Rahner might actually be talking to you in your dreams
By Deacon Hall • Nov 20th, 2009 • Category: engagingThis site needs some Catholicity, and Rhaner’s here to give it! That is, Karl Rhaner, a famous Jesuit theologian who died in 1984, just might actually be haunting you in your dreams. But given the hearsay that the man used to fall asleep during his own lecutres, you probably haven’t noticed him.
Regardless of the guy’s speaking ability, he has an extremely interesting philosophical and sacred theology. For the first, he employs what’s called transcendental method, combining the phenomenological insights of Heidegger with the metaphysical insights of Aquinas. His conclusion? You are, as a person, an orientation toward the divine mystery, created to listen for and to that Word when spoken. Try this video out and tell me you don’t want to read more!
Deacon Hall is currently working toward a PhD in utter frivolity. He spends his spare moments immersed in a dark world of angst and ennui, and the rest of his time learning what those words mean from his overlords.
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Yes, I would like to hear more about Rahner. Most folks when they hear the word Catholic they immediately turn from it. Yet it has been my experience that we can and must listen as they have much to teach us. I have learned much from some of the greats and some of our more moderns such as Henry Nouwen, Thomas Keating, and many others.
“You are, as a person, an orientation toward the divine mystery, created to listen for and to that Word when spoken.”
I believe this with all my heart. In the video we hear that one central theme of Rahners is; that to be human is to be reaching out toward God, a transcending towards God as God is always there. God is not something or someone that we can get a hold of but as we go about our daily life, God is with us and when we simply make ourselves available to God we have experices that can never be taken from us. We can have these experiences any place and any time, not just in church or taking communion, etc.
Grace must shape us. It must be in our own experiences and in our giving. We must offer Grace to others that both they and we can understand what it is all about. Grace is far more than just receiving or feeling something when we participate in the taking of communion or when we have a tragedy and feel and know God’s presence. Grace must shape us and be part of our everyday living, giving and receiving.
It was stated that we must do things differently, not be trapped in the old ways. This is what I to believe. I do not forsake the past and what I once believed, I have only added to it. My beliefs have been and still continue to be shaped daily. In my meditating and writing I try to articulate my beliefs not necessarily in concepts but in ways of articulating and living out what I have found to be true and think that is true, based on experience and affectiveness.