Klaipėdos universitetas

Pope John Paul II visited Lithuania on 4–8 September 1993. While visiting and praying at the Hill of Crosses, he said that he was here to reflect with believers on the cross of Christ and the treasures of truth and light that lie within it. The cross reveals ‘the power of God and the wisdom of God’ (1 Cor 1:24), and contains the essence of the Good News, which allows us to understand who God is and who man is. The Holy Father John Paul II gave 15 speeches during his visit to Lithuania. These speeches reveal that the cross is one of the most striking features of John Paul II’s message to Lithuania. Of the 15 speeches, eight mention the cross. The cross is referred to in the Holy Father’s sermon during Mass on the Hill of Crosses 37 times, in the prayers at Antakalnis Cemetery at the tombs of the martyrs of independence in Vilnius (1991) 16 times, in the Holy Father’s address to the clergy, religious and seminarians in the Cathedral of St Stanislaw in Vilnius seven times, at the meeting with young people of Lithuania at the Darius and Girėnas Stadium in Kaunas three times, in the sermon during the Liturgy of the Word in Šiluva two times, and once each in the sermon at Mass in Vingis Park, in the speech to the intelligentsia at St John’s Church at Vilnius University, and in the sermon during Mass at Santaka in Kaunas. In total, the cross is mentioned 68 times. This article presents features of the unveiling of the mystery of the cross in Pope John Paul II’s speeches: the cross is a sign of the Christian faith; the cross gives meaning to suffering; the cross is a source of strength; the cross provides atonement; the cross opens the horizons of eternal life; the cross is a sign of resurrection.

When looking at spiritual and psychological counselling, the process, characteristics and problems, and the needs of the people involved in counselling, it can be seen that both of these non-material forms of assistance have a number of similarities, and also essential differences. This is to be expected, as both forms of assistance are categorised and treated as types of counselling. It is worth noting that in one form of counselling the focus is more on spiritual matters, while in the other the focus is on addressing a person’s psychological issues. A psychologist plays the role of a mirror for the individual, linking their well-being to active psychological efforts to help themselves, while a spiritual counsellor does not limit their activities solely to psychology and its techniques and knowledge, but seeks strength in the spiritual realm. By understanding the differences and similarities in the application of assistance methods, those seeking help can choose and seek the most appropriate form of assistance. Therefore, this article focuses on revealing the differences and points in common between spiritual counselling and psychological counselling, as ways to provide assistance to those in need. Although practitioners of counselling use the same or similar professional counselling skills, it is also important to note the fundamental differences, and to identify the values that practitioners of both spiritual and psychological counselling adhere to. In order to justify the distinctiveness and identity of spiritual and psychological counselling, the article aims to reveal the essence, the meaning, the differences, and the points in common between these forms of assistance.

Fr Jurgis Pabrėža (1771-1849), who was born 250 years ago, gave suggestive and memorable, timely and modern, and professionally written and delivered sermons to believers. Pabrėža himself compiled collections of sermons (a total of ten sets of sermons), and divided them by topic. The subject of this article is one of the surviving collections of sermons, ‘Sermons on Various Matters’. In his sermons, Pabrėža adheres to the Church tradition by referring to the Bible, the documents of the Ecumenical Councils of the Church, and the teachings of the Church Fathers, popes and saints. While thinking and deliberating in his heart, taking up theological studies, reading and studying the Holy Scriptures, and practising spiritual exercises, the preacher examines the current affairs of the time, and applies traditional teaching to them. Pabrėža’s goal was to preach the Word of God, keeping science and faith in close unity, in order ‘to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (1 Thessalonians 5:9), the Incarnate Word of God. The Word preached by the priest, i.e. Jesus Christ, is God Himself, and all words refer to the Word, which is never only the past, but always both the present and the future.

Humanity benefits from the achievements of modern technology, but man cannot avoid pain, long-term suffering, and spiritual problems. In modern society, as in all eras, man still raises fundamental questions of being: What is the meaning of life? What is spirituality? How to solve spiritual problems? Therefore, spiritual counselling or assistance is receiving more and more attention. Its needs and benefits are undoubtedly noticeable, because spiritual assistance tries to respond to the spiritual needs of people today, and to be a landmark in spreading spiritual well-being. Although spiritual counselling in Lithuania is still searching for explicit boundaries of function and definition, it is becoming quite clear that it is not the same as psychological counselling. Of course, spiritual counselling is not so far from psychological counselling, as they both have some features in common. However, the priority of a spiritual counsellor is existential questions and the search for answers to queries about the meaning of life, suffering, death, love, etc. Spiritual counselling tries to approach a person through the prism of faith. A unique element in spiritual counselling is not the methods used by the counsellors, but their personality, their world-view, faith, values, and attitude towards other people. Therefore, in order to substantiate the identity and importance of spiritual counselling, this article aims to reveal the essence and meaning of spiritual counselling.

In his literary cycle The Chronicles of Narnia Clive Staples Lewis conveyed the Biblical plot, Christian values and moral virtues. The main leitmotif apparent in The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis is development of the relation with Jesus Christ. In order to achieve this purpose, the author skilfully employed the main characters and their actions to render cardinal moral virtues of wisdom, justice, strength and self-restraint. This article reveals the expression of the above mentioned cardinal moral virtues in C. S. Lewis’s literary cycle The Chronicles of Narnia through systematization of the actions of the characters and expressions of Biblical motifs. C. S. Lewis relies on his Christian wisdom to present a sketch of theological moral virtues which could be used as guidelines in moral education of the youth.