Regis College - Doctoral Theses

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A Comparative Study of the Jesus Prayer of Hesychasm and Samatha-Vipassanā Meditation: Juxtaposing Christian “Watchfulness” with Buddhist “Mindfulness” in Healing
(2024) Simon, Hajati; Dadosky, John; N/A
The significant growth in the spread of mindfulness meditation and other mindfulness practices over the past few decades has generated excitement and apprehension for many, including Christians. Some Christians desire the physical and mental health benefits of mindfulness yet proceed with caution because of its secularized form and/or Buddhist origins, preferring to find a parallel spiritual practice within Christianity. This thesis presents the Jesus Prayer of Hesychasm of Eastern Christianity as a feasible alternative to mindfulness practices for Christians. It establishes that the essential elements that make up contemporary mindfulness meditation––an embodied spiritual practice with a constant awareness of the object of one’s attention––are present in the Jesus Prayer of Hesychasm, even when the spiritual or faith understandings of the two ancient traditions are incompatible. It also advances the identity of Jesus Christ as the Divine Healer––offering a parallel interpretation of him as the Redemptorist Saviour––and Christianity as a healing religion. For this task, the dissertation will engage the historical-critical and the comparative theology of textual and praxis comparison methodologies to demonstrate that Buddhist samatha (calm/ concentrative) and vipassanā (insight/mindfulness) meditations find counterparts in Eastern Christianity’s hesychia (inner stillness) and nepsis (watchfulness) spiritual exercises before proceeding to discuss the Jesus Prayer, the heart of hesychasm. The significant similarities between hesychia-nepsis and samatha-vipassanā allow scientific research on mindfulness’s health benefits to be a proxy for hesychastic spirituality. The Jesus Prayer of Hesychasm accommodates Christians who prefer an embodied, non-discursive contemplative prayer, especially those who prefer to remain within the framework of purely Christian spiritual exercises. This dissertation also provides constructive comparisons for Christians who feel at home with Buddhist meditation, as they can find a similarity with Buddhist meditative practices in Christian philokalic tradition.
Exploring the Image of Mary as Bridge-Builder (Pontifex) for Contemporary Contextual Theology
(2024) Li, Fiona May Kay; Dadosky, John D.; N/A
In this dissertation I propose that the image of Mary as bridge-builder (Pontifex) is a relevant model of inculturation for Canadian-born Chinese Roman Catholic women (CBC-RC women). First, I establish the insufficiencies in both the popular image of Mary as mother and existing ethnic depictions of Mary, such as Our Lady of La Vang and Our Lady of China/Donglu. This is done through looking at the works of feminist theologians and “inculturationist” theologians, respectively. While the first investigation reveals patriarchy and gender essentialism as key contributors to the unrelatability of Mary by groups of women more generally, the latter exploration affirms the need for religious teachings and figures, such as Mary, to be fully immersed in the local culture. If the image of Mary is not fully reflective of the culture of the local women, she cannot fully understand their sufferings and provide helpful solutions. I present the image of Mary as Pontifex to the reader by examining the different ways Mary acts as a bridge-builder in both the Gospel narratives and in Roman Catholic tradition. Mary, as an advocate for humanity, bridges between humanity and the divine, and as a mediator of God’s Will and Word, she bridges between the divine and humanity. Drawing on linguistic and sociological works on child-brokering (children who translate and interpret language and culture for their immigrant parents), I demonstrate how CBC-RC women as child-brokers also participate in bridge-building as mediators and advocates, not unlike Mary as Pontifex. Mary as Pontifex can become an inculturated model for CBC-RC women because she and CBC-RC women participate in bridge-building and the “both-and” culture, and Mary as Pontifex can address CBC-RC women’s experiences of intersecting systems of oppression.
