REALITY IS SUPERIOR TO IDEA. Is contemporary thinking returning to the realistic?

«Reality is superior to the idea» is one of the postulates that guide the thought of Pope Francis. The article identifies a convergence between the Pope’s reflection on this and the current debate around the question of realism: the conviction of the existence of a world regardless of the one who thinks it. However, the question of reality is not original, since it has always been at the centre of the philosophy which has been inspired by Thomas Aquinas. In conclusion, the article indicates the ethical implications of the way in which reality is understood.
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THE LORD’S ETERNAL MERCY

Prayer is needed to truly receive the Lord’s mercy. And to pray we have to listen to the Word of God. The author of Psalm 136 introduces, and guides us in the song that celebrates God’s perpetual benevolence. It manifests itself from its beginning in the grandeur of creation, it is carried out in the powerful gestures of the history of salvation and reaches the person who prays at that actual moment with the gift of daily bread. Forever and always is the Lord’s mercy, and perpetual and ever-new is the believer’s hymn to say thank you, and with which he interprets the cry of jubilance of each creature, remembering how good the God in heaven is.
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CHRISTIAN ART AND CONTEMPORARY CULTURE. Between decline and hope of redemption

The relationship between Christianity and visual arts in Europe amounts to a story of close and fruitful alliance. But, this close tie has loosened with the passing of the centuries, and above all today with secularization. How has the Church reacted to this historical crisis? On the one hand, there is the temptation to re-inscribe post-modernity into tradition, with a return to a mythical and reassuring past. On the other hand, the real challenge is to listen to the questions of our time. Art is called to be prophetic again, pointing to new horizons of meaning for man today.
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THE SAPHRON COLOURED WAVE. Democracy in India and Hindu nationalism

The national elections for the Lower House of Parliament of India, April-May 2014, marked a watershed in India’s democratic policy. The Hindu nationalist party, Bharatiya Janata (BJP), has for the first time conquered the majority. The article seeks to investigate the possible outcomes of an emerging drift regarding its own identity in the Indian sub-continent, and how the country’s current socio-political situation does not match that «idea of India» so eloquently expressed in the preamble of its democratic constitution.
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ZEN EXERCISES AND CHRISTIAN MEDITATION

The use of the term «Zen», which has become fashionable recently, extends to multiple propositions. In part, this is due to «the Zen masters» who define and authorize themselves alone. Therefore, this is why it is important to recognize what is being proposed in the West with Buddhist meditation. In particular, in this article Zen exercises are referred to in the way they are practiced by non-Buddhists, and especially by Christians. A more in-depth study of these exercises also shows that interesting parallels can be established between these exercises and the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

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