Spiritual communion as a response to hunger for Christ

2021 ◽  
pp. 000332862110571
Author(s):  
Ruth A Meyers

The health restrictions required by the COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible for many people to receive communion, creating profound spiritual hunger for many who are accustomed to receiving communion regularly. One option is the practice of spiritual communion, which may include a prayer of intent in times when a Christian is unable to receive the sacrament. This article explores theological foundations for this practice and its roots in Christian tradition, and the use of this devotional practice by congregations during the pandemic.

1996 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 399-426
Author(s):  
Brian Stanley

In August 1841 George Spencer, great-grandson of the third Duke of Marlborough and second Bishop of Madras, entertained two house guests in his residence at Kotagherry. Both were seeking admission into the Anglican ministry. One was an Indian, a former Roman Catholic priest who had begun to question the catholicity of the Roman communion, had joined himself for a while to the American Congregational mission in Madura, but had eventually reached the conclusion, in Spencer’s words, that ‘evangelical doctrine joined to Apostolic Government were only to be met with in indissoluble conjunction with the Church of England’. Bishop Spencer, while keen to employ the Indian as a catechist, felt it premature, ‘in a matter of such importance’, to receive him as a presbyter, even though the validity of his orders was unquestionable. The Indian is not named in the records, and it would appear that he never became an Anglican priest.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-179
Author(s):  
Jimmy Boon-Chai Tan

This article is an account of the teaching and practice of a course on Christian spirituality and ministry at Trinity Theological College in Singapore. It introduces the design of the course, discuss its theological foundations and practicums, and explains how it is delivered and assessed. The course adopts a historical-theological approach to the introduction of Christian spirituality and traces its development from the early church until the Protestant and Catholic Reformations. It introduces spiritual exercises from each epoch of the Christian tradition and engages the student in their practice through week-long practicums. An important feature lies in the immediacy of feedback given to the student after they submit a reflection on their practicums. The course has been taught as a three-credit hour, sixteen-week semester-long course each academic year for the past three years. The students come from a broad range of nationalities and cultural contexts, as well as from different stages of life and denominational backgrounds. The course contributes to an overall emphasis on Christian spiritual formation at the college.


ASHA Leader ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (19) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary M. Annett
Keyword(s):  

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (10) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
ROXANNA GUILFORD-BLAKE
Keyword(s):  

2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Walach ◽  
Stefan Schmidt ◽  
Yvonne-Michelle Bihr ◽  
Susanne Wiesch

We studied the effect of experimenter expectations and different instructions in a balanced placebo design. 157 subjects were randomized into a 2 × 4 factorial design. Two experimenters were led to expect placebos either to produce physiological effects or not (pro- vs. antiplacebo). All subjects except a control group received a caffeine placebo. They were either made to expect coffee, no coffee, or were in a double-blind condition. Dependent measures were blood pressure, heart rate, well-being, and a cognitive task. There was one main effect on the instruction factor (p = 0.03) with the group “told no caffeine” reporting significantly better well-being. There was one main effect on the experimenter factor with subjects instructed by experimenter “proplacebo” having higher systolic blood pressure (p = 0.008). There was one interaction with subjects instructed by experimenter “proplacebo” to receive coffee doing worse in the cognitive task than the rest. Subjects instructed by experimenter “antiplacebo” were significantly less likely to believe the experimental instruction, and that mostly if they had been instructed to receive coffee. Contrary to the literature we could not show an effect of instruction, but there was an effect of experimenters. It is likely, however, that these experimenter effects were not due to experimental manipulations, but to the difference in personalities.


Crisis ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Chen ◽  
Brian L. Mishara ◽  
Xiao Xian Liu

Background: In China, where follow-up with hospitalized attempters is generally lacking, there is a great need for inexpensive and effective means of maintaining contact and decreasing recidivism. Aims: Our objective was to test whether mobile telephone message contacts after discharge would be feasible and acceptable to suicide attempters in China. Methods: Fifteen participants were recruited from suicide attempters seen in the Emergency Department in Wuhan, China, to participate in a pilot study to receive mobile telephone messages after discharge. All participants have access to a mobile telephone, and there is no charge for the user to receive text messages. Results: Most participants (12) considered the text message contacts an acceptable and useful form of help and would like to continue to receive them for a longer period of time. Conclusions: This suggests that, as a low-cost and quick method of intervention in areas where more intensive follow-up is not practical or available, telephone messages contacts are accessible, feasible, and acceptable to suicide attempters. We hope that this will inspire future research on regular and long-term message interventions to prevent recidivism in suicide attempters.


Crisis ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Rodi ◽  
Lucas Godoy Garraza ◽  
Christine Walrath ◽  
Robert L. Stephens ◽  
D. Susanne Condron ◽  
...  

Background: In order to better understand the posttraining suicide prevention behavior of gatekeeper trainees, the present article examines the referral and service receipt patterns among gatekeeper-identified youths. Methods: Data for this study were drawn from 26 Garrett Lee Smith grantees funded between October 2005 and October 2009 who submitted data about the number, characteristics, and service access of identified youths. Results: The demographic characteristics of identified youths are not related to referral type or receipt. Furthermore, referral setting does not seem to be predictive of the type of referral. Demographic as well as other (nonrisk) characteristics of the youths are not key variables in determining identification or service receipt. Limitations: These data are not necessarily representative of all youths identified by gatekeepers represented in the dataset. The prevalence of risk among all members of the communities from which these data are drawn is unknown. Furthermore, these data likely disproportionately represent gatekeepers associated with systems that effectively track gatekeepers and youths. Conclusions: Gatekeepers appear to be identifying youth across settings, and those youths are being referred for services without regard for race and gender or the settings in which they are identified. Furthermore, youths that may be at highest risk may be more likely to receive those services.


2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 312-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gadi Maoz ◽  
Daniel Stein ◽  
Sorin Meged ◽  
Larisa Kurzman ◽  
Joseph Levine ◽  
...  

Psychopharmacological interventions for managing aggression in schizophrenia have thus far yielded inconsistent results. This study evaluates the antiaggressive efficacy of combined haloperidol-propranolol treatment. Thirty-four newly admitted schizophrenic patients were studied in a controlled double-blind trial. Following a 3-day drug-free period and 7 days of haloperidol treatment, patients were randomly assigned to receive either haloperidol-propranolol or haloperidol-placebo for eight consecutive weeks. Doses of medications were adjusted as necessary; biperiden was administered if required. Rating scales were applied to assess aggression, anger, psychosis, depression, anxiety and extrapyramidal symptoms. The mean daily dose of haloperidol was 21 mg (SD = 6.4) in the research group and 29 mg (SD = 6.9) in the controls. Mean and maximal daily doses of propranolol were 159 mg (SD = 61) and 192 mg (SD = 83), and of placebo, 145 mg (SD = 50) and 180 mg (SD = 70), respectively. Compared with the controls, the scores for the research patients decreased significantly from baseline, particularly after 4 weeks of treatment, for some dimensions of anger, psychosis, anxiety, and neuroleptic-induced parkinsonism. A tendency for reduced aggression was shown in the combined haloperidol-propranolol group for some dimensions but not others. These patients also required significantly less biperiden. The tendency toward elevated antiaggressive effect of combined haloperidol-propranolol treatment compared to haloperidol alone may be explained by a simultaneous decrease in aggression, psychotic symptomatology, and anxiety.


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