Increased pastoral and theological attention to the vocational implications of baptism is sorely needed. As a small contribution to this conversation, this article will examine the insights of young Catholics and their self-described "former Catholic" peers (ages 15-29) regarding key aspects of the Christian life. These insights offer a foundation for evolving understandings of baptismal identity at both the center and the margins of the church. Two recent efforts to formally solicit the opinions of young people will be examined. They are the Pre-Synodal preparations for the 2018 Synod on Young People and the recent study, published by Saint Mary's Press in collaboration with the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) under the title Going, Going Gone: The Dynamics of Disaffiliation in Young Catholics. The responses from these young people, placed in conversation with recent theological work on baptism and the lay vocation, offer possibilities for consideration as Catholics ponder the changing demographics of the Church. The conclusion will argue for the urgent necessity of listening to these voices and will suggest that a mystagogical approach offers one helpful path towards a deeper understanding and practice of the baptismal vocation.
Theological and evolutionary anthropological analysis of the role of song in human and (some) animal communication can help to expand our understanding of the ways that language functions as mediator of the divine-human relationship. This article considers the role of a musical protolanguage in the evolution of human language, demonstrating the connections between contemporary human language and the songs or calls of other animals. Consideration of the broader category of communication in the place traditionally held by a more narrow understanding of language can help to highlight the role that emotion, instinct, and relationality play in the relationship that humans have with God. Such a realization opens the doors to further theological questions about the role of humanity in a suffering creation, the relationship between God and nonhuman creatures, and the role of song in liturgical celebration.
contemporaries found pathological and L. deems problematic-is not only the path to finding one's true self but also the secret to the deepest possible delight in God. In L.'s view, what makes these figures unique is the way by which they coupled self-denial with pleasure and as ultimately life-giving. Both had become God's apostolic brides.Schurman enjoyed the distinction of being Europe's first female university student and the most renowned woman theologian of the 17th-century Netherlands. Because of her rejection of the sterile academic theology of Protestant Scholasticism (which she had mastered and continued to use against opponents) and of her joining the Labadist cult to focus on true theology, that is, a deeply felt experiential knowledge of Christ and God, she fell into disfavor in Calvinist circles, yet remained influential, especially among German Pietists and beyond.Guyon was neither a trained academician nor a lover of books but had certainly imbibed from mystical authors respected in her day. However, she claimed that her teachings flowed from the illumination of the Holy Spirit alone. Her writings attempted to teach everyone, without distinction, the true way of knowing God, with an emphasis on self-annihilation as the key to intimate prayer. L. correctly understands that her language is erratic, extreme, and difficult to digest. For example, her commentary on the Song of Songs focused on becoming a dead bride to be loved by the bloody bridegroom of death-for which she was charged with teaching spiritual necrophilia. Condemned by the Catholic Church and jailed in the Bastille before being exiled, she nevertheless maintained a loyal following and remained influential, especially in non-Catholic circles.Especially impressive are the perceptive questions L. asks of these figures. One example: Did Guyon ascribe more to the bride of Christ than the tradition does to Christ himself? Confusing, however, is the imprecise use of the terms "pleasure," "joy," "bliss," "intimacy," "delights," and "happiness" by both L. and the two mystics.
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