Faster, Stronger, More Ethical?: Moral Enhancement and Christian Virtue
(2024) Buttrey, Michael James; Berkman, John; Theology
Moral enhancement is a term coined in the early 2000s to describe hypothetical medical techniques for enhancing moral behaviour, character, and/or decision making. In this dissertation, I draw on research on human enhancement, neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics, the rationality of evil, and disability studies to put moral enhancement into a broader conversation about moral improvement. I argue that although neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics provides a more robust and nuanced account of moral improvement than the blunt biological reductionism of moral enhancement, Thomistic emphases on the evolution of virtue, flexibility of reason, and inherent human dignity are needed to overcome neo-Aristotelian virtue’s idealization of rationality and related exclusion of those with disabilities. I first present and then critique three positions in the broader human enhancement debate, identifying divergences over the recognition of historical parallels and respect for human embodiment. Second, I use arguments from the human enhancement debate to develop internal critiques of moral enhancement, evaluating moral enhancement proposals by Ingmar Persson and Julian Savulescu, Thomas Douglas, Barbro Fröding, and Mark Walker. Next I show the costs of Persson and Savulescu’s neglect of history and vagueness about terms, especially their failure to specify the balance of self-regard and other-regard in altruism. I then turn to neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics as a contrasting account of moral improvement. I argue Julia Annas’s intelligent virtue illustrates flaws in Fröding’s claim that stable character does not exist and Walker’s reduction of virtue to genetically influenced behaviour, while Rosalind Hursthouse shows the implausibility of Douglas’s proposal to treat individual counter-moral emotions. To critique both moral enhancement and neo-Aristotelian virtue's confidence in reason, I use John Howard Yoder’s rationalizations of abuse to support Candace Vogler’s work on the rationality of vice. Finally, I argue that the elevation of rational autonomy in both moral enhancement and neo-Aristotelian virtue licenses the exclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. I conclude with a set of constructive criteria for a future, better account of moral improvement than that offered by current moral enhancement proposals.
The Many Clothes in Mary's Closet: Popular Piety Toward Inter-Cultural Communion
(2023) Rogers, Michael Joseph; Goulding, Gill; N/A
“The Many Coats in Mary’s Closet” traces how the practices of popular religiosity in the Catholic Church can lead us to better understand what Pope Francis means when he talks about “synodality.” Tracing how popular religiosity emerges out of the meeting of distinct cultures, moments of meaning violations, ruptures in justice in our society, and how it can lead to the formation of new cultures which can speak to the Church as a whole, this work seeks to express some of the many ways that the Spirit speaks through the people of God. Making use of the methodological approaches of the social sciences in the context of the Catholic theological tradition, the work seeks to reflect on how common experiences of lived expressions of faith can lead to greater dialogue, both across cultures in the Church and between the laity and hierarchy to help forge a Church which can truly understand itself as “synodal,” as able to walk together.
A Comparative Study of Themes in Christian and Buddhist "Mysticism": Evelyn Underhill and D. T. Suzuki
(2023) Kim, Taehoon; Stoeber, Michael; N/A
This dissertation examines comparatively central issues and themes in Christian and Buddhist mystical traditions, with special reference to the works of Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941) and D. T. Suzuki (鈴木大拙貞太郎; 1870-1966). They were contemporaries and pioneering thinkers in constructing modern views of “mysticism,” which is defined generally as intuitive and unitive experiences of ultimate Reality that transform the mystics’ life. Comparative research questions include the nature of: mystical experience, Reality, contemplative disciplines and dynamics, relations between spiritual transformation and morality, and doctrinal foundations and influential figures in contemporary Christian-Zen Buddhist dialogue. The thesis gives special attention to how the two religious traditions are mutually developed and enriched by such comparative study, and its methods include developments from Donald Mitchell, Michael Washburn, and significant New Comparative Theologians. Attention is given to tracing significant shifts of positions between the early and later writings of Underhill and Suzuki, in concluding that this comparison of modern mystical theology and experience offers an open, positive, and mutual comprehension of religious phenomena found in traditions other than Christianity. While acknowledging dissimilarities between their own Christian and Zen contemplative tradition and other religions, they begin to creatively integrate some apparently contrasting dimensions, challenging conceptual and religious biases in spiritual theologies, practices, and dialogue.
