Ethics, Life Issues, and Justice

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Teresa of Avila:
Human Liberation

Vilma Seelaus, OCD

Using the wealth and wisdom of Teresa's writings as her guide, Vilma Seelaus treats of the pressing human need of liberation. For this Carmelite Prioress, The Interior Castle offers a spirituality of liberation. Through meaningful symbols in The Castle, she explores freer ways of relating to God and others in deeper self-understanding; diminishing and creative darkness in the journey to freedom; re-appropriation of humility as a vital ground of love, compassion and freedom from domination and servility; prayer and the integration of life forces. Also considered is prayer and human liberation in relation to political, social and ecclesial servitude.

Egan begins with personal mysticism as an extension of the texts of Teresa and John. This mysticism calls us to be partners to the wisdom of the past for a hopeful future. This future is cooperative, collaborative, active life centered on God and His Word.

This workshop guides us into the riches of St. Teresa of Avila's classic, the Way of Perfection, and probes her in-depth perception of peacemaking in her culture, her interpersonal relationships and her relationship with God. Sr. Vilma unfolds the Way of Perfection as a humanly authentic and Christ-centered way to discover, embrace and learn anew the way of peace in our nuclear age. She highlights the surprisingly contemporary problems and frustrations that St. Teresa faced: racism, sexism, materialism, oppressive structures, and unjust social and ecclesial laws. Gradually the text reveals the universal longing for right relationships and for truth in the acceptance of self and others, and upholds our confidence that God in Christ can achieve this in our broken world. Using "coordinating symbols of Teresa's peacemaking," Sr. Vilma shows that peacemaking requires disarmament of the heart and underlies our fellowship with St. Teresa.

St. Teresa of Avila was born into a society where women were subordinated in every way to men. Humanly and spiritually, she transcended that mold. Her writings are captivating, but they become even more so as Sr. Vilma lifts from them the images and symbols of the saint's growth into spiritual autonomy and the fullness of human freedom. In the midst of social and ecclesial fear and repression, St. Teresa realized a profound interior evolution. Four images of Christ that symbolize her struggle and attainment are analyzed in this talk. Combining the insights of contemporary authors in spirituality and psychology with a deep knowledge of the world of 16th century Spain, this tape is an important contribution to the ongoing development of contemporary Christology.

In this dynamic 2 cassette discourse, Fr. Richard Rohr elaborates the need the world and all of us in it certainly have for reflecting, living and reading Scripture in all its liberating power. Great religion, which is found in Scripture, leads us into a pattern of living and thinking that not only liberates the person, but also liberates and offers hope and meaning for the world as a whole.

Jesus liberates both the individual and society. Fr. Rohr shows that religion is about wisdom and not just information. It has to do with holding opposites together and gives meaning and significance to the essential tragic nature of life. Only the cross and resurrection of Jesus give them any real significance or meaning.

Fr. Rohr shows us how to recognize and accept our woundedness, and through contemplative exercises how to recognize and let go of those things that cloud our vision of God and self. He shows us how pain can often force us to give up control and how we can act out of the presence of God and Christ at our center.

In our modern world the impact of the media on our lives cannot be denied. Increasingly our value systems are being shaped by what we read and what we view. The media have become an important part of human development, often overtaking family, school, and faith communities in terms of influence on the development of our value systems.

Fr. Bob Bonnot discloses the means and methods of how the media impacts human values in this revealing audio-cassette presentation. Learn how television affects us on only two levels of consciousness, and how it disregards understanding, judgement, and love. Find out how and where our heroes are developed, and why they are not really heroes. And see why our faith communities need to be more responsive in shaping and projecting true heroes who are able to foster values which reflect truth, love, and human dignity.

Pope John Paul has given to the Church and world an encyclical which teaches the truth about life: all life is a gift from the God who is love. In Evangelium Vitae, John Paul II challenges all people to witness ti the sacredness of human life and defend the dignity of each person. In this four part program, Fr. William Maestri presents this encyclical of John Paul II. This presentation is not a mere summary of the document but a thoughtful reflection and application of the Gospel of Life to current moral issues in the Church. Human life is a sacred gift from God to be respected in all its forms and the Church is entrusted with the mission to proclaim and live the Gospel of Life.

We live on images. Images lead to attitudes. Attitudes lead to behavior. With this syllogism, Bishop Morneau begins another program of contemporary spirituality laced throughout with gifts from the poet's pen. Bishop Morneau believes we have an obligation to both reach in to discover our own interior selves and then to reach out into the world to contribute to the common good. These two lectures deal with the need for balance within our lives, a contemplative stance in a fragmented world. He deals with some of the crises we face in our time and some possible solutions. This is contemplative, yet thought-provoking material in the inimitable Morneau style.

As Catholics within the global community, we are called to be people of action-- to display a faith that is authentic and based in Gospel values. Consequently that call, which has its origins in Jesus Christ, is a call to build the type of civilization that is respectful of all life. In order to accomplish this we must be informed people, understanding of what it means to promote justice-- that this concept is to encompass all of our human race and allow all people to live fully human lives. Throughout the centuries, the Church has been urged to fulfill the command to be a people of justice, most recently by Popes Leo XIII and John-Paul II. But promoting social justice takes courage and love, because it involves issues that are often counter-cultural, especially to our American pragmatism. In this audio-cassette series you are invited to explore your call to be a person of faith doing justice, to exhibit the courage to answer the challenge of the Gospel.

The controversies surrounding euthanasia and assisted suicide in our nation are emblematic of a cultural extreme in which individualism, privatism, and radicalized autonomy seemingly outweigh any bond of commitment and solidarity to family, community, or God. This audio-cassette series presents a colloquium of professionals from four disciplines who explore a number of pressing issues that together fuel the current debate which rages within the heart of our cultural identity. These talks emanate from the philosophical/ethical, medical, legal, and spiritual viewpoints and attempt to explore what we are saying about ourselves in a culture such as ours. Invaluable material for physicians, nurses, administrators, social workers, pastoral care workers, caregivers, as well as any other persons who may be searching for an answer to the debate from a Catholic theological perspective.

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