Macau Ricci Institute Public Forum: Learning Mercy: Spiritual Transformation in Jonah and Hosea
Date:
- Tuesday 19 March 2024
Venue:
- Multi-function Room in the Seminary Campus of University of St. Joseph
- 聖若瑟大學聖若瑟修院校區多功能室
Cooperation Partner:
- University of St. Joseph
Video Record:
Speaker
Prof. Franz Gassner SVD
Prof. Franz Gassner SVD completed Professional School for Electrical Engineering in Austria, and studied Philosophy and Catholic Theology in Vienna and at Boston College, USA. He was teaching Religious Education at a Secondary School in Vienna and worked in the Youth Ministry in Vienna, Austria, and in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA. From 2002-2012 he served in formation in Vienna, Austria, and as research assistant at the Institute of Social Ethics of the University of Vienna. He completed there his Ph.D. project in Social Ethics in 2012 (Ethics of Consumption) and started teaching at USJ, mainly modules in history of philosophy, ethics, moral theology, and environmental management and ethics. From 2020-2023 he served as Dean of the Faculty of Religious Studies and Philosophy at USJ in Macau. He edited in 2007 the book Solidarity and Justice. Ecumenical Perspectives (together with Ingeborg Gabriel), and in 2020 the book Menschenrechte und Gerechtigkeit als bleibende Aufgaben (together with I. Klissenbauer, P. Steinmair-Pösel, and P. G. Kirchschläger). His research interests are in the quest for spiritual resources for sustainable development and systems. He most recent article is on natural law.
Introduction
Learning God’s mercy is a main theme in the book of Jonah and Hosea, a topic which gained track in the wake of the Pontificates of John Paul II, Benedicts XVI, and Francis. In today’s crises we are in multiple needs of healing and forgiveness, longing for the experience of God’s mercy and transformation. The lecture traces elements of God’s healing presence and readiness to forgive as expressed in Jonah and in Hosea. It helps spiritually to prepare for the Holy Triduum, the celebration of the paschal mystery of God’s transforming mercy and love.
