Method as contemplative enquiry: from holy listening to sacred reading and shared horizons
This article considers the extent to which empirical research practice can be considered theological in character. In order to explore the understanding among older Roman Catholic sisters in the UK of their apostolic vocation in later life, I designed a research method which combined 'holy list...
| Published in: | Practical theology |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group
[2019]
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| In: |
Practical theology
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| IxTheo Classification: | CB Christian life; spirituality CF Christianity and Science KCA Monasticism; religious orders KDB Roman Catholic Church |
| Further subjects: | B
Research Practice
B Lectio Divina B Method B Vocation B contemplative enquiry |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Summary: | This article considers the extent to which empirical research practice can be considered theological in character. In order to explore the understanding among older Roman Catholic sisters in the UK of their apostolic vocation in later life, I designed a research method which combined 'holy listening' and 'sacred reading' with the analytical rigour of methods drawn from the social sciences. I treated the interviews I carried out with sisters as 'holy listening' and the interview transcripts as potentially revelatory, and material suitable for Lectio Divina. Working in this way provided me with personal insights into the mutuality and gift at the heart of the sisters' own understanding of ministry, as being with and being for, for the sake of the Kingdom. It thus prefigured my research findings and led me to understand my research as spiritual practice, and my own role of researcher as one of ministry. |
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| ISSN: | 1756-0748 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Practical theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/1756073X.2019.1575042 |