Regis College - Masters Theses

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    Building Hope in the Cameroonian Church: Constructive Insights from Pastoral Theology
    (2024) Younkam Wandji, Pétain Ravel; Schner, Joseph; N/A
    In most developing countries like Cameroon where peace is threatened by war, many people are homeless and traumatized. Pastors are among the first persons to whom Christians seek assistance. In some cases, pastors have little or no understanding of pastoral theology and how it can be used to assist parishioners find hope. To assist the pastors, this thesis seeks to find out: how can pastors build hope in parishioners? As a pathway, this thesis explores how Jesus’ redemptive suffering contributes to a theology of hope in the midst of great sufferings. The findings suggest Positive Psychology as means through which each individual explore his/her strengths and talents in the implementation of a pastoral theology of ministry. Pastors should focus on their strengths rather than failures in building hope among their suffering parishioners and encourage them to look up to the cross always to remember this great sacrifice for their salvation.
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    Reimagining the Church in Africa: Toward an Ecclesiology of Action
    (2024) Kimario, Mark Constantine; Wood, Susan; Theology
    The post-synodal apostolic exhortation, Ecclesia in Africa, by John Paul II, becomes an important document for the Church in Africa as it attempts to delineate the self-understanding and mission of the Church in Africa. Through the exhortation, the notion of the Church as God’s family is acknowledged and considered as an expression of the nature of the Church, particularly appropriate to Africa. The Church as God’s family has dominated the contemporary ecclesiological debates in Africa. However, epistemic challenges at the heart of this ecclesiology prevent it from becoming a relevant and credible contextual ecclesiology in Africa. This thesis offers a paradigm shift from the ecclesiology of family to ecclesia actionis, which sees the Church as action and in action. Through Eucharistic solidarity, as its Christological underpinning, the new ecclesiology becomes paramount in developing a new perspective in economics from the Church’s viewpoint, capable of addressing the problem of poverty and underdevelopment in Africa.
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    Spiritual Direction in the Ignatian Tradition: A Practical Way of Encouraging Personal Intimacy with God
    (2024) Hwang, Byung-Chul; Schner, Joseph G.; Theology
    This thesis explores spiritual direction in the Ignatian tradition as a practical way for one to deepen their relationship with God, focusing on the role of a spiritual director. It takes a historical and contextual approach in examining arguments in Catholic theology of grace as regards personal experience of God in the world. It illustrates how Ignatian insights from the Spiritual Exercises can be used in accompanying people to discern God’s presence in their lives. It also explores a spiritual director’s role drawing insights from the Spiritual Exercises. Findings reveal that spiritual direction in the Ignatian tradition, through its emphasis on discernment of spirits and the acknowledgment of God’s inherent grace in creation, offers a structured approach to people who want to experience strong intimacy with God.
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    Becoming God’s Own: A Trinitarian Exploration of Pauline Adoption in Christian Theology
    (2024) Paraan, Robbie John Paolo Balagot; Goulding, Gill K.; Theology
    Paul uses the metaphor HUIOTHESIA to describe the status of baptized Christians as adopted children of God. While this uniquely Pauline term is borrowed from the Roman legal system, Paul’s Jewish roots inform his use of this simple yet profound theological metaphor. The Christian doctrine of adoption signifies that God—as Father, Son, and Spirit—bestows on the baptized the saving gift of being welcomed into God’s family, drawing Christians to participate in the work of salvation, and allowing them to enjoy the riches of God’s kingdom. The imprint of the Trinity is discernible in the act of adoption: the Father chooses those to be adopted, the Son mediates the grace of divine filiation, and the Holy Spirit testifies to this core reality of being made sons and daughters of God. The theologies of Karl Rahner, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Pope Francis deepen this Trinitarian exploration of HUIOTHESIA.
