Fausto Gomez OP
We use “spirituality” and “spiritual theology” interchangeably. One may say with other writers that while “spirituality” refers more to practical spirituality or the paths to experience God, “spiritual theology,” to the systematic, academic reflection on the experiences of God. Both, however, consider doctrine and experiences of the saints and mystics.
What is spirituality? The word spirituality is an English translation of the Latin term spiritualitas, which is related to the adjective spiritualis (spiritual), the root of which is the verb spirare that means “to breathe,” and spiritualis, “belonging to breathing or air.” As every person needs breathing to live, the spiritual is needed to live a life in the Spirit, which is fully lived by Christ and, through Jesus, in those born of the Spirit (Jn 3:7).
Historically, spirituality is centered on prayer, ascetic life and personal devotions. It refers traditionally to the “interior life,” to “one’s self-awareness of the presence-to-God” (Richard J. Woods). By the middle of the 20th century, the word spirituality was a very popular word closely connected with devotion, piety, interior life, life of the soul, spiritual life, and finally spiritual theology. Currently, spirituality is understood as the whole life of a person, a life that integrates personal and social life, faith and good deeds, prayer and work, love of God and love of neighbor, contemplation and work for justice and peace, and caring responsibility for God’s creation. Spirituality leads to transcendence, to God, to others and to creation. It is an inner and outer journey of the person. Spiritual life includes both a religious experience and an ethical praxis.
Spirituality is often described as a personal quest for meaning: “The desire for meaning is the most easily recognized form of spiritual hunger” (R. Gula). This natural and universal quest, this interior journey may or may not be directed to God or the Spirit. There is a spirituality without God which is described in various ways: within a bio-centric, or an anthropocentric, or a cosmic horizon as connectedness respectively with other living beings, or human beings, or with all, including inanimate beings.
Spirituality is described in various complementary ways. It is witnessing holistic harmony in life, being and living in God’s presence, walking according to the Spirit. The human person, the center of spirituality, is body-soul, interiority and relationship, open to God and to others, and to our common home – the earth. Thus, in a religious context we may define the spirituality of the human person as “the affirmation of life in a harmonious relationship with God, self, community and environment that nurtures and celebrates wholeness” (National Interfaith Coalition on Aging).
All religions and religious movements have a kind of spirituality, or a way of life according to the spirit, to reason, to faith, to God’s commandments, to the fundamental option or basic value of life. Thus we may speak of different kinds of spirituality: Hindu spirituality, Buddhist spirituality, Islamic spirituality, Secular spirituality, New Age spirituality…
Radically, Christian spirituality is one: the experience of God through Jesus Christ in the Spirit. Within the Christian tradition, we talk of mainline Protestant Spirituality, Evangelical Spirituality, Orthodox Spirituality and Catholic Spirituality. In the Catholic tradition there are three basic forms of Christian spirituality according to the three paths of living out the specific personal vocation: namely, priestly life, consecrated life and the life of lay women and men. Moreover, and within the various religious orders, congregations, priestly and lay institutions, there are different specific spiritualities, for instance, Benedictine or Franciscan spirituality, Opus Dei spirituality, Ascending Life spirituality, etc.
Christian spirituality is, in all its different kinds and forms, the spirituality of the followers of Christ, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life (cf. Jn 14:5-7). It is the spirituality – or the life – of the believers in Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Mary, divine and human, Brother and Savior, the Crucified and Risen Lord.
In classical theology, spirituality may be defined, according to Jordan Aumann, as: “That part of theology that, proceeding from the truths of divine revelation and the religious experience of individual persons, defines the nature of supernatural life, formulates directives for its growth and development, and explains the process by which souls advance from the beginning of the spiritual life to its full perfection.”
A well-known expert, Fr. Thomas Green SJ, defines Christian spirituality as “the whole way of life, which is our response to the loving initiative of God revealed in Christ Jesus.” Underlining its social dimension, Daniel Groody describes Christian spirituality thus: “Christian spirituality is about following Jesus, living out the values of the kingdom of God, and generating a community transformed by the love of God and others.” He adds: “Lived out in its personal and public dimension, Christian spirituality is the way in which the invisible heart of God is made visible to the world.” Theologian Sandra Schneiders’ definition of spirituality, which is often quoted, reads: Christian spirituality is “that particular actualization of the capacity for self-transcendence that is constituted by the substantial gift of the Holy Spirit establishing a life-giving relationship with God in Christ within the believing community.” She underlines the relationship with God One and Triune in the community of disciples. Christian spirituality cannot be individualistic, self-centered, but a guide to decentralization, to un-selfing! It is a communion of life among all the members of the Church.
In a word, true Christian spirituality combines two intertwined dimensions: transcendent and immanent, personal and communitarian, natural and supernatural, contemplative and active, temporal and eschatological. Christian spirituality considers as inextricably linked love of God and love of neighbor, eternal life and transformation of the world, union with God and eco-justice that guide Christians to contribute to building up a just and fraternal community.
In closing, we underline that Christian spirituality is a spirituality of charity: “Spiritualitas autem vita per caritatem est” – “The spiritual life comes from charity” (St. Thomas Aquinas). The mission of Christians is to inflame the world with Jesus’ love. (Image: St Joseph and Jesus in the Workshop, Pietro Annigoni, 1910-1988, Florence. From https://www.godwhospeaks.uk/)
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