Teacher: Prof. Dr. Iva Beranek IVA BERANEK 

Justification

“In our generation when [people] continue to be afflicted by acute hardships and anxieties arising from the ravages of war or the threat of it, the whole human family faces an hour of supreme crisis in its advance toward maturity. Moving gradually together and everywhere more conscious already of its unity, this family cannot accomplish its task of constructing for all [people] everywhere a world more genuinely human unless each person devotes [themselves] to the cause of peace with renewed vigor. Thus it happens that the Gospel message, which is in harmony with the loftier strivings and aspirations of the human race, takes on a new luster in our day as it declares that the artisans of peace are blessed “because they will be called the [children] of God” (Matt. 5:9).”[1] Vatican II, Pastoral Constitution, Gaudium et spes (GS) 77

Goals

We will explore spirituality & practices of reconciliation in order to enrich student’s own spirituality and encourage personal growth and commitment to peace.

Content

Language and definitions, difference between forgiveness and reconciliation, exploring the work of Miroslav Volf, Thomas Merton & St. John of the Cross, inner reconciliation, contemplation as a means of reconciliation, application and pastoral approach.

Method

Zoom live sessions, lessons with dialogue and personal study.

Criteria for evaluation

Written paper (4-6 pages) submitted for evaluation.

Time distribution

12 hours in class, personal readings, preparation of the written paper or oral examination.

Essential bibliography

• Merton, T., New Seeds of Contemplation (London: Shambhala, 2003).
• O’Donoghue, N. D., Lovelier than the Dawn: Four Meditations on the Mystical Teachings of St. John of the Cross (Dublin: Carmelite Centre of Spirituality, 1984).
• Schreiter, R. J., The Ministry of Reconciliation: Spirituality and Strategies (New York: Orbis Books, 2005).
• Stevens, D., The Land of Unlikeness: Explorations into Reconciliation (Dublin: The Columba Press, 2004)
• Volf, M., Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996).
• Volf, M., The End of Memory: Remembering Rightly in a Violent World (Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006).
•  

[1] https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html. Accessed on 3rd June 2022.