Abstract:

“’Beauty, Revelation and Redemption’ and Other Essays” is a Capstone Project with one underlying theme connecting all the four essays: Redemption. As a participation in the public discourse on this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, the essays survey different avenues by which change of heart and change of life can be achieved. The first essay on “Beauty, Revelation and Redemption” discusses the wealth of Christian perspectives on beauty and how this beauty can save humanity. The second essay “Memory, Time and Eternity in The Confessions of Augustine” explores the role of memory (as recorded in Chapter 10 of The Confessions) in the redemption of humanity as experienced by Augustine, and how eternity is experienced in concrete human situations and also in liturgical traditions. The third Essay, “The Discovery of Moral Truths through Laughter and Joy”, studies the historical role of laughter in the Greek, Medieval and Contemporary Societies especially in the discovery of moral truths. It also tries to present a way to recover Joy which has seemingly been ‘lost’ in the Church’s spiritual tradition. The last essay, “Buddhism in Dialogue with Christianity”, expounds on the different traditions of the Buddhist Sunyata and Christian Kenosis as practiced in their rich heritage of meditation and contemplation. This last essay wishes to shed some light on the problems posed by the advances of technology and offer some help in addressing them.

Final Defense:

Board of Examiners: Fr. Manuel Francisco, S.J., S.T.D., Fr. Eric Genilo, S.J., S.T.D., and Fr. Victor De Jesus, S.J., S.T.L.

Proposal Defense: