The active, written, discursive pursuit of the incomprehensible established in Rahner’s writing acts as a form of spirituality. In this way, self-reflexivity grounded in tradition develops as spiritual theology. Evident in Ronald Modras’ Ignatian Humanism: A Dynamic Spirituality for the 21st Century, Patrick Byrne’s “The Passionateness of Being: The Legacy of Bernard Lonergan”, and Bernard Lonergan’s “Method in Theology” and “Healing and Creating in History”, I will focus on how self-reflexivity as cultivated alongside academic theology manifests in a form that heals and creates, rather than one that hates and destroys. Plurality as applied to academic theology functions to educate and mobilize the whole person – body, mind, and spirit. I
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Based on the principle of good rhetoric referred to as accommodation by Modras, the adaption and negotiation found in Ignatian Humanism allows for the dialectic of inwardness and outwardness. By using theology as a means of bringing people into relationship with God, Ignatian humanism possesses an ecclesial aspect. Although the Ignatians do not deny the scholasticism of Aquinas, they turn inward to the self-reflexivity of the Spiritual Exercises to better their pursuits of ministry ad education in the world. Developed through the interiority of self-reflexivity, individualism combines with the plurality of the Ignatian focus on the study of the humanities. Known as a polymath, Lonergan perfectly exemplifies this plurality of study in his academic pursuits, ranging from art and music, to science and math, to language, philosophy, and religion. In turn, the self-reflexivity, individuality, and plurality manifested in education become aspects of the spiritual holy work done by Ignatian men and women. This application of the inward aspects of the spirituality directly correlates to the holiness found in the Ignatian pursuit of ministry and engagement. Thus, the inward leads to the outward, creating a vibrant community of individuals with goals toward a cohesive sense of nurture for one’s neighbor. This humanism is instead far from individualistic, but truly catholic in
Based on the principle of good rhetoric referred to as accommodation by Modras, the adaption and negotiation found in Ignatian Humanism allows for the dialectic of inwardness and outwardness. By using theology as a means of bringing people into relationship with God, Ignatian humanism possesses an ecclesial aspect. Although the Ignatians do not deny the scholasticism of Aquinas, they turn inward to the self-reflexivity of the Spiritual Exercises to better their pursuits of ministry ad education in the world. Developed through the interiority of self-reflexivity, individualism combines with the plurality of the Ignatian focus on the study of the humanities. Known as a polymath, Lonergan perfectly exemplifies this plurality of study in his academic pursuits, ranging from art and music, to science and math, to language, philosophy, and religion. In turn, the self-reflexivity, individuality, and plurality manifested in education become aspects of the spiritual holy work done by Ignatian men and women. This application of the inward aspects of the spirituality directly correlates to the holiness found in the Ignatian pursuit of ministry and engagement. Thus, the inward leads to the outward, creating a vibrant community of individuals with goals toward a cohesive sense of nurture for one’s neighbor. This humanism is instead far from individualistic, but truly catholic in