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    The Salvific Efficacy of the African Indigenous Religions: With Special Reference to the Waaqeffanna Religion
    (2024) Gelato, Burka Usura; Abrahim, H. Khan; Theology
    In Christianity, Salvation is understood as the deliverance from sin and its consequences, and admission to eternal life brought about through the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, while for the African Indigenous Religions (AIR), it is related to protection from dangers that threaten individuals and/or both communities. Thus, Salvation is perceived as a concrete event, and “is never experienced once and for all or awaited at a futuristic eschaton, but rather [it is] encountered and experienced situationally and in context.” In an attempt to understand the doctrine of Salvation, this thesis asks: Do the AIR, the Waaqeffanna Religion (WR) in particular have salvific efficacy? The thesis argues that the AIR have salvific efficacy, and therefore, WR is salvifically efficacious. Besides, the AIR’s doctrine of Salvation is compatible and has significant implications for the Christian doctrine of Salvation. Furthermore, both the aforementioned religious traditions believe that the grace of God and human efforts are required for Salvation. Drawing attention to the Catholic teachings such as Lumen Gentium (LG), Gaudium et Spes (GS), Nostra Aetate (NA), and the works of Laurenti Magessa, Charles Nyamiti, and John Mbiti, the thesis explores how the doctrine of Salvation is understood by the AIR and the Catholic Church.
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    The Practice of Spiritual Poverty in the Paintings of Fra Angelico, Caspar David Friedrich and Mark Rothko: A Necessary Artistic and Spiritual Response to Their Times
    (2022) Scott, Trevor Erland; Stoeber, Michael; Theology
    This thesis seeks to question the ongoing effectiveness of the Christian art tradition in prayerfully engaging Western society today. This thesis believes it has attempted to reimagine and remake God in our own image, in contrast to an imaginative reflection on how we are a reflection of God. Our sense of the infinite and mysterious aspects of God / the Absolute / the Transcendent has been weakened through our anthropomorphic imaginative tendencies that have disposed us more towards a finite God that is rooted in anthropomorphic imagery. Western artists such as Fra Angelico, Caspar David Friedrich, and Mark Rothko have not been so beholden to inherited Christian imagery. These artists have helped to give renewed pastoral meaning to imaginative experience more respectful of the infinite and mysterious aspects of God’s presence. Their imaginative dispositions and practices can help us grow more deeply in our faith and prayer through richer experiences of imagination.
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    The Rhetorical Structure of Bonaventure's Theological Anthropology in his Sunday Sermons
    (2022) Lalonde, Adam Joseph; Worcester, Thomas; History
    This thesis aims to demonstrate how Bonaventure constructs his Sunday sermons according to a classic Christian exitus-reditus scheme and offer insights into the purpose of the sermons. The first part examines the structure of Bonaventure's theological anthropology through his wider corpus to understand elements of order, resemblance, the powers of the soul and the Dionysian ascent. It then argues that Bonaventure uses a threefold divisio in the sermo modernus style to convey this and exhort the reader to the reditus. To this end the second part of the thesis analyzes Bonaventure's Sunday Sermons to demonstrate how Bonaventure employs the resonance between the threefold structure of the human soul and its Trinitarian origin for this protreptic purpose. This illuminates the complex interweaving of the threefold Augustinian powers of the intellectual soul and the Dionysian threefold ascent in Bonaventure's protreptic end. An appendix includes all themata and divisiones of the Sunday sermons.
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    Integral Ecology in Pope Francis’ s Laudato Si’: The Meaning of the Papal Category of Integral Ecology for the Haitian Context.
    (2023) St Louis, Jean Bertin; Koster, Hilda P.; Theology
    Haiti is facing an unprecedented ecological crisis today. This crisis appears at the level of climate change and by the loss of biodiversity among others. Many scientists and world religious leaders have started to respond more effectively to this pressing issue. Pope Francis raises his voice in an impactful way, inviting everyone to ecological conversion and to frankly dialogue about caring for our common home and protecting the planet. Beginning with the “The Legend of the Hummingbird” this paper frames the project into its eco-theological and ministerial context. This legend teaches in a poetic way the lesson of the consequences of remaining inactive in the face of the alarming situation happening to our common and shared home. We all are part of God’s creation, called to be in just and loving relationship while becoming more present to ourselves and the human and more-than-human neighbors with whom we are deeply connected.