An Action Research Towards Developing Educational Strategies for Filipino Catholics in Response to Call to Action 59
(2023) Lao, Patricia Lourdes Navarra; Reynolds, Thomas; Centre for the Study of Ministry
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) gave its final report, including 94 Calls to Action. This made the truth and reconciliation process more prominent in Canadian society. One of these calls, the Call to Action 59, urges the church to develop education strategies related to issues brought to the fore by the TRC, specifically colonization and the residential schools. While there has been visible engagement with the TRC from the majority white settler population, there is less from the visible minorities. This thesis project utilizes action research to address this lacuna and explores prospects for the shaping of a social justice program with the Filipino Catholic Community that is culturally relevant. It aims to provide educational resources that are meaningful and relatable to them, given that the history of Filipino immigration in Canada is relatively recent. The data for this project was collected through survey questionnaires, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions involving Filipino Catholics residing within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Toronto. The findings of this study suggest there is a high level of awareness amongst this Filipino Catholic Community of Indigenous peoples and justice issues, with a lower level of practical engagement in the truth and reconciliation process. Barriers to practical engagement include low socio-economic status, infrequent interactions with Indigenous persons, lack of resonance with mainstream white-centred narratives on reconciliation, membership to the Catholic Church. The colonial experience of Filipinos, which is different from Indigenous peoples in Canada and the settler colonial situation, nuances their response in the truth and reconciliation process. The study also proposes the Filipino cultural values of kapwa and bayanihan as potential foundations of solidarity and relationship-building with Indigenous peoples. In the end, this thesis suggests that Filipino Catholics might engage in reconciliation with Indigenous peoples not merely because of reparation but rather by means of ethical considerations based on the cultural value of kapwa and bayanihan. These findings will be helpful in crafting a suitable educational program intended for Filipino Catholics, in order to enable practical engagements with the work of truth, reconciliation and healing with the Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island.
Marriage and Family Life: A Study of Filipino Transnational Couples Reunited in Toronto
(2022) Dayot-Nepomuceno, Gracie Victoria; Schner, Joseph; Theology
In response to high divorce rates, civil unions and pre-marital cohabitation, the Roman Catholic Church recognizes the need for a more relevant pastoral approach to helping married couples. This thesis incorporates a perspective of Roman Catholic pastoral teaching which has a holistic view of the human person, as called to transcend oneself for the sake of others in the face of the prevailing challenges of individualism and materialism. The research is guided by the call of Pope Francis, to help couples focus on “concrete realities” and to avoid presenting “a far too abstract and almost artificial theological ideal of marriage, far removed from the concrete situations and practical possibilities of real families.” In this study, a case study approach is used to test the hypothesis that church group membership, such as that provided by the Movement for Marriage Enrichment (MME), helps couples maintain a stable marriage. It focuses on the lived experience of six couples who are members of the Movement for Marriage Enrichment (MME) a Roman Catholic pastoral support group, and who had been separated by overseas employment and then reunited in Canada. Multiple sources are used for data collection: couple interviews; follow-up interviews for verification and clarification, as well as field notes and observations. Findings of this study support the hypothesis that church group membership, such as that provided by the MME, helps couples maintain a stable marriage. The present study also provides insights into what constitutes the effective approach to providing pastoral care for married migrant couples and their families, called for by Pope Francis at the 2015 Fourteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. In its final report, the Synod emphasized that to be effective, pastoral activity must not only take cognizance of the socio-cultural context of married migrant couples but be implemented with due respect for the human and religious formation from which they come, and for the spiritual richness of their rites and traditions, even by means of a specific pastoral care.
Gifted Beyond Reason, Affected By Grace: Human Action, Passion, and the Gifts of the Spirit in Thomas Aquinas
(2022) Marcelli-Chu, Monica; Berkman, John; N/A
In this study, I consider the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the thought of Thomas Aquinas in relation to the categories of human action and passion in order to provide a constructive account of moral agency that broadens understanding of human action. I begin with the contemporary moral landscape as presented by Charles Taylor and Oliver O’Donovan, and argue for the significance of spontaneous judgment in moral agency. Following their critiques of reason and virtue in modern ethics, I present the gifts of the Holy Spirit in Aquinas, patterned especially on passion-movement, as a counterbalance to virtue-formation that decenters deliberative reasoning and the act of choice. The study of Aquinas begins with an exploration of the passions of the sensitive appetite in relation to reason and virtue, and as reflective of an interlocking pattern in the hierarchy of created beings. I then present the meaning of the term “passion” as it extends into movements of will, as affection and as a mode of action. Noting that receptivity is commonly signalled by the term “passion,” I present the moral and spiritual significance of this receptive ground of human activity, beginning with an emphasis on amor in intention. In the third chapter, which focuses on the passion and gift of fear, I present the relationship between fear and love as concretizing the centrality of affectivity for the transformation of the human person as she grows in imitation of Christ. The centrality of amor is made explicit as the sign of freedom in human agency. In the fourth chapter, the internal call of justification as modelled on passion-movement confirms the significance of voluntary inclination, namely, the intending of love, as the paradigm for free human activity in the order of grace. The gifts of the Spirit in comparison to the virtues, I argue, correspond especially to passion-movement, wherein the human person is given an intention as moved to it by the instinct of the Holy Spirit. In this way, the centrality of reasoning is displaced by an affectivity that reflects the love and knowledge of God made within the person.
