Ampleforth B courses

(Participants can choose TWO courses to follow for the week,
ONE course from Series A, and ONE course from Series B)

Ampleforth - Series B Course Options

B1 Ignatian Exercises and the Church

Three views on the relationship between Church and the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola will be discussed. One approach considers the Church as secondary whilst another emphasises the need to conform to Church Teaching, and a third addresses situations in which the person’s conscience does not agree with Church Authority.

Contemporary Ignatian spirituality often brackets ecclesial matters. The course will challenge this view by highlighting the role of the Church in historical sources and data from the mid-16^th century. It will then look at how some 20^th century thinkers consider conscience and Church Authority. The course presupposes experience and knowledge of the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. The teaching style will be lectures followed by case studies. The course will centre round questions such as: how does the parish as Church Community help the individual in his or her discernment? How does the parish handle an individualistic understanding of spirituality? How do the parish and the spiritual director treat those who do not match Church Authority values? The aim of the course is to provide categories to think with the Church.

Bibliography:

Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Personal Writings (including the Spiritual Exercises), translated by Joe Munitiz and Philip Endean (London: Penguin books, 1996)
Dulles, Avery, Models of the Church (New York, Image book, 2002).
Philip Endean, ‘Ignatius and Church Authority’, The Way Supplement 70 (1991), p. 76–90.
Rahner, Hugo, Ignatius the Theologian (London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1968).
Margaret Silf, Landmarks: An Ignatian Journey (London, Darton Longman and Todd, 1998).

Fr. Fredrik Heiding is a Swedish Jesuit who has experience of pastoral work, has translated the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius into Swedish, and is currently writing a thesis on Ignatian Spirituality at the University of Oxford.

B2 The Parish and Prayer

The course will examine the contemporary parish and the different models of community. It will look at the why and how of prayer and consider the different needs of individuals and groups. It will draw on prayer from the past and the present ages and different sources and traditions. These will be presented through a mixture of input, shared discussions and facilitated group work.

Kit & Caroline Dollard are a married couple who for the last 12 years have been based at Ampleforth Abbey as members of the Pastoral Team, providing retreats, courses and spiritual accompaniment.

B3 The Gospel of John in the Parish

In the liturgy, John’s gospel is reserved for the high points of the Church’s year, such as the final Mass of Christmas, Good Friday and the Sundays of Easter. In this course, we will look at the background of this gospel, some key texts and discuss its relevance for today.

From early centuries, John’s gospel has had a special role in Christian catechesis. During Lent, those seeking baptism have been invited to identify with the woman of Samaria, with the man born blind, with Lazarus raised from the tomb. The disciple whom Jesus loved, has been a model for Christian devotion. The words of Jesus at the Last Supper have been treasured as a treatise on the love of God and an instruction about the mutual love to which Christians are called. His teaching on the Paraclete has inspired Christian understanding of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the world. In this course, we want to join those for whom this gospel was first written, so that we too may understand the role of Jesus as the Word of God in our world and better share in the life which he came to give us. We will treat the gospel in the order in which the Church reads it through her liturgical year.

Short Bibliography:

The literature on John’s gospel is enormous. Knowledge of the actual text of the gospel is most important. Therefore the first bibliographical item is the New Testament itself.
The Revised Standard Version or New Revised Standard Version is recommended.
A recent guide to the gospel on an informed popular level is, Tom Wright, John for Everyone, Part 1 and Part 2, SPCK, 2003, 2004.
A fuller, scholarly and very substantial approach (pp. 594) is provided in Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John (Sacra Pagina 4), Liturgical Press 1998.

Peter Edmonds is a Jesuit priest who is a tutor in biblical studies in the University of Oxford.

B4 Sin, Guilt and Forgiveness

‘I may forgive but I never forget', said an athlete who had been tripped up by another in a race, ending her dream of an Olympic medal. This story raises a question of what it means to forgive someone, and what it means to be forgiven. Allied with this is the idea ‘sin’ and whether we have lost our sense of sin, or acquired new depths of understanding, and also 'guilt', and whether all guilt is bad or which, when appropriate, can help us towards greater moral sensitivity. Also considered will be the difference between ‘guilt’ and ‘shame’, and what gets in the way of the process of forgiveness, whether this is forgiveness of others or of ourselves.This course will explore these ideas in the context of our image of, and relationship with, God. Lectures with opportunities for questions and some discussion.

Suggested Bibliography:

Jane Middleton-Moz, Shame and Guilt: Masters of Disguise, 1991, ISBN 978-1558740723
Ronda L. Dearing and June Price Tangney, Shame and Guilt, 2003, ISBN 978-1572309876

helen

Helen Costigane teaches Canon Law, Christian Ethics and Pastoral Theology at Heythrop College, University of London

B5 An Ignatian Parish Experience

We work together as a typical would-be Ignatian parish group - whether or not we actually belong to a Jesuit parish - indeed whether or not we belong to any specific parish, Jesuit, RC. Thus we experience together exercise by adapted exercise the meaning of the Ignatian, Anglican or whatever perspective in simple, practical, open to all, nobody excluded ways. No previous experience, Ignatian or otherwise, is presumed. All you need to do is to be there at each of the five sessions & have pen and plenty of paper, preferably A4 loose-leaf pad, for private writing. Further participation is up to you: there is no group pressure as such. However, freedom to share, to speak & pray out loud, question, sing, and perhaps even to dance - or not to dance - will be available in the group under the discerning guidance of the presenter who will do his best to respect the desires & needs of all.

Billy Hewett SJ has long experience both in theory and in practice of many traditional and experimental forms of Ignatian Spirituality and its adaptation to contemporary needs. Further details can be found on his website: www.inigonet.org This particular course is made up of well tried elements brought together as a practical learning by doing Ignatian course, particularly suitable for parishes.

Click here to go to SERIES A COURSES

Click here to download and print a BOOKING FORM

(Participants can choose TWO courses to follow for the week ,
ONE course from Series A, and ONE course from Series B)