Father Rahner, Redux
In many places throughout St. Blogs, Fr. Karl Rahner, S. J. has been the subject of much conversation. Now, even if some of his thought is suspect, that does not damage the entirety of his opus. Just as Origen is still read for his vast body of orthodox work, even though his universalist tendencies were heretical, so with Fr. Rahner who coming from a later time, made no divergence of the magnitude of Origen's. (And let's face it, universalism is very appealing when one wishes for an all-loving God. I tend to give Origen the benefit of the doubt in this matter, as it was early on in the formulation of doctrine and his error seems one of charity). Okay, now that I've riled half of the world with those comments, my point is that even one who is in error on some things (as who is not?) can have a truly close, truly deep walk with God. Fr. Rahner saw fit to share that with us:
from Encounters with Silence Chapter 1 "The God of My Life" Fr. Karl Rahner, S. J.But when I love You, when I manage to break out of the narrow circle of self and leave behind the restless agony of unanswered questions, when my blinded eyes no longer look merely from afar and from the outside upon Your unapproachable brightness, and much more when You Yourself, O Incomprehensible One, have become through love the inmost center of my life, then I can bury myself entirely in You, O mysterious God, and with myself all my questions.
Love such as this wills to possess You as You are--how could it desire otherwise? It wants You Yourself, not Your reflection in the mirror of its own spirit. It wants to be united with You alone, so that in the very instant in which it gives up possession of itself, it will have not just Your image, but Your very self.
Dissenter or not, and I leave that between Rahner and his Judge, there is no doubt in my mind that Fr. Rahner longed for and described a powerful, beautiful, and fulfilling union with God. Again, I cannot say whether he lived to see fulfillment of this desire, but it is my ardent prayer that he experiences it now in the bosom of His Majesty.