Exploring the Contributions of Bernard Lonergan and Peter Phan to a Christian Trinitarian Approach to Religious Pluralism
(2022) Lee, Siu Mui; Dadosky, John D.; N/A
This dissertation offers an extended engagement with the works of Bernard Lonergan and Peter Phan as they pertain to Christian Trinitarian understandings of religious pluralism. Phan proposes that the doctrine of the Trinity is the unifying principle for Christian theologies, including a theology of religions. This thesis suggests that this Trinitarian framework can be found in Lonergan’s systematic thought in (i) his development of two psychological analogies; (ii) his articulation of the divine missions as extensions of the divine processions, albeit with created external terms; (iii) his discussion of mutual-indwelling and perichoresis; and (iv) his proposal of the four-point hypothesis on human participation in the Trinitarian life through grace. Furthermore, his transcultural anthropology and theology of religions have much to contribute to a contemporary understanding of religious pluralism. However, without active engagement in interfaith dialogue, his comments on religions focus on common characteristics and remain general. Lonergan admits that besides seeking generalization, it is also important to understand the particular. Phan offers resources for complementing the insights of Lonergan. Taking into account the religiously pluralistic context in the post-Vatican II era, he proposes that Divine Spirit (God as spirit) is the foundation of a theology of religions. He also sees the value in the teachings of other religions and the often-neglected voices of the poor. With appropriation of their views, Phan proposes several Christologies for alternative understandings of Jesus Christ from an interreligious perspective. He also elaborates on an Asian pneumatology which begins from below—from our reflections of the signs of the Spirit to discern the presence of the Spirit in various religio-cultural traditions. By making connection among the various themes inherent in their works and bringing to light their commonalities and differences, this thesis explores an integral account of the Trinitarian approaches of Lonergan and Phan to religious diversity in a Post-Vatican II context. One complementary difference is Lonergan’s universalist view of religion and Phan’s attention to the particular context of religious plurality in Asia. Other aspects of comparison include their views on psychological analogies and the divine missions of the triune God.
What Do You Seek? Pastoral Accompaniment of Immigrant Filipino Couples Living Together in A New Union
(2020-05) Cena, Bobby; Schner, Joseph; Centre for the Study of Ministry
The phenomenon of couples living together in a new union is a reality that dates back to the Patristic period. It has been discussed before. However, never before has it caught the attention of the Roman Catholic Church and the interest of the world the way Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia did. This research investigates in-depth the lived experience of immigrant Filipino couples about the phenomenon. Employing the phenomenological transcendental method of Clark Moustakas, nineteen clustered textural themes and four structural themes emerged. These themes show that couples in a new union live a life of fear, feeling guilty and helpless in the situation judged by most in the Church as sinful and by their Filipino culture as shameful. The growing secular and relative mentality today undoubtedly bring some comfort to their complicated life in a new union. Their Filipino cultural upbringing, however, keeps them from totally embracing these modern-day trends and practices. Although guilty, ashamed, and helpless – even afraid because of the Church’s teaching on adultery and hell – most couples are surprisingly happy and contented, even grateful to the Lord, believing that God gave them to each other. They are also unexpectedly prayerful, devoted, and faithful to the Church's beliefs and practices, especially in the celebration of the Holy Mass. The couples are also notable in their faith, hope, and love. Their faith in the compassion and mercy of God keeps their hopes high that their new-found love will one day find acceptance in the Church. The three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love are God’s undeniable testimony of His presence in these couples. This feeling of God’s presence helps them keep their faith, and from being crushed by the doctrinal, catechetical, social, and cultural pressures. Immigrant Filipino couples living together in a new union seek to set things right. Like lost sheep, they expect pastors to patiently search for them and compassionately bring them back to the Church, the family of God whose house is always their home because it is not only sacramental marriage that is definitively indissoluble; Catholic baptism is irrevocably permanent, too.