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    From a Complex to a Constructive Dialogue: Haitian-Voodoo and Christianity
    (2023) Paul, Gerard Myriam; Ryan, Gerard J.; Theology
    The Voodoo-Catholic relationship in Haiti remains complex because of different factors imbued with prejudices and misunderstandings. This study is dedicated to revealing these factors by exploring the possibility of a complex interfaith dialogue between Voodooism and Christianity. It proposes a new pastoral way of proceeding that brings together the idea of dialogue between the Haitian Voodoo and Christianity proposed by Laënnec Hurbon and the pastoral initiative concerning cultures articulated by Pope Francis in Fratelli Tutti. This thesis is a theological analysis of what a Haitian interfaith Voodoo-Catholic dialogue would entail. It proposes a move from a complex dialogue to a constructive one in exploring and suggesting contexts for dialogue and encounters that promote understanding, mutual respect, and recognition for human flourishing in Haiti.
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    Emmanuel Lévinas’ Transcendental Ethics as a Support for Liberation Theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez in the Promotion of Solidarity with the Poor
    (2023) Luc, Pierre Edward; Dias, Darren; Theology
    This thesis demonstrates how the transcendental ethics of Emmanuel Lévinas can deepen our understanding of what Gustavo Gutiérrez describes as solidarity with the poor. The first chapter explores Gutiérrez's approach to solidarity with the poor as a way of responding to God's gracious love and participating in the transformation of the lives of the poor. The second chapter presents Lévinas's transcendental ethics and his position by putting ethics as the first philosophy. Lévinas focuses on the face of the other, which calls forth and commands the "I". The third chapter draws on Alain Mayama`s work, which engages Lévinas in a dialogue with liberation theologians. This chapter compares Gutiérrez's and Lévinas's thoughts on the authority of those who suffer, and their respective positions on solidarity with the poor. The thesis concludes with an invitation to promote solidarity with the poor as a contribution to the realization of the Kingdom of God.
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    A Cultural Perspective for a Spiritual Ecumenism in Africa
    (2023) Ibhakewanlan, John Okoria; Wood, Susan; Theology
    The “union of all who believe in Christ” remains an ever-urgent call of the Second Vatican Council. While the Council advocates “whatever can promote the union of all who believe in Christ”, it seems the Church in Africa has not adequately taken a more specifically cultural perspective towards achieving the ecumenical unity sought by the Council. This thesis appreciates the fact that there has been much work done in Africa by way of institutional ecumenism. However, it questions the institutional approach as not going far enough in exploring the primary place of the cultural belief in spiritual agency among Africans. This research study offers an alternative by first evaluating some historical attempts by theologians in and on Africa to understand the African church through cultural frames of reference. It argues that what is further needed in the ecumenical project is a more culturally responsive approach. The study explores this alternative cultural approach and offers a specific spiritual dimension termed Costheanthropism (which refers to the anthropocentric, theocentric and environmental/cosmic realms in a unity of relationship) as a contribution towards ecumenism.
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    Toward a Theology of Inculturation in a Haitian Context
    (2023) Guerrier, Jean Francky; Dadosky, John D.; Theology
    This thesis focuses on some elements from Bernard Lonergan’s Method in Theology to address the theme of “inculturation of the gospel in Haiti.” Core elements from the Haitian history and culture such as the practice of the Vodou religion, have been highlighted to advance a mutual mediation between church, gospel, and culture; separating “church” from “gospel” means that the former represents the faithful, in particular their leaders who carry out or communicate the latter. Indeed, the gospel, which is the good news of salvation for all, has the power to provoke positive changes in Haiti if the Haitian people is open to the Transcendent. The latter can enable good discernments that will adapt the Christian narrative to the Haitian one. Therefore, the beauty of the cross, which is an expression of the Christian aesthetics, would allow the Haitian individual to embrace the beauty of their history and reality amid death and chaos.
