God and Creation: Trinity and Creation out of Nothing

The question of God’s relationship with creation touches upon important contemporary issues with regard to science, interfaith dialogue, and contemporary philosophy. Using the fundamental and specifically Christian theological stance that begins from creatio ex nihilo, the author shows how Chiara Lubich, on the basis of her charism of unity, develops an original understanding of the event of creation in which God creates by giving being to nonbeing, constantly creating historically and preserving in being what is created, and, at the same time, making what is created evolve. The basis for this understanding is to read creation out of nothing in light of a radical understanding of divine love that, as a result of its own dynamic, is both One and Three. This vision of reality implicitly contains a Trinitarian metaphysics that reinterprets the vestigia trinitatis in creation and gives a fresh understanding of creation’s vocation to share in the divine life

Creation in Christ and the New Creation in the Mysticism of Chiara Lubich

In a previous article, after illustrating the theological contexts of the classical tradition and of modern times that form the background of the vision of creation in Chiara Lubich’s mysticism, the author looked in particular at the meaning of “creation out of nothing” from the point of view of a Trinitarian ontology of love. Now he focuses with greater clarity upon creation in Christ, taking a closer look at the “new creation” in Christ crucified and risen and at our participation in it

Chiara Lubich and the Theology of Jesus: The Trinity as Place, Method, and Object of Thinking

This article begins by outlining the variety of forms theology takes to illustrate that the key to theological knowledge is knowing God through participation in Jesus’ knowledge of God. This participation is apparent in scripture and theological tradition, and the author argues that the modern theological method, for all of its advances, must regain awareness of this participating, through Christ, in God’s self-knowledge. At the same time Coda presents the different gifts of the Spirit throughout history, namely, the charisms, and among these gives particular attention to Chiara Lubich’s charism of unity. Coda explains how this charism, via the experience of humans united in God, provides a participatory knowledge of God in which knowing and loving coincide. Various significant consequences are drawn from this participation. Coda then turns to the basis for this knowledge, namely, the forsakenness of Christ upon the cross, to show how the crucified intellect goes beyond its natural limitations to share in the intellect, the mind (nous), of Christ. Coda concludes with implications of this way of knowing for theological practice and suggests possibilities for a fresh approach that respects contemporary needs

Chiara Lubich: Inaugural Speech of Sophia: Analysis and Interpretation

The author gives an extended analysis and commentary on Chiara Lubich’s inauguration talk, focusing on its inspiring intuition, its central message, its fundamental contents, and its cultural and academic significance. He situates the talk within the long tradition of Christian cultural development and gives special attention to the ambition of this university to “teach wisdom.

Revealed Religion’s Vital Contribution to the Epoch-Making Newness of a Culture of Unity

The author writes: “In memory of Bishop Pietro Rossano, that unforgettable and wise teacher in the past and in the present, about dialogue among religions, this article offers the text of a lecture titled ‘Unity of God, Unity in God.’ The lecture was part of a course organized by Sophia University Institute in Loppiano and the Islamic Centre of England in London with twenty Catholic university students and an equal number of Muslims. It was held at Tonadico (Trent) in September 2017. Among other things, I was inspired by the following affirmation of Bishop Rossano; it is like the hidden thread running through the thought I develop here. what writes that we need to express “the interpersonal relationship peculiar to the Christian faith, a relationship inviting subjects into a new relationship with God and their brothers or sisters in a form transcending the orbit of all religions because it is anchored in the mystery of the uni-triune God which humanity shares in Jesus Christ. Far from destroying the preceding religious heritage, this new rapport purifies and expands this heritage to formerly unknown horizons” (Il problema teologico delle religioni, Ed. Paoline, 1975, 46)

Crossing the Threshold: Mission as Encounter

Awareness of the centrality of mission has been growing in the Catholic Church since Vatican II. The author traces this growth from Ecclesiam suam (1964) to the writings of the current pope, highlighting the link between dialogue and mission. He draws attention to some features of Francis’s message using four words: “kairos,” the “why,” “how,” and “where” of mission, and situates the ongoing dialogue between Catholics and Shia Islam within this broad framework

John Paul II and Chiara Lubich : converging development of the dynamic principles of Ecumenism in the wake of Vatican II

The Second Vatican Council also opens a new chapter in the Church’s history concerning the journey toward the full visible unity of Jesus’ disciples along the way of ecumenical dialogue. If the Decree on Ecumenism, Unitatis redintegratio, should be read on one hand in the theological framework outlined by the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen gentium, on the other hand it certainly concretely develops the implications by entrusting the process to the responsibility of Jesus’ disciples. But this process is ultimately guided by the Holy Spirit in an unpredictable way — in accordance with the mysterious plan of God’s love. That is what the Church has experienced in the fifty years that have passed since the Council. [excerpt]peer-reviewe