Trinitarian Love Communicated by Christ: A Reading of Charity in Thomas Aquinas’ Lectura Super Ioannem and Summa theologiae
(2021) Chu, Zane Ernest; Mongeau, Gilles; N/A
This thesis investigates the mature thought of St. Thomas Aquinas on charity as expressed in the Lectura Super Ioannem and Summa theologiae. I approach Aquinas as a master of the sacred page and Dominican educator in order to disclose the priority of Scripture and theology in his teaching on charity, and I show that his understanding of charity emerges from and is thoroughly informed by Scripture and has clear and essential Trinitarian and Christological dimensions. I read the two texts as efforts of sacra doctrina, which aims to communicate the truth of Christian faith contained in sacra scriptura, and I draw attention to their literary composition and pedagogical elements within the Dominican educational setting of the 13th century. The texts are related according to the first two of three tasks of the master of the sacred page, namely, reading, disputing and preaching. The Super Ioannem shows Aquinas’ thought on charity emerging from Scripture in a foundational and complex unity, and the Summa theologiae shows this same thought placed within a scientific order of teaching. The biblical commentary provides a proper interpretive context for the scientific presentation, but both texts also contain ample development on the topic of charity that I compare and synthesize. By sustained attention to the composition, pedagogy and relation of these texts, within the priority of Scripture and theology, I show that they manifest an ordered communication of charity from the Trinity in itself, through the Incarnation and to us. For Aquinas, charity is a gift and perfection from Christ that incorporates us into himself and his passion and resurrection so that we may participate in Trinitarian love. Uniting us in love to God, charity conforms us to the love of the Son and the Father, the Holy Spirit who proceeds as their unitive love. As the Scriptural commandment to love God and neighbour, charity signifies mutual love, which is a friendship communicated in and through Christ that makes us like the Son and the Father through their Spirit who empowers and moves us to love virtuously for our ultimate end.
Can a Child Choose Death? Childist Ethics in Light of Terminal Illness and Euthanasia
(2019-11) Boeré, Robyn; Berkman, John; N/A
In this dissertation, I explore the issue of euthanasia in light of the theological ethics of children. This project begins with a consideration of who children are, since children with life-limiting illness and disability are first and foremost human beings, little people living in the world. I look to theology of children, child ethics, disability and feminist theory, philosophy, theological ethics, and bioethics to form a broader consideration of end-of-life decision-making and child euthanasia in light of what it means for children to be subjects and moral agents. In this dissertation, I argue that that in the same way children do not live a humanity separate from that of adults but are fully human, so too children participate in the same moral worlds as members of human communities even before they are aware that these communities (or morality) exist. In other words, children are moral agents. This agency is grounded in their ability to make meaning, to act, to imitate, to use language creatively, to grasp a plurality of meaning, to reach judgments, to contribute to the meaning of others, and to shape their understanding, grounded in intersubjective subjectivity, and grounded in a particular story: where subjectivity, agency, and wholeness is found in the Trinitarian God in whose image we are made. In light of this, I will argue that children can die a good death, and that they can and should have a voice in their end of life care; we ought to be honest with them and include them in decision-making. They can make real and meaningful choices around death. But to include children as moral agents requires changing how we understand moral agency and personhood, which in turn undermines the liberal, individualistic, autonomous premises of arguments for euthanasia.
