Piet van Breemen

Piet van Breemen SJ (born June 23, 1927 in Bussum in North Holland ) is a Dutch Jesuit priest , high school teacher, novice master , tertiary teacher , retreat leader , speaker and author of several books on biblical topics and Christian spirituality .

Life

Van Breemen entered the Society of Jesus at the age of 18 in 1945 . He then studied philosophy in Nijmegen , theology in Maastricht and physics in Amsterdam and Rochester (New York) in New York . In 1956 he was ordained a Roman Catholic priest . In 1961 he received his PhD in physics in Amsterdam. He then worked as a high school teacher and speaker for young adults in the Netherlands, Belgium and other countries. 1974 to 1985 he was novice master in Auderghem near Brussels and in Nijmegen. From 1985 to 1993 he was responsible for the last phase of Jesuit training in Berlin , the so-called tertiary . Since then, van Breemen has lived in Nijmegen again.

Theological teaching

Van Breemen always understood theology in terms of his personal vocation, his lived spirituality and prayer . He made Augustine and many other sermons of the Church Fathers public beyond the Catholic world and into Protestant circles. He has made easily understandable contributions to psychology , the sociology of religion and linguistics . He led to Ignatian exercises , the spiritual exercises that are named after the founder of the Jesuit order, Ignatius of Loyola . The aim of these exercises is to find God in Jesus Christ and to find yourself in new truthfulness. This encounter transforms man what happens through the Holy Spirit . He sees the goal of life in the love of God, which is why he sees death only as a transition from shadow to light, because then man can experience God's love uncovered.

Works

Van Breemen's works have been translated into twenty languages; the following have appeared in German so far:

• Like bread that is broken. 20 scripture meditations . Echter , Würzburg 1978. ISBN 978-3-429-00541-2 (new edition: St. Benno , Leipzig 1986. ISBN 978-3-746-20172-6 ).
• Called and sent. Thoughts on Succession. Echter, Würzburg 1986. ISBN 978-3-429-00600-6 .
• What matters is love. Herder , Freiburg 2000. ISBN 978-3-451-26863-2 (with new subtitle: Exercise in Everyday Life. Herder, Freiburg, revised edition 2005. ISBN 978-3-451-28838-8 )
• Filled with God's light. An everyday spirituality. Matthias Grünewald , Mainz 2005. ISBN 978-3-786-78550-7 .
• At home in secret. Help from the Bible. Echter, Würzburg 2008. ISBN 978-3-429-02978-4 .
• Growing old as a spiritual path. Echter, Würzburg, 6th edition 2009. ISBN 978-3-429-02533-5 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Magazine Salzkorn 1/2014, no. 257, where do you live? Pages 32-35
2. ^ [1] Interview by Silvia Becker with van Breemen under the title: Linked to one another - beyond death. December 1, 2012 on Deutsche Welle