Paweł Włodkowic – Latin Paulus Vladimiri (1370-1435): Catholic priest, scholar, jurist, religious and political writer, rector of the Jagiellonian University, defender of Polish interests in disputes with Knights of the Teutonic Order. Paweł Włodkowic was an early teacher of the idea of tolerance, who during the Council of Constance stated that pagan nations have the right to maintain their religious beliefs. Based on the major theological authority of that time, i.e. Saint Thomas Aquinas, Włodkowic could, in the very concept of faith in the Catholic Church, see the most important elements requiring tolerance. The point is, above all, that faith must be an act of human freedom, that it is God’s grace and that it is closely related to reason. These elements have been commented on by authorities such as Edith Stein and Joseph Ratzinger.
In modern times as never before, marriage and family are in danger. The contemporary problems were already present in many aspects in the times of Edith Stein. The author of the article studies the life and the works of the Saint with regard to marriage and family. For Edith Stein, marriage is an inseparable union of a man and woman, which, thanks to the sacramental grace, is filled with special strength to maintain reciprocal love and fidelity and also to cooperate with God in giving life and educating children. In Edith Stein’s opinion, both the husband and the wife in the family have rights and duties connected with being God’s image, bearing and bringing up children and transforming the world by their work. Edith, however, noted the difference between sexes and the way in which the tasks were realised according to the nature and the different callings. The Saint saw the necessity of complementarity of sexes and generations in a harmonious family. Such a vision of marriage and family is still applicable in our times.
The article presents the spirituality of Dorothy Day. It is a result of an analysis of her publications, that is books and articles in different magazines, above all “The Catholic Worker”. Dorothy Day is a Servant of God, whose Canonization Process gives hope that one day she can be presented to the entire Church as an example of lay spirituality. The author investigates and presents an analysis of the sources of spiritual concepts in the shape of people and publications which had the most influence on the candidate for the honor of sainthood. These sources, in a spiritual aspect, form the foundation of manifold schools of spirituality which Dorothy dealt with.
The author tries to systemise approaches of Christian writers on the subject of spiritual senses. He presents theological bases of the theory of spiritual senses, concepts of its existence, quantity, hierarchy of importance, nature and subject. The text is mainly based on the Holy Bible, Fathers of the Church and the most important theologians dealing with this issue.
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Autor próbuje usystematyzować poglądy chrześcijańskich autorów na temat zmysłów duchowych. Przedstawia teologiczne podstawy teorii zmysłów duchowych, poglądy na ich istnienie, liczbę, hierarchię ważności, naturę i przedmiot. Opiera się głównie na danych Pisma Świętego, ojców Kościoła oraz najważniejszych teologów zajmujących się tym zagadnieniem.
The Author of the article shows the life and meaning of Saint John of Ávila, announced by Pope Benedict XVI a new Doctor of the Church on 7 October 2012. The text presents his holy life, his works and his eminent doctrine. The author characterizes the works of the saint, especially the tractate Audi, filia. He also presents the most important ideas of his teaching: Christology, the concept of the Church, the cardinal virtues, especially the faith, the theory of prayer, asceticism, mystic and the development of spiritual life. He also shows John of Ávila as an expert in priestly spirituality.
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The Author of the article shows the life and meaning of Saint John of Ávila, announced by Pope Benedict XVI a new Doctor of the Church on 7 October 2012. The text presents his holy life, his works and his eminent doctrine. The author characterizes the works of the saint, especially the tractate Audi, filia. He also presents the most important ideas of his teaching: Christology, the concept of the Church, the cardinal virtues, especially the faith, the theory of prayer, asceticism, mystic and the development of spiritual life. He also shows John of Ávila as an expert in priestly spirituality.
The author of this article shows input of saint John Paul II in the understanding of spirituality of lay people. The article proves that the papal teaching about the laity is a continuation of the teaching of The Second Vatican Council and also brings some new elements. The particular attention paid to the communion dimension of the Church should be emphasized. The author also discusses the participation of lay people in the threefold office of the Christ, incarnational dimension of the lay spirituality and the question of the common call to sanctity.
