Transformation and Accompaniment: Developing Pinckaers’s Model of Moral Growth

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterScientificpeer-review

Abstract

In this chapter I will present a much-neglected account by Servais Pinckaers on the moral
change worked in us by the Holy Spirit. Following Servais Pinckaers and John Henry Newman I will first describe a way of recognizing God “in passing.” Then, I will present Pinckaers’s proposal for a model of multidimensional moral change. In reflecting on that proposal, I will point out some of the questions it raises on human freedom and grace. These I will then address with the help of Aquinas’s biblical commentaries and his theological writings. This will help answer the question: how does moral transformation, which we may describe as a “change of heart and spirit” (see Ez. 36:26), take place? Here, I will pay particular attention to charity, prudence, and the Spirit’s gift of counsel. Finally, I will offer a brief reflection on how the insights may be applied to studying moral transformation and to the practice of spiritual accompaniment. This four-step process is a way of trying to delve into increasingly deeper layers of theology, moving from Pinckaers’s intuition of how we see God at work, to a theological appreciation of Aquinas’s description of the movement of grace in the human person, and to then see how it may serve pastoral purposes.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationMoral Conversion in Scripture, Self, and Society
EditorsKrijn Pansters, Anton ten Klooster
PublisherDe Gruyter
Pages157-171
Number of pages15
ISBN (Print)978-3-11-144695-0
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2024
EventAgents of Change: Moral Conversion and Social Transformation - Tilburg University/online, Tilburg, Netherlands
Duration: 29 Jun 20221 Jul 2022
https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/about/schools/theology/about/annual-calendar/agents-change

Conference

ConferenceAgents of Change
Country/TerritoryNetherlands
CityTilburg
Period29/06/221/07/22
Internet address

Keywords

  • conversion
  • moral theology
  • character formation
  • pope Francis
  • virtue ethics

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