Categorie: Vrijdag 29 november 2019

Dear friends in Christ, I hope I may call you like this today. We are gathered here to reflect on religious life in our complex and interesting time. Complex and interesting. Two years ago, we started with a project, titled: Monastic Pastoral Care. The idea for this project was to find out if and how…

“De tijden veranderen”. Bob Dylan bracht dit nummer in 1964 uit en behandelde verschillende omwentelingen, vragen en uitdagingen van het midden van de jaren zestig. Inderdaad, de tijden veranderden in die periode; en het leek alsof deze verandering niet vrolijk leek te worden. In feite leek niemand bereid een feest te geven om de volgende…

″The times, they are a–changing″. Bob Dylan released this song in 1964, addressing various upheavals, questions and challenges of the mid–1960ies. Indeed, the times were changing during that period; and it seemed as if this change did not appear to become a cheerful one. In fact, nobody seemed to be willing to throw a party…

The topic of this contribution includes three main elements: 1) religious life; 2) mission and prophecy 3) the contemporary world. I begin with the last point, and will briefly note contemporary threats to religious prophecy based on the belief that failure to acknowledge the harsh reality presented by the contemporary world will render our discussion…

1. The generous Space, an interwoven Concept for a World in Motion a. From problem to opportunity This text is a summary report of the research that has started as a search for the revitalization of Flanders’ religious heritage, and has evolved towards the design of new sacred spaces based on the concept of “…

In one of his published sermons the theologian Stefan Paas mentions the interesting change he has observed in the way people introduce themselves to strangers. His father only mentioned his family name: ‘Paas’. That was enough in the communities in which he lived. His family name showed his roots and his position within the community.…

In this contribution we are reflecting on (broad and ecumenical) religious life today and its pastoral significance for contemporary people and society. I am asked to reflect especially on religious life as living in God’s creation. I will give some thoughts and rough outlines about the light creation faith can shed on recent developments within…

Zr. Nicole Grochowina herhaalde de woorden van Bob Dylan: “De bestelling vervaagt snel”. Dit gebeurt op maatschappelijk niveau (individualisering, moreel relativisme,…), politiek niveau (intolerantie jegens minderheden, religieuze actoren,….), Communicatief niveau (digitalisering, nepnieuws, echokamers) en religieus niveau (multireligiositeit, enz. .). Zekerheden uit het verleden worden vervangen door onzekerheden en ‘fluïde of tijdelijke’ zekerheden. Hoe reageren religieuze…

Sr. Nicole Grochowina repeated the words of Bob Dylan: “The order is rapidly fading”. This is happening on a societal level (individualization, moral relativism, …), political level (intolerance towards minorities, religious actors, …. ), communicational level (digitalization, fake news, echo chambers) and religious level (multi-religiosity, etc.). Certainties of the past are replaced by uncertainties and…

Foreword Within the framework of the project Monastic Pastoral Care, there has been theological research into what the Christian consecrated life can mean today for Western Europe. The accompanying field research has been carried in large parts of Germany, the Netherlands, and Flanders. In a time in which the consecrated life seems to be dying,…