Reading with our Foresisters: Aguilar, King, McAuley and Schimmelpenninck—Early Nineteenth-Century Women Interpret Scripture in New Ways for New Times
(2019) Davis, Elizabeth Mary; Taylor, Marion; Biblical
Biblical hermeneutics today is marked by increased attention to women’s experience and voices in interpretation, the illustration of alternatives to the historical-critical approach to create a plurality of interpretation as the interpretive norm, exploration of the social location of earlier interpreters, determination of authority for biblical interpretation, and expansion of hermeneutics to include praxis (a manifestation of embodied or lived theology). This thesis shows that these elements are not completely new, but they are actually embedded in scriptural interpretation from two hundred years ago. The exploration of the biblical interpretation of four women—Grace Aguilar, Frances Elizabeth King, Catherine McAuley and Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck—who lived at the same time in the early nineteenth century in the same geographic region and who represent the spectrum of readers of the Bible, concludes that the interpretive works of these four women were prototypical of and anticipated these elements. To guide this exploration, the thesis appropriates the construct of the hermeneutic triangle, examining the social location of the four women, their texts about the Bible and the hermeneutic by which they interpreted the biblical texts. In so doing, it shows that these women, from very different religious traditions, intentionally used the Bible to bring about social change and intuitively used the Bible to legitimate their authority to do so.
An Exigence for the Other: Exploring Intersubjectivity through Lonergan, Levinas, and Girard
(2018) Bajzek, Brian Leo; Dadosky, John; Theology
This thesis explores intersubjectivity’s often-overlooked impact upon the drama of human progress, decline, and redemption. First, I establish Bernard Lonergan’s account of subjectivity and self-transcendence as a base for analyzing intersubjectivity’s integral role in the operations of consciousness, communal self-constitution, and socio-cultural development. I then suggest that Emmanuel Levinas offers resources for expanding Lonergan’s account of intersubjectivity by illustrating its inherent link to an ethics of alterity. Next, I outline René Girard’s work with acquisitive mimesis, exploring how his writings unmask the many ways interdividuation and pre-thematic rivalry can distort intersubjectivity, connecting his work to Lonergan’s account of bias. Contextualizing the decline resulting from such disorder as a series of crises of meaning, I argue that John Dadosky’s post-Lonergan development of a fourth stage of meaning provides necessary resources for overcoming relational crises and decline. I then undertake my own exploration of the fourth stage of meaning, relating the interdependent principles of alterity and similarity to intersubjectivity and its role in the healing and elevation of humanity’s relational capacities. Lonergan’s Four-Point Hypothesis provides a framework for understanding and fostering humanity’s cooperation with this healing and elevating love, and my thesis’ concluding section resources this hypothesis to argue that our principal participation in God’s meaning in history—the meaning that overcomes evil with love—is itself an imitative participation in God’s love. This love reintegrates and reorders the “prior ‘we’” of intersubjectivity in conformity with the divine “We” of the Triune God.
Music as "Sacramental": Foundations for a Theology of Music in the Spiritual Life
(2018-09) Labriola, Christina; Goulding, Gill; Pastoral
This thesis seeks to present a theological basis for the significant role of music in the encounter with God, by way of the Catholic spiritual tradition. It argues that musical experience, in its appeal to the entirety of the human person, is readily able to serve as a means of God’s self-revelation and a medium of grace, readying those who engage in it to encounter the divine, and possibly becoming, in and of itself, a locus of that encounter. The way in which music functions as sacramental is upheld by its participation in the mysteries of beauty and of human creativity, and ultimately undergirded by the Incarnation. This dissertation contends that the spiritual resonance of music is grounded in, as well as reveals afresh, the sacramental world in which we live. Further, this project grants music a pastoral value, in claiming its capability, allied with beauty, to contribute to our spiritual formation in Christ, commissioning us in the Christian vocation to love. Taking a thematic approach, this study employs Catholic theology and spirituality as a framework by which to understand and incorporate the potentiality and relevance of music in the life of faith. The conclusion of each chapter discusses particular pieces of music that serve to apply and to deepen the theological insights that went before. Chapter 1 takes sacramentality as a starting point, proposing that the dynamic of music-making is an echo of the sacramental cycle of receiving-offering-receiving anew. Chapter 2 moves to a consideration of the Incarnation, perception via the spiritual senses, and music’s relationship to the body. Chapter 3 pursues beauty as a transcendental property of Being and music’s role in bearing the beautiful. Chapter 4 examines contemplation, employing the musical metaphor of "listening" to the life of prayer. Finally, Chapter 5 posits the repercussions of music’s sacramentality for our relationship with God and neighbour, i.e., the fruitfulness of Christian discipleship that finds its ultimate model in the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Thomas Merton’s Encounter with Buddhism and Beyond: His Interreligious Dialogue, Inter-Monastic Exchanges and Their Legacy
