions and problems, that emerge in the contemporary eschatology and at the same time considered as the new one, were formulated a way earlier, in the teaching of the Fathers of the Church. Unfortunately, the patristic eschatology shall be still counted among the number of less researched branches of theological knowledge. However, in the patristic sources we can find theses, including original and innovative standpoints of the Fathers in the eschatologically fundamental questions. They concern: 1) the interpretation of the human souls fate directly after death and the issue of judgement (the convergent statement is, that the soul itself recognizes and estimates the state of its likeness to Christ); 2) the interpretation of happiness of the delivered until time of the resurrection of the bodies (the essence of the happiness is sojourning with Christ); 3) the interpretation of the purgatory (purification, which is, maturation in love); 4) the interpretation of a possibility of permanent souls separation from God (a question of eternity of the infernal punishment, leading to the theory of apokatasthasis); 5) the interpretation of visio beatifica (contemplation and perception of the nature of God). The conclusion is, that in the trends of contemporary eschatology the reflection as well as development of Fathers of the Church teaching on "the last things" is significantly represented.
For this reason the present paper is first illustrating the evolution of thought ± from hagiography to hagiology. The question is articulated about the justified legitimacy of the introduction of the notion of "hagiology". The distinctness of the subject of research, which itself often demands application of the new methods, certainly proves the right to introduce the notion of "hagiology" into hitherto existing hagiographical researches. Having this on mind, the next question arises: how far the subjects of hagiology and hagiography converge between themselves? If holiness as a God’s gift has always points towards man, then in some regard the subject of hagiography coincides with that of hagiology. Introducing more precise distinctions, one should say that the exact meaning of "hagiography" would designate the popular biographies of saints, "scientific hagiography" would indicate the biographies of the saints, whose life has been investigated on the basis of formal criteria accepted by Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Hagiology instead would mean the realm of the knowledge, which in scientific way examines the sources and elaborates the main issues concerning holiness. It seems that more important difference can be seen in the methodology of researches themselves than in the subject of hagiography and hagiology.
The popular narration, used often by chroniclers in the biographies of the saints, should be rather replaced by more objective and scientific narration. In order to create the scientific narrations hagiologist should acquire comprehensive knowledge, which covers a large range of scientific subjects: the Bible, Tradition of the Church, hagiography, spiritual theology, liturgy, history of the Church, psychology, etc.
It is why the present paper subsequently shows the relations between hagiology and the above mentioned theological and humanistic subjects. Author is aware that the connection between hagiology and the others scientific disciplines is much wider and calls for more extensive studies. It can be said that the above paper is a small compendium in the examined subject and recognises the need to carry on further studies in this field.
Studiando le vicende della spiritualit polacca si pu notare che fin dallinizio, cio dal momento dellinserimento della Polonia nellEuropa cristiana, erano presenti in essa alcune correnti della spiritualit europea. Un forte influsso sulla nascita e sullo sviluppo della spiritualit polacca avevano gli ordini religiosi. Tra le dimensioni della spiritualit europea coltivate in Polonia una particolare attenzione merita la dimensione cristocentrica e mariana.
Polish authors have made a considerable contribution to the formation and development of the Theology of Spirituality that has become a separate subject of ecclesiastical studies since 1931. In the Middle Ages the eminent Polish theologians were Mateusz of Kraków (+1410) and Jakub of Paradyż (+1464). They visited Germany and Czech where their works gained some recognition. Confessio Fidei Catholicae Christiana (Moguntiae 1557) by Stanisław Hozjusz (+1579) is one of the most important works of the modern times, written in Latin, published 39 times during the authors life. The contents of the work influenced the attitudes of the people of those times. Christocentrically directed spirituality is represented by Stanisław Sokołowski (+1593) and Kasper Drużbicki (+1662). Many important thoughts on spirituality, especially on Catholic mysticism, come from Mikołaj of Mościska (+1632). The very first treatise on Ascetic and Mystic Theology is Summarium Asceticae et Mysticae Theologiae (Cracoviae 1655). Grzegorz Terecki (+1659) also skilfully combined ascetism and mysticism in his Directorium Spiritualis Vitae Fratrum Eremitarum Ordinis Sancti Pauli Eremitae (Cracoviae 1649). The Cistercians played the significant part in the propagation and development of the Theology of Spirituality: Michał Antoni Hacki (+1703) and Feliks Simplex Łącki (+circa 1700) together with Stanisław Papczyński (+1701) and Florian Jaroszerwicz (+1771). Notwithstandingly, the writings of Polish Resurrectionists, especially by Piotr Semenenko, greatly enriched Catholic Spirituality. Many works of importance for the development of the Theology of Spitituality were written in more recent times including 20th century. Józef Sebastian Pelczar (+1924), Aleksander Żychliński (+1945), Józef Puchalik (1958), Antoni Słomkowski (+1982) and Stanisław Witek (+1987) are important authors whose works cast new light on the problems of spiritual life and ensured the deserved position for the Theology of Spirituality among the theological disciplines.
This topic of the research was basically not undertaken yet in the theological literature. St. Faustina offers a definition of sanctity and shows its development till the point of achieving a mystical union. It is mystical sanctity, therefore, which ultimate norm is the unity with Jesus. In this line, Faustina trusts that God’s Mercy will make her holy. In this context we can understand that it was merciful holiness expressed by receiving mercy and rejecting sin. Christ is introducing her in the Mystery of His Passion. Pasha of the sanctity which is achieved by the Christian through the bond with Jesus, causes diving in His death and vocation to life in His resurrection. Therefore, it is a paschal sanctity. According to that, the paschal Mystery makes up the center of the mystical life of St. Faustina. This results that she puts heavy accent on this mystical union with Christ’s suffering, with His death on the Cross. She discovers her calling to sanctity under the influence of Pasha as a call to become a holistic victim offered to God. This work of sanctity we can call the Mystic of the merciful sanctity. And Faustina writes about this too, and not only about the Mercy.
The Pope John Paul II was recognized as a great master of a propagated word. Each of his homilies radiated faith and living affection, profound essence and considerable oratorical technique. He could fill a homily with a word of a personal profession of faith and testimony, he could give a speech using a creative and dialogical language and in the world becoming more and more secularized he could be a prophet, thus a witness of the Invisible God.
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