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    Eschatological Hope as Christian Witness in the Context of the Togolese Church
    (2023) Djore, Nabine; Ryan, Gerard J.; Theology
    By his death and resurrection, Christ accomplished the salvation of the world once and for all. In faith, Christians have the assurance of their salvation in Jesus Christ and wait in hope to share in eternal life in God’s kingdom. However, this salvation is still to be sought via the choices we make out of love for God, for the good of all and of creation, resulting in a tension between the already and not-yet. This dynamic is both a permanent and open tension that must be conciliated in the existential, social and political realities of the everyday. God does not save people from the world or existential realities, but he does save them in and through them. Thus, this thesis is based on the contextual experience of the Church in Togo. It explores eschatological hope in the light of Werner G. Jeanrond’ theological treatment of hope and argues that such hope is not to be understood as a passive expectation but rather as an ongoing commitment of faith to the transformation and preservation of the people of God and our common home. To this end, this thesis proposes a recontextualisation of eschatological hope by prioritising ortho-praxis over orthodoxy through ecclesia accompaniment.
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    The Life and Mission of Constant Lievens, SJ: Justice and Emancipation of the Adivasis of Chotanagpur
    (2019-05) Kiro, Roshan; Dias, Darren; Theology
    This thesis addresses the practice of missiology. A specific historical example of the Adivasis of Chotanagpur in Northern India has been chosen as the context. This study centres around the introduction of Christianity to this people during the nineteenth century. It identifies the Adivasis in their social, historical, religious and political realities. The missionary activity of Father Constant Lievens becomes the central focus for this project. Lievens’ preoccupation with justice leads the study to an examination of contemporary contextual missiology. Rooted in the documents of the Second Vatican Council and using Stephen Bevans’ understanding of models of contextual theology, the study will identify issues of justice, mutual collaboration and respectful dialogue as essential to a contemporary contextual missiology.
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    Holy Words: Recovering St. Pierre Favre's Liturgical Spirituality
    (2021) Cortese, Matthew; Goulding, Gill; Theology
    This thesis argues for the centrality of the liturgy in the spiritual life, and spiritual journal, of Pierre Favre—first companion of Ignatius of Loyola and first priest of the Society of Jesus. Favre’s liturgical spirituality, as it might be called, has two main foci: the Eucharist, which was the “fount” and “summit” of his daily prayer, and the Liturgy of the Hours, the “holy words” that “attuned” his heart to his “voice” for the sake of interiorization. This discussion concludes by presenting two implications of Favre’s liturgical practice: the contemporary relevance of Favre’s exhortations to liturgical reform, and the inspiration his example provides for twenty-first century practitioners of Ignatian spirituality.
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    Egyptian Revolution January 25th, 2011 A Sign of Hope: Reading of the Revolution through the Hermeneutics of Liberation Theology.
    (2021) Tawadraus, Mario Boulos Guindi; Dias, Darren; Theology
    After ten years it has become important to focus on the Egyptian Revolution, which occurred on January 25, 2011 and the connections to liberation theology. This analysis addresses aspects of the Egyptian political and social context, including the reasons for the January 25, 2011 revolution. In addition, it examines the thoughts of Gustavo Gutiérrez and other liberation theologians, and how these can be applied to the Egyptian context. This thesis is a theological analysis of an historical event. It aims to explore how this revolution reflects the principal elements of liberation theology, the conscientization of the people, and the liberation rather than the development of people in the Global South and the Kingdom of God and how these oppose the Anti-Kingdom. This paper describes the struggle of the Egyptian people against the sinful structure of society and their hope to establish God's Kingdom, an ideal society, in modern Egypt.
