Rev Francis D'Sa's Speech

GETTING TO KNOW FR KARL RAHNER SJ

I am going to speak about Fr. Karl Rahner. I had an appointment with him. Both of us had teaching Assignments at the Theological Faculty of Innsbruck. When I entered his room, I found him happily spread out on his bed. He had just finished his lecture. I enquired if I could get him a beer. He smiled back and nodded. I dashed off to the staff room and brought him a beer. After finishing his beer, he smiled at me and said, "You won't mind if I invite you for dinner?" Surprised, "I'll be honoured," I replied!

At dinner, he made me sit on his right, being hard of hearing on the left., "Don't look at the prices, just choose what you like," he added simply.

As the meal progresse 1, his face took on a serious look. "That lady in front of us, staring at us, specializes in mysticism. She wants me to go through her writings. But I m not in anything of that kind of thing."

Next time, it was I who invited him for dinner. He took long to accept. But when he saw how my face fell, he gave in. At the Restaurant, I said, "Please don't look at the prices and choose what you like!" We both smiled.

Why am I telling you all these things?  

I'm sharing some experiences with a theologian, who is/was considered to be one of the great thinkers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and who treated me as a friend, and whom the proud Heidegger, in his difficult days, came to visit his student in that well-known Jesuit College.

Fast Forward. I had a car accident in Vienna, and when I returned to Innsbruck, it happened that I met Fr. Rahner on an old staircase of the Jesuit College He had already heard of my accident. Prophetically, he brought me a set of the newly published paperback edition of his "Sacramentum Mundi", that is, the "Mystery of the Universe" corresponding to the original Greek title.

He confessed he was not in a position to interpret the important multireligious situation of India. But he advised me to be sensi ive when studying the fine religious differences in their historical context

• He was always modest about himself and his achievements.

• When I discussed topics of Indian Theology, he inevitably preaded ignorance. However, he suggested that I work towards greater clarity of thought.    

• Lastly, what had begun as a series of friendly encounters with Fr. Rahner lasted a semester. Now, when I look back, I realize I have been nourished by these encounters since.

• Connected with this is the temptation of referring to his thesis of "anonymous Christians". At that time, Fr. Rahner must have sensed that I was too immature to deliberate on his much-maligned and misunderstood thesis.

Today, I know this same thesis would have initiated a fruitful and animated dialogue between the worlds of Karl Rahner and Raimon Panikkar.

***

At the end, I thank the organizers, the editors, and especially the authors who, like a mirror, have shown me how I think and write. I am grateful to each one of them.

One last point I have completely overlooked: At least in the evening of one's life, one should realize that being is more important than doing!

A final realization:

We live on Memories.

What are Scriptures, if not a community's collective memories?