The Bhagavad Gita and the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

The Bhagavad Gita like the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola leading to spiritual enrichment points out of a meeting of heart and mind between two texts. The essence of the spirituality of the Bhagavad Gita, like the spirituality of Ignatius is the vision of God. Its spirituality is oriented towards God above the world as well as within it. Both texts offer a parallel insight for deep and authentic happiness building up a life towards God and in God. Even though the Bhagavad Gita and the Spiritual Exercises play different qualitative rolls in its own traditions, both agree that only those who have God above the visible world are able to experience God vice-versa. The quest to have God experience is an exercise involving conscious effort and constant attentiveness.

Polish Catholic Religious Culture in the Post-Tridentine Era

This article presents Catholic religious culture in Poland in post-Tridentine era. It takes into account one of the manifestations of change taking place at the time, namely a dynamic development of male and female religious orders. The article shows the connection between the intensification of religious life and the development of ascetic and mystical theology resulting from the general renewal of Catholic theology. The influence of the Jesuits on the spirituality of female orders as well as their role in introducing the practice of methodical mental prayer is highlighted. The impact of Spanish spirituality on Polish religious life after the Council of Trent is also emphasised, with special attention drawn to Saint Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuits, Saint John of the Cross and the Discalced Carmelites, Saint Theresa of Ávila and her Discalced Carmelite nuns, Louis of Granada with the Dominicans, and Saint Peter of Alcántara, one of the founders of the Franciscan Friars of the Strict Observance. Polish Catholic religious literature of the post-Tridentine era is also reflected upon, including ascetic and mystical writings adopted from Italian and Spanish religious literature.

Philosophy and Theology Together: Karl Rahner’s Way of Thinking

Karl Rahner’s thinking can be understood by looking at several of its coordinates. First, it unfolds in close connection with the fundamental dynamics of human existence (thinking with a reference). Second, it is prompted by a personal and immediate experience of God, namely, the one of the author himself (thinking with a motivation). Third, it is influenced by the spirituality of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (thinking with an inspiration). Fourth, it aims to show the reasonableness and, therefore, the credibility of the Christian faith (thinking with a purpose). Fifth, it is guided by intellectual honesty that leads to facing reality without reduction or concealment (thinking with an attitude). Finally, it combines philosophy and theology, more precisely, treats philosophy as a necessary moment in theology (thinking with a method). Karl Rahner is remembered for operating the “anthropological turn” in theology. This means that, in his view, one should not reflect on God without reflecting on the human being as well. Rahner is particularly interested in examining the human’s ability to receive what comes from God’s self-revelation. It is an aspect that gives occasion to the discussion that Hans Urs von Balthasar has with him. At the heart of Rahner’s anthropology is the “transcendental experience”. It is originated by the absolute mystery that is present in human existence, precisely that mystery that Christians call God. It is such a fundamental experience that it must be taken into account when leading one’s own existence.

Big data: the end of the scientific method?

For it is not the abundance of knowledge, but the interior feeling and taste of things, which is accustomed to satisfy the desire of the soul.(Saint Ignatius of Loyola).We argue that the boldest claims of big data (BD) are in need of revision and toning-down, in view of a few basic lessons learned from the science of complex systems. We point out that, once the most extravagant claims of BD are properly discarded, a synergistic merging of BD with big theory offers considerable potential to spawn a new scientific paradigm capable of overcoming some of the major barriers confronted by the modern scientific method originating with Galileo. These obstacles are due to the presence of nonlinearity, non-locality and hyperdimensions which one encounters frequently in multi-scale modelling of complex systems.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Multiscale modelling, simulation and computing: from the desktop to the exascale’.

Desiring and Being Desired by Christ: Sebastian Moore’s Notion of Desire in Dialogue with Ignatian Spirituality

This article explores the Christian theological work of Sebastian Moore O.S.B. and his notion of human desire as the existential point of impact or subjective dynamics where a human being may discover a call to communion in Love, a presence of the Creating God himself as hidden source of joy and fulfilment, attracting a person to his or her ultimate meaning. Human desire is, in its deepest reality, the emergent presence of the Self as gift. This gift is attracted, oriented, healed and liberated by the presence of Jesus and the discipleship that he awakes in every one of those to whom he revels himself as the Loving other. Desire is, therefore, considered an ontological and theological via to access and undergo the transformative three-phased process of union to God or divinization, following Jesus’ destiny: an awakening, an emptying and a fulfilling of desire. A conscious and consented transformative union ( théosis) may occur, in desire, between God and a human person. Moore’s Christian spiritual itinerary of transformation of human desire is, in a second moment, paralleled with the experience of prayer and transformation that are the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. We draw attention to the fact that the Christian spiritual itinerary exposed in Moore’s theology of desire is strikingly interlocked with the structure and key theological moments of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises.

Silesian Library in Katowice and Its Collection

The Silesian Library in Katowice is a public library with a scientific profile which also performs the functions of a regional library. It was founded in 1922 as the Library of the Silesian Parliament and in 1936 became an independent institution named Józef Piłsudski Silesian Public Library. In 1952, the Library received the name Silesian Library and was proclaimed a scientific library. Today the collection of the Silesian Library counts more than 2.5 million items: books, periodicals, social life documents as well as special collections: manuscripts, old prints, cartographic materials, graphics, leaflets, music, records and films. Among them are many very valuable and a few unique ones, like Exercitia spiritualiaby Saint Ignatius of Loyola (Amacusa 1596) and Jakob en zijn Heer by Diderot (Hague 1793). A lot of items from the collection of the Silesian Library can be seen in their digital version via the Silesian Digital Library.

Introduction

This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the importance of education for the Society of Jesus. Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, intended Jesuit education to be free and open to all social classes and saw it as an important contribution to the “common good” of society. Before long, the Jesuits created a worldwide network of colleges and universities anchored in a humanistic education and a common concern for the moral development of students. The chapter then describes the Immigrant Students National Position Paper, a study of the situation of undocumented students at the twenty-eight Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States and the institutional practices that affect those students. This book on undocumented students at Jesuit institutions of higher education in the United States expands upon the work of the Immigration Student National Position Paper.