SPIRITUAL DIRECTION IN AN AFRICAN CONTEXT: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

An upset spiritual director just ended a retreat with a group of African priests because they could not observe strict silence. Similar situations elsewhere on the continent led a young African student to raise the question of the suitability of sixteenth-century Spiritual Exercises to modern Africans. This essay acknowledges the challenges facing spiritual directors to “accurately” apply the method of the Spiritual Exercises in a diverse and ever-evolving, noisy and busy world. From the concrete experience of this group of priests, it argues for the suitability of the Exercises to the African context based on the adaptability and flexibility inherent in Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercise and subsequent directories. The particular crisis between this director and his retreatants, however, also presents a unique opportunity for retreat directors to find creative ways to accommodate retreatants with specific needs, and to communicate the message of the Exercises in a way that is both accessible to and respectful of the African worldview. KEYWORDS: Retreat Director. Diocesan African Context. Blended Retreat. Confession and Narrativity.

Transfert du pouvoir épiscopal

Précis Cet article porte sur la transmission du pouvoir épiscopal dans la France du dix-septième siècle à partir de la correspondance d'Antoine Godeau (1605–72), évêque de Vence. Ce dernier a envoyé près d'une trentaine de lettres à son successeur potentiel, des lettres qui ont été éditées après la mort de leur auteur. Dans le cadre de cet article, cette correspondance est d'abord étudiée comme pratique d’écriture—la direction spirituelle—et de publication—la mise en recueil. Elle est localisée, en ce sens où ses différents lieux et temps de production et de circulation ont été analysés. Par la suite, son analyse révèle les opérations et les dynamiques par lesquelles un évêque en place transmet le pouvoir à son successeur. Antoine Godeau (1605–72), bishop of Vence, wrote nearly thirty letters to a potential successor to his position, Louis de Thomassin. These letters, published after his death, offer remarkable insight into the transfer of episcopal power in seventeenth-century France. This article focuses first on the epistolary practices associated with spiritual direction and second on the process of collection and publication of the correspondence. Godeau's letters reflect the different places and times of their composition and circulation, and they demonstrate the efforts of a sitting bishop to transfer his power to his successor.

TEACHING SUBJECTS OF RELIGIOUS DIRECTION IN AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS WITHIN SECOND PART OF XX CENTURY

The article contains general review of the state of Australian education in context of teaching subjects of religious direction; historical review of system of education is done, since the times of land settlement of the continent; key changes that happened in Australian society regarding reinterpretation of the place of subjects of spiritual direction in the educational state program were highlighted. Key reasons the caused the transformation of understanding of importance of teaching religion in state educational establishments are defined and described, these are demographical changes that happened in Australian society after the World War II and eventually led to necessity of upbringing the ability of understanding and respect of citizens towards the representatives of different beliefs and values, forming cultural pluralism in pupils of these schools, which is the determinative feature and demand towards democratic society and transformation from catechistic approaches towards pedagogical approaches in teaching subjects of spiritual upbringing, which had its main feature in forming the pupil’s ability to manifest positive influence of religion for the development of the society; to understand peculiarities of basic church traditions and educate tolerance and sense of respect for all religions as representatives and providers of all-human values. Result of rethinking by Australian society for the important role of religion for the democratic development of the state is indicated, which led to the practice of studying according subjects of spiritual direction in state schools, having given for the pupils the chance to receive knowledge and abilities as result of studying miscellaneous religious beliefs. The review is done regarding opportunities and conditions for teaching religion in educational establishments of Australia by representatives of religious confessions; principles of choice of the content of program of subject of spiritual direction and criteria for its estimation by school administration and also the keeping of democratic rights of parents and pupils, that content the freedom of choice towards of subjects of this kind are noted. The article contains the presumption that the experience of teaching subjects of spiritual direction can be valuable for Ukrainian education at modern stage of its development in the context of value-directed education of pupils of secondary schools.Key words: Australia, religious education, democracy, multi-confession, multi-culture, cultural pluralism, state schools, teaching religion, catechistic approaches, pedagogical approaches.

Manuscript Miscellanies, Jerome's Letters to Women, and the Dominican Observant Reform in Fifteenth-Century Italy

This article examines the manuscripts into which compilers bound Dominican letters of spiritual direction in fifteenth-century Italy. It argues that manuscript compilers sought to model Observant Dominican sanctity after Jerome's late antique practice of writing letters of spiritual direction to women. The paper aims to contribute to the growing conversation around the development and spread of an Observant Dominican identity by demonstrating that compilers modeled Observant beati after Jerome's authoritative persona in order to argue for the ancient precedent of the reformers’ often controversial agendas, chief among them their active ministry to women.