Fr. Jacques Servais SJ
Fr. Servais has been intimately involved with the house since its original inception in 1991.
Born in Belgium in 1949, Fr. Jacques entered the Society of Jesus in 1967 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1979. He completed his university studies at Namur, Heidelberg, Louvain (degrees in philosophy and psychology), Brussels, and Rome (doctorate in dogmatic theology). Since 1985 he has lived in Rome, teaching systematic spiritual theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University and working under then-Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
He is available to researchers interested in our authors of reference.
Fr. Jacques has published various works and articles on H. U. von Balthasar and the spiritual sources of his thought, in particular St. Ignatius of Loyola and A. von Speyr, but also J. H. Newman, M. Blondel, and F. Ulrich.
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For a list of articles by Fr. Servais, click here.
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To view Fr. Servais' bibliography, click here.
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To view a list of past conferences, speaking engagements, and other events, click here.
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To contact Fr. Jacques Servais:
Mail: servais@casabalthasar.org
WhatsApp: 00393487646022
PUBLICATIONS IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
Hans Urs von Balthasar on the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises: An Anthology
"I would like one day", Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote in 1952, "to write a book on Ignatius of Loyola, the saint of whom I will always consider myself the least of sons." The Jesuit-formed theologian from Switzerland - widely considered one of the greatest thinkers and spiritual writers of modern times - never got the chance to fulfill this dream.
Instead, Balthasar's whole theology, from Theo-drama to Credo, is imbued with the influence of Saint Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus and author of the Spiritual Exercises, a multi-week retreat guide that has rejuvenated Catholic spirituality since the sixteenth century. Throughout Balthasar's priestly life, he led countless retreatants in the Ignatian Exercises, accompanying them in their discernment of God's call.
This anthology is an aid for those either giving or making an Ignatian retreat. Full of citations and equipped with four indexes as well as many texts never before translated into English, it sifts Balthasar's writings for insights into almost every page of Ignatius' text, sometimes diving into themes scarcely explored by others. Moreover, it maps out those hidden strains of Jesuit spirituality that run unnoticed through the theologian's oeuvre. Yet the book may help anyone at all who wants to engage more deeply with Jesus or come to grips with Church doctrine, for as Balthasar himself said, the Spiritual Exercises are both a "great school of Christocentric contemplation" and a "genuine interpretation of the deposit of the faith.
Available at >>>Ignatius Press>>>
Comprendre de manière nouvelle: notes en marge de l'interview du Pape émérite Benoît XVI.
La mission de l'Église consiste à "dire toujours à nouveau les choses supra-temporelles dans le temps, et donc aussi, certainement, en fonction du temps et de façon révisable", écrivait Joseph Ratzinger en 1960. Les réponses que le Pape émérite a données dans son interview de mars 2016, traduite en première partie, montrent qu'il n'a pas renié l'intuition de jeune théologien, au moment où celui-ci se préparait à se rendre comme expert au Concile Vatican II. Tout traditionnel qu'il était et qu'il est resté, Benoît XVI témoigne d'un sens aigu de la modernité et d'une étonnante audace et capacité de repenser la foi de l'Église en fonction du temps dans lequel nous vivons.
Dans les notes qui suivent, on voudrait illustrer cela en reprenant quatre thèmes centraux de cette interview: la doctrine de la foi, la miséricorde, la justice et le salut des non-croyants, et terminer en concluant sur les liens de nature théologique et pastorale qui, à l'encontre de certaines apparences, l'unissent au Pape François.
Disponible chez >>>Parole et Silence>>>
Adrienne von Speyr: Una donna nel cuore del Ventesimo secolo
Contributi di: Andrea Brutto, Vivian W. Dudro, Gill Goulding, Joachim Honeck, André-Marie Jerumanis, Kris McGregor, Marc, Card. Ouellet, Lucetta, Scaraffia, Jacques Servais, Robert Svaton;
Una donna nel cuore del Ventesimo secolo: Adrienne von Speyr (1902-1967), questa grande mistica con cui Hans Urs von Balthasar ebbe un rapporto privilegiato, è anche un modello di donna per il nostro tempo. Medico impegnata maggiormente presso dei bisognosi non solo materiali ma spirituali, era allo stesso temp una fedele sposa e madre, e anzitutto un profeta capace di aprire ai credenti i tesori nascosti della fede cristiana.
Con la sua vita e opera ella ci prende per mano nella vita quotidiana laddove uno è alla ricerca di senso, ci accompagna nella scoperta del Creatore, mostra la via d'incontro con Cristo nel Vangelo, ci aiuta a meglio conoscere il Dio trinitario che egli manifesta, ma anche a riscoprire la Chiesa quale focolare di fede, speranza e amore, can la sua missione di riportare al Padre tutto il creato rinnovato.
Di questa contemplativa, i contributi qui pubblicati vogliono dare un'immagine più completa che include il suo ruolo quale fondatrice di un istituto secolare, con il compito di vivificare dal di dentro il mondo con il lavoro e la preghiera. Apportati da autori in maggioranza laici, di diversi continenti e professioni, gli interventi fanno intuire quanto gli scritti di Adrienne si stiano a poco a poco rivelando una fonte di luce e di saggezza per molte persone di condizioni diverse, dando un sostegno per la meditazione personale, nonché stimolando a perseverare nelle fedeltà quotidiana in un mondo in via di secolarizzazione.
Disponibile presso >>>Edizioni Cantagalli>>>