(2018) Park, Jaechan; Dadosky, John; Pastoral
This thesis explores Thomas Merton’s role as a pioneer of Buddhist-Christian dialogue and monastic interreligious dialogue by: 1) delving into the process of Merton’s self-transformation through contemplative experiences; 2) exploring his encounter with Zen and Tibetan Buddhists and his pioneering engagements in Buddhist-Christian dialogue; 3) presenting and responding to the criticisms of those who raise questions about Merton’s understanding of Buddhism; 4) studying his inter-monastic exchanges with Buddhists at the level of contemplative dialogue; and 5) presenting the ways in which Merton’s pioneering legacy continues in the ongoing Gethsemani Encounters and monastic exchange programs as well as in intra-religious dialogue in an Asian monastic context. Through the lens of Zen, Merton saw the value and possibility of “contemplative dialogue” between monastics and contemplatives of different religious traditions, those men and women who look primarily to a transformation of human consciousness and a spiritual awakening from within their respective traditions. With regard to the future, he hoped that through contemplative dialogue, monastics would strive for “intermonastic communion” and a bonding of the broader “spiritual family” and thus become witnesses of the fundamental unity of humanity to a world that was becoming ever more materialistic and divided. More recently, Eastern and Western monastics have appropriated Merton’s example as they engage in dialogue with each other in various monastic exchange programs, such as those organized by Dialogue Interreligieux Monastique/Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (DIMMID). His legacy of contemplative dialogue can be expanded to Raimon Panikkar’s understanding of “intra-religious dialogue” at the interior level. Finally, in this context, the thesis further develops Panikkar’s internal dialogue at the regional level in an Asian context as a form of intra-monastic dialogue.
And in Our Hearts Take up Thy Rest: The Trinitarian Pneumatology of Frederick Crowe, S.J.
(2017-09-25) Eades, Keith Michael Jr; Wilkins, Jeremy; Theology
By the end of his life, Frederick E. Crowe S.J. (1915-2012) was “widely recognized as the world’s foremost Lonergan expert.” Most famous as the inspiration behind ten institutes around the world for promoting the study of Bernard Lonergan (1904-84) and co-editor of the Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan, Crowe also modestly sought to expand his fellow Canadian Jesuit’s thought, especially in matters related to the Holy Spirit. Although Crowe’s 1959 article, “Complacency and Concern in the Thought of St. Thomas,” has long been considered a “classic” and his courses on the Trinity at Regis College in Toronto have been called “legendary,” no serious study of Crowe’s thought has ever been undertaken. And in Our Hearts Take up Thy Rest: The Trinitarian Pneumatology of Frederick Crowe is the first dissertation ever written on Crowe. In the dissertation, I claim that Crowe’s reflections on the Holy Spirit go through three stages with two main transition points. Following Crowe’s work from 1953 to 2000, I argue that Crowe’s development should be organized around three main questions: (1) What is the personal property of the Holy Spirit eternally and in time? (2) How is the mission of the Holy Spirit ordered to the mission of the Son? (3) Can the Holy Spirit, as intersubjective Love, be thought of as the first person in the Trinity? In the final chapter, the three stages of Crowe’s development are presented as a series that is unified by his distinction between two kinds of love: complacency (restful serenity) and concern (restless inclining). Although Crowe’s theory of love itself develops, Crowe always maintained that human love provides an analogy for the Holy Spirit’s eternal procession. While Crowe’s pneumatology evolves in response to perceived shifts in Lonergan’s writings, Crowe’s own concerns about the life of the Church also shaped the way he asks his three pneumatological questions. Noting the influences of Newman and Basil of Caesarea on Crowe, I present Crowe’s pneumatology as rooted in the Trinitarian theology of Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and Bernard Lonergan. Crowe emerges as creatively dedicated to the psychological analogy.
