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Jungian Analytical Method as a Process for Transformative Catechesis
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 March 2013
Abstract
This paper elaborates a theory of catechesis that is concerned with the psychological transformation of adult Christians. It offers a definition of this new type of catechesis as well as a comparison with experiential catechesis. It then presents a process for transformative catechesis based on the analytical method of Jungian depth psychology. This process includes anamnesis, interpretation, discernment, and ritual commitment, with the ultimate aim of helping adults identify and experience the paschal mystery in their own lives. It begins by examining the suitability of Jungian psychology for a catechetical process, presents the actual process, and then explores the theological implications of Jungian-based catechesis for those working in ministry.
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References
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14 Ibid., 286–87. “There are as many archetypes as there are typical situations in life. Endless repetition has engraved these experiences into our psychic constitution, not in the form of images filled with content, but at first as forms without content, representing merely the possibility of a certain type of perception and action. When a situation occurs which corresponds to a given archetype, that archetype becomes activated and a compulsiveness appears, which, like an instinctual drive, gains its way against all reason and will, or else produces a conflict of pathological dimensions, that is to say, a neurosis” (ibid. 48; italics in original).
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60 Ibid., 53.
61 See Stein, , Transformation, 56Google Scholar: “Cultures and religions are repositories of transformative images from the past … From time immemorial, the cultures of humankind have housed and treasured the primordial images of the collective unconscious and made them available to people in their religious mysteries, sacred rites, and rituals. When a person experiences one of these images deeply, it has a profound effect upon consciousness.”
62 Ibid., 50.
63 National Directory for Catechesis, 55 (italics added).
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66 Jones, , “The Perceptions of Jungian Analysts,” 147–61.Google Scholar Jones specifically relates the stages of individuation to group process.
67 For an introduction to active imagination, see Encountering Jung: On Active Imagination and Johnson, Robert, Inner Work: Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth (New York: HarperCollins, 1986).Google Scholar
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