WHITE HOUSE JESUIT RETREAT

St. Louis, MO 63129

1-800-643-1003

Jesuit retreat center high on the bluffs of the Mississippi River in St. Louis, MO.  Since 1922, thousands of people from around the world make annual three-day silent, guided retreats here to relax, reconnect with God and strengthen their spirituality.  A true gem in the Midwest!  Call 314-416-6400 or 1-800-643-1003.  Email reservations@whretreat.org  7400 Christopher Rd.  St. Louis, MO 63129

Both men's and women's retreats are offered as well as recovery retreats.

Take Spirituality to the Next Level!

Weekend Reflections for 1/12/18

January 11, 2018  /  Joe Parisi

Have a Divine New Year!

As the New Year sinks in, or we may seem to sink into it, it is good to follow the Ignatian practice of reflecting back on what we have celebrated in this past Christmas season. While in Lent and the Easter season we usually focus on God’s self emptying “kenosis” into this world and our humanity (Phil 2: 6-11), this current season focuses on the divinizing of humanity in the Incarnation.

This divinization of humanity is not, however, an erasing of or escaping from our human nature, as if we are to empty ourselves of humanity to let the divine in. No, it is a New Year’s celebration of the divine incarnate within each and every one of us.

The theological implications of this doctrine of divinization have been speculated upon since at least the second century, when St. Athanasius (150-215) taught “God became human so that humans might become God.” This is not some bizarre, minority opinion held by heretics. This doctrine is also central to the Second Vatican Council’s teaching and the theology of 20th Century Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner.[i] 

What does this mean for us? Beyond the subtleties of theological speculation in this new year it invites us to:

•          Praise of God become one of us within our very selves.

•          Reverence and service for God in all of creation, especially those “least” whom Jesus went out to at the margins of society.

•          A commitment to seeking the Ignatian grace of finding God in All things, as we again and again let his Spiritual Exercises invite us to participate in the divine.

 

Have a Divine New Year!

-Edward B. “Ted” Arroyo, S.J.

 

[i] For a series of essays tracing this theology of divinization from its roots to the present, see the book “Called to be the Children of God: The Catholic Theology of Human Deification,” edited in 2016 by SLU theologian and White House Retreat director David Meconi, S.J. and Carl E. Olson.

[1] For a series of essays tracing this theology of divinization from its roots to the present, see the book “Called to be the Children of God: The Catholic Theology of Human Deification,” edited in 2016 by SLU theologian and White House Retreat director David Meconi, S.J. and Carl E. Olson.