Life in abundance

In a religious context, the word life in abundance denotes a fulfilled, ethically oriented, essentially contented life. Freedom from suffering can never be associated with it, but the feeling of living in harmony with one's own conscience and thus largely also with God .

The term comes from the Bible , where it can, however, also refer to the hereafter , and can be found among others. a. in the Gospel of John , for example in the image of the Good Shepherd .

I came so that they might have life and have it in abundance.

It is often the subject of meditations , retreats , seminars such as Marriage Encounter or cursillos . It can also be heard in the oft-mentioned Psalm 23 , as well as in art. The Westphalian Neuenkirchen celebrated the anniversary year 2010 with the annual theme Life in Abundance , for which 140 works by the painter Josef Hendel (1897–1993) were exhibited from a variety of themes.

“A life in abundance for all” was the core demand of the call for a prophetic church, initiated in 2010, which came primarily from Catholic lay people, religious, aid organizations and the “universal church” departments of the dioceses and which also met with great ecumenical response.

Of the considerations in many books, articles and websites, only a few are mentioned:

literature

• Anselm Grün , Walter Kohl: What really sustains us. About a successful life . Herder-Verlag, Freiburg / Breisgau 2014, ISBN 978-3-451-33292-0
• Hildegard Hendrichs: So that they have life in abundance. Meditations on the cross. Hildesheim 1989, ISBN 3-87065-506-2
• Gerhard Boß: Life in Abundance - Ecumenical Memories . Verlag Sankt Michaelsbund, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3939905-70-7
• Austrian Bishops' Conference : “Life in Abundance”, guideline for Catholic institutions in the service of health care , Vienna, p.83
• Augustiner.de: I came so that they could have life and have it in abundance