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    Discerning the Meaning of Being as Love: How Prayer Preserves Thought from Ideology according to Ferdinand Ulrich
    (2020) Van Alstyne, Robert; Goulding, Gill; Theology
    This thesis offers an interpretation of Ferdinand Ulrich’s metaphysical anthropology in order to argue that prayer helps preserve thought from ideology. Out of fear that the gift of being will be withheld, reason is tempted to cling to it by treating it as though it were a substance. Whenever thought proceeds from such hunger, attempting to mediate being dialectically, it inevitably falls into ideology. By praying, however, one receives being as a gift, realizing the existential truth of Aquinas’ teaching that being is a simple fullness precisely as nonsubsistent, a unity of wealth and poverty. By fostering the disposition of a kenotic freedom that gives itself away gratuitously, prayer enables thought to carry out its task of properly enacting the ontological difference between being and beings. As an alternative to dialectical mediation, Ulrich thus proposes a prayerful thinking as thanking for being as God’s gift of love.
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    Natural Knowledge of Creation from Nothing
    (2020) Hincks, Adam Douglas; Rixon, Gordon A.; Theology
    The doctrine of creation from nothing (or ex nihilo) affirms the complete dependence of all being on God. It derives from the biblical principle of God’s perfect sovereignty, but is often articulated in metaphysical language. This prompts the question of whether it is a truth that can in principle be demonstrated by human reason, like the existence of God, or whether it is strictly revealed. We explore the doctrine’s theological roots, study its dogmatic definitions and develop a systematic articulation of its metaphysics, in order to examine it in light of the teachings of Vatican I on natural knowledge of God and the relation between faith and reason. We argue that creation ex nihilo can be known by human reason, but that this knowledge is embedded in a context of moral responsibility and religious faith.
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    "Die Unvordenklichkeit der Liebe": Hans Urs von Balthasar's Dionysian Response to German Phenomenology
    (2020) Grodecki, Christopher; Goulding, Gill; Theology
    This thesis argues that Hans Urs von Balthasar responds to Martin Heidegger’s philosophy by using the theological tradition associated with Pseudo-Dionysius and creates a theological discourse that is resonant with both the Catholic tradition and phenomenology. It first identifies particular themes in Balthasar’s theological discourse that reflect his appropriation of the philosophical language of Martin Heidegger. It then examines the way in which those themes in Heidegger are secularised versions of Meister Eckhart’s theological language. Elucidating the relationship between Eckhart and Heidegger provides fresh insight into Eckhart’s ambiguous place in Balthasar’s theology. By interpreting Meister Eckhart as a theologian in the Pseudo-Dionysian tradition, one comes to see that Balthasar’s apparently Heideggerian language is better understood as Eckhartian. The conceptual resonances between the three figures raise doubts about Heidegger’s attempt to separate philosophy and theology and raise new questions for on-going discussions concerning the relationship between phenomenology and Christian theology.
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    Paul's transformation and how it has shaped his Christology and Pneumatology
    (2019) Ransome, Steve; Lewis, Scott; Biblical
    Paul had a revelation of Jesus Christ, according to Galatians 1:15-17. This thesis will examine how this experience resulted in Paul's transformation, rather than his conversion. Transformation is preferred since Paul still retained aspects of his Jewish identity, by assimilating his past beliefs, to inform his later understanding of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Yet, since Paul was transformed and a new Christ identity emerged, he gained new insights to these old concepts of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Using the exegetical method to look at the Pauline letters, the thesis will uncover a patchwork of the old and the new but moreover, the Galatian letter will reveal that after Paul's transformation, he no longer understood his Christology and his Pneumatology to be separate studies but he wrote in a way that suggested he saw Christ and the Holy Spirit as one. The ultimate fruit of Paul's transformation.