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Autor artykułu ukazuje wkład św. Jana Pawła II w rozumienie duchowości ludzi świeckich. Udowadnia, że nauczanie papieża na temat laikatu stanowi kontynuację nauczania Soboru Watykańskiego II, ale wnosi też nowe akcenty. Na podkreślenie zasługuje szczególny akcent położony na komunijny wymiar Kościoła. Autor omawia też udział świeckich w potrójnym urzędzie Chrystusa, inkarnacyjny wymiar duchowości laikatu i kwestię powszechnego powołania do świętości.
Reflecting upon the relationship between prayer and work the Author of the article refers to the well known Benedictine formula “ora et labora”. It is to emphasize that both, prayer and work should find a proper place in a Christian’s life. Since the accents can be optional, the Author claims that within the incarnational spirituality the lay Christians may identify themselves rather with the reverse order of this formula: “labora et ora”. However we should never separate these two options neither put them in the form: “ora sive labora”, which has been provocatively used in the title of this paper. The true masterpiece of the lays’ life is to perform duties of Martha in the spirit of Mary, which does not necessarily mean the focus on God during one’s work. It’s often even impossible. The work itself done professionally and with the proper intention can become a form of ontological worship, unless one would neglect the prayer itself. Nourished with prayer the theologal love makes all activities a form of adoration of God, transforming life into the constant prayer.
The author of the article analyses different meanings of the term ‘mercy’. He begins with the ancient use of the word by pagan philosophers. This is the background for the analysis of the term ‘mercy’ in the Old and New Testament. The biblical sources lead to the definition of dogmatic foundations of God’s Mercy and allow the ethical and moral aspects of the human mercy to be shown. Closely connected with the last is the social dimension of the mercy. The author also deals with other dimensions of the mercy, such as: pastoral, liturgical, psychological and juridical. He also discusses the meaning of the mercy in the spirituality and Christian art.
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Autor artykułu analizuje różne znaczenia terminu „miłosierdzie”. Rozpoczyna od starożytnego użycia tego słowa przez filozofów pogańskich. To stanowi tło analizy terminu w Starym i Nowym Testamencie. Biblijne źródła prowadzą do dogmatycznych podstaw Bożego Miłosierdzia i pozwalają ukazać etyczne i moralne aspekty ludzkiego miłosierdzia. Z ostatnim ściśle związany jest społeczny wymiar miłosierdzia oraz jego pastoralny, liturgiczny, psychologiczny i prawny aspekt. Autor omawia także znaczenie miłosierdzia w duchowości i sztuce chrześcijańskiej.
The author of the article analyses different meanings of the term ‘mercy’. He begins with the ancient use of the word by pagan philosophers. This is the background for the analysis of the term ‘mercy’ in the Old and New Testament. The biblical sources lead to the definition of dogmatic foundations of God’s Mercy and allow the ethical and moral aspects of the human mercy to be shown. Closely connected with the last is the social dimension of the mercy. The author also deals with other dimensions of the mercy, such as: pastoral, liturgical, psychological and juridical. He also discusses the meaning of the mercy in the spirituality and Christian art.
The subject of this article is the call of lay people to the mystical life. The topic under consideration indicates two poles, around which the main reflection revolves: the mystic and the lay state of life. The call of lay people to mysticism is not just a hypothesis, but a real experience, researched and decribed by theologians. So reflecting on the call to the mystic life of lay people is not so much a matter of ‘whether’, but of ‘how’. In the light of the above, four issues are fundamental: the impossibility to provoke the mystical experience, its dependence on the spirituality of the baptism, the relation of contemplation to action and the relation to the world. It occurs however, that every Christian, together with God’s life of grace bestowed in baptism, receives the basis for the mystical life. Neither an active life in the world, nor work or marriage, hinders the development of this gift.
