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Copyright of Studi e Materiali di Storia delle Religioni is the property of Editrice Morcelliana S.p.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

One of the outstanding poetic achievements of the French Counter-Reformation is the sonnet sequence of Jean de La Ceppède (1550-1623), the full title of which isLes Théorèmes sur le sacré mystère de notre Rédemption, and which appeared in a form whose combination of intense formal focus and broad narrative development is particularly appropriate to the subject. The collection, published in two stages (dating from 1613 and 1622) is at once erudite, physical, penitential and precise, under which broad headings it is discussed in the first part of this article, which concentrates on the detailed attention accorded to the specifics of Christ’s suffering body before and during the Crucifixion, often in a strikingly painterly fashion. Two other features stand out: first, the existence of frequently very extensiveAnnotations, in which the whole panoply of patristic and later erudition is applied to features of the episodes depicted; and, then, the potential for their evocation to serve as meditational and penitential stimuli for the poet persona and, through him, for the reader. The second part of the article turns to the status of the wounds of Christ in the post-Resurrection appearances, as a means of restoring to the risen body some of the previous physical beauty implicitly evoked in the earlier pieces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the book "Keeping An Unbreakable Faith in the Mist of Afflictions" by Asule G. Jacob. Topics discussed include keeping the faith of God amidst affliction, upgrade knowledge on the ways of God, the use of afflictions in punishing evil, and the significance of worship.

It is obvious that contemporary man is suffering. His sufferings often seem pointless and causeless. Modern science more and more comes to reveal and acknowledge that human sufferings have a psychosomatic basis. In some of the cases, these sufferings are noogenic neuroses. They do not originate from the psychological dimension but from the noological or spiritual one of human existence. The pointlessness of life is the basic cause for the noogenic neurosis and depression from which the humankind suffers. Hence, the many escapes from such experienced reality into various addictions. Possible way towards healing is to retrieve one's meaning of life, to strengthen his will to meaning. Religion has always been--and still remains--a powerful and appealing purpose that fulfills the life and being of the believers. This article demonstrates the systematization of the spiritual development of a person presented in a table of the harmony of the ascetic-hesychastic struggle, according which everyone can find his place on the ladder of spiritual development, become aware, and reconciliate the mode of personal struggle according to his spiritual development. The reconciliation of the primary function of the mind with its secondary function--the intellect, is of an essential importance. Contemporary religious psychology do not regard man merely as a biological or a psychological being. The subject matter of research is the human being as a whole, as a spiritual person that is characterized by autonomy, regarding the biological and psychological processes. The importance of understanding the spiritual level of human existence enables holistic approach and experiencing of the human personality as a whole. Furthermore, it offers new perspectives of psychotherapeutic action not only within the range of the classical psychotherapeutic modalities but also within the range of the applied Christian Psychotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]