Preaching and Aging

Summary

An insightful account of the role of preaching in congregations with various ages, including the elderly, present. It deals with three topics: “Preparation For Preaching,” “How One Preaches,” and “What One Preaches.”     

Toward a Renewed Theological Culture: Introduction

This article introduces a series of articles analysing the current state of theology and inquiring about the possibilities of a renewed theological culture (not least within secular societies). It places theology, and more precisely, the conditions of a possible renewal thereof, in several fields of tension. Paradigmatic for secular societies is the tension between theology and the natural sciences. It is argued that theology and the natural sciences cultivate different modes of reasoning on different epistemic levels and that no competition between them has to be construed if one is not caught up in the premises of secularism. A brief summary of each of the contributions follows these initial remarks.     

Preaching on Purgatory

Because today there is so little preaching on this topic, it was suggested that it might be useful if this sermon was put into print, in spite of its mildly esoteric character. It was given at a Solemn Requiem Mass at Balliol College, Oxford, on 20 January. The Mass was being attended by a wide range of members and friends of the College, only a minority of them Catholics, for it was being celebrated to mark the 700th anniversary of the death of the College's co-founder, the Lady Dervorguilla, mother of John of Balliol, King of Scotland.