God Addressed in Risky Ways: an Experience of Psalm 35
(2017) Kennific, Keith; Schner, Joe; Centre for the Study of Ministry
This qualitative research study is situated within the Roman Catholic faith community, and explores its association with the imprecatory psalms in its prayer, reflection, and ministry. After tracing the history of the Church’s relationship with these scriptural texts, this question was posed for investigation in this phenomenological thesis: How do a group of informed, practicing adult Roman Catholics experience the imprecatory psalms? The study presented the imprecatory psalms in the context of the integral Psalter. Participants were provided the opportunity to enter into a dynamic experience of the psalmic curses—with particular attention to Psalm 35—over a period of seven weeks. Included were weekly group seminars, individual reading and writing assignments, as well as group and individual lectio divina encounters with Psalm 35. Verbal and written data were analyzed according to the parameters appropriate the phenomenological research. Findings disclosed some level of initial hesitancy and/or discomfort with these psalms—texts with which participants had minimal to no previous interaction. This preliminary uncertainty, however, did not appear to thwart their constructive engagement with the imprecatory psalms, nor their willingness to articulate their experience. Their responses and insights appear to support a place for these psalms in the life of the Roman Catholic Church.
Toward a More Profound Reciprocity: The Conversation between Ignatian Spirituality and Vietnamese Culture
(2016) Tran, Quan; Goulding, Gill; Pastoral
We at times have a tendency to hold the view that Ignatian discernment may not be influenced by ethnic factors because its focal point is not our ethnicity or even decision-making. Rather, it is about deepening our relationship with God, appreciating God’s gifts given to us, and discovering how we may respond to that love in daily life. Perhaps, because of this mentality, we often think that, despite our cultural differences, we can discern according to the Ignatian method as long as we are willing. We even fall into the trap of seeing cultural variance as a minor factor rather than a potential impediment. We then fail to recognize that many people (especially the Vietnamese) struggle when they attempt to use the Ignatian method. Sometimes these people enter into the process just for the sake of formality, and they let their cultural values (e.g., collective tendency, obedience, filial piety, or high respect for authority) trump the whole process. Other times, they have to discern not as the true Vietnamese but as Westerners. It is legitimate for us to wonder whether they can have an authentic Ignatian discernment and whether they can be who they are when discerning. This thesis asserts that, on the one hand, people can still discern authentically the way that Ignatius describes in the Spiritual Exercises, and on the other hand, they can turn the potential impediments within their cultural values into an opportunity for enrichment. The thesis also suggests that instead of letting cultural values be stumbling blocks, people can transform them into beneficial additives to sweeten the fruit of their discernment. In order to achieve this goal, this dissertation points out that there is a need for a mutually enriched dialogue between Ignatian spirituality and Vietnamese culture on the question of discernment and obedience. There is also a need for Ignatian spirituality to be inculturated into the culture of Vietnam. Such an inculturation will help the Vietnamese to maintain the core values of their own culture, and at the same time not turn the Ignatian method of discernment into something that is totally different.
Ministry Amidst Diversity: Exploring Hospitality in Ontario Catholic School Chaplaincy
(2016) Cavanagh, Catherine Mary; Leddy, Mary Jo; Centre for the Study of Ministry
The growing diversity of school populations in Ontario Catholic high schools, coupled with differences in vision between various partners in the educational system, impacts continuously on the ministry of chaplaincy. Through this qualitative research, Chaplaincy Leaders from the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario articulate for themselves the challenges they face and the important role of hospitality in their ministry. This thesis is deeply contextual. The research interest arises out of the researcher’s own experience as a Chaplaincy Leader. In accordance with the expectations of the Doctor of Ministry program at Toronto School of Theology, it begins by exposing the researcher’s personal context, followed by an investigation of the historical and contemporary realities of the Catholic school system in relation to wider Ontario culture. A theology of ministry that identifies two main thrusts to chaplaincy – the Pastoral and the Prophetic – provides the background for listening to the voices and stories of the participants. The qualitative research design relies primarily on the phenomenological thought of Emmanuel Levinas, emphasizing the face-to-face approach. Through their conversations the participants reveal their understanding of their ministry, their sources of inspiration, the place of hospitality within chaplaincy, and the challenges they face. The research suggests that now is the time for Catholic schools and the Church to shift the emphasis from teaching Catholicity to living Catholicity. How this can be done more effectively will require conversation and acts of imagination. The imperative of Catholic Social Teaching becomes evident, as does the importance of conversation and relationship across difference. The model and thoughts offered by these Chaplaincy Leaders suggests new directions for all partners in Catholic education.

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