The subject of this article is faith according to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the present Pope Benedict XVI. At the beginning the author presents the Cardinal’s diagnosis of the state of faith in the contemporary world. Joseph Ratzinger shows both positive and negative features of this state. After having presented the sociological aspect, the author deals with the essence of the faith according to Ratzinger. The further analysis concern the sacramental dimension of the Christian faith. Because the real faith is necessarily the faith of the Church, the article also indicates its communion dimension. The author additionally discusses a very important topic concerning the relation of faith to reason and truth. At the end of the article the reader can find the teaching of Cardinal about the relation between faith and history.
Freedom constitutes an essential idea in the Christian spirituality. Freedom was also an important dimension in the life and teaching of blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko. The author of the article analyzes freedom in the philosophical-theological and cultural dimension, mainly as freedom „to” something and freedom „from” limits. These dimensions are interwoven in the analysis of freedom in the national and political sense.
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Wolność należy do istotnych pojęć duchowości chrześcijańskiej. Wolność była też ważnym wymiarem życia i nauczania bł. ks. Jerzego Popiełuszki. Autor artykułu analizuje wolność w filozoficzno-teologicznym i kulturowym wymiarze, głównie jako wolność „do” czegoś i wolność „od” ograniczeń. Te wymiary są splecione z analizą wolności w sensie narodowym i politycznym.
The author of the article discusses the most important questions of the lay people’s spirituality according to Saint Augustine. He particularly focuses on the relation to the world and that’s why he analyzes the connection of Augustine with Manichaeism. He proves, on the basis of philosophical dialogues that the ideology of this sect did not have a long-lasting effect on the thinking of the saint. Platonic dualism had a greater importance in this case. Augustine emphasizing the goodness of the creature did not appreciate the just autonomy of creatures enough.
Autor stara się porównać życie i twórczość Edyty Stein i Karola Wojtyły, oraz ukazać postaćśw. Benedykty od Krzyża w nauczaniu Jana Pawła II . Najpierw podejmuje kwestię aspektubiograficznego. Następnie zostaje porównane podejście do badań filozoficznych. Wreszcieartykuł ukazuje nauczanie papieża na temat Edyty Stein jako filozofa, męczennicy, mistyczkii wzoru dla kobiet. Następuje to przy okazji jej beatyfikacji, kanonizacji i ogłoszenia jejpatronką Europy.
The author of the article studies the spirituality of Edith Stein. He presents Edith Stein’s contribution to the methodology of spiritual theology, her anthropological and theological vision, her evolution of the religious experience, the life of prayer and call to mysticism. Edith Stein carried out research which today would be regarded as being interdisciplinary. Her reflections have a huge influence on the methodology of the theology of spirituality. The spirituality of the Cross which Stein writes about in compliance with the classic masters, nowadays may be an adjustment to the incarnational spirituality, in her overly optimistic view on the usage of creatures and taking for granted the spiritual value of suffering.
The article presents the influence of Carmelite spirituality on the life and especially the prayer of the Servant of God - Dorothy Day. It is a result of an analysis of her publications, that is books and articles in different magazines, above all The Catholic Worker. Dorothy Day is a Servant of God, whose canonisation process gives hope to the whole Church as an example of lay spirituality. Those who had the biggest impact on her life were Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint John of the Cross and Saint Therese of Lisieux. The author investigates and presents an analysis of the influence of Carmelite saints in the life of prayer of this American candidate for sainthood.
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Artykuł ukazuje wpływ karmelitańskiej duchowości na życie, a szczególnie na modlitwę służebnicy Bożej Dorothy Day. Jest wynikiem analizy jej publikacji, czyli książek i artykułów w różnych czasopismach, przede wszystkim w „Tha Catholic Worker”. Proces beatyfikacyjny Dorothy Day daje nadzieję na ukazanie jej całemu Kościołowi jako przykładu duchowości laikatu. Największy wpływ na jej życie wywarli: Teresa Wielka, Jan od Krzyża i Teresa od Dzieciątka Jezus. Autor bada i przedstawia wpływ świętych karmelitańskich na życie i modlitwę amerykańskiej kandydatki na ołtarze.