Is there any surprise that our Spiritual Development Program has been a structured program? Perhaps many of us have enjoyed a feel-good spirituality. Surely, many of us left our Weekends in great joy, and maybe we have tried to inflate those warm, fuzzy feelings with devotions that stir the heart. The premise of this Program is that the Church offers us such a deep spirituality that we can only mine its depths by taking a structured (organized) approach to tap into its riches.
First, a structured approach helps us put together the pieces of the spiritual puzzle. It helps make sense out of the scripture readings and sermons we hear 52 weeks a year, year after year, and the other spiritual exercises we perform. We tend to end up with a jumble of spiritual insights and have no idea where they fit together. Our spirituality can end up being our latest spiritual insight or the last flutter of our hearts.
Structuring helps us to see the connections between a Spirit-centered spirituality, an Incarnation-centered spirituality (Risen Christ) and a Christ-centered spirituality (historical Jesus). Our structured approach has helped us focus on one component at a time rather than taking a scattershot approach of tackling all the spiritualities simultaneously. We have been able to examine the specific goal of each spirituality and its method for achieving its goal. The result has been to produce a foundational spirituality that allows us the flexibility to build on that foundation.
Second, structuring helps us to understand better the elements that comprise spiritualities. All spiritualities have three elements: a theology of God, a psychology of the human person, and a methodology for deepening this human-divine relationship. In our visual below, Person represents our understanding of the human person; Perfection represents our understanding of Christ in terms of three time dimensions; and Process is our familiar methodology for creating deeper relationship with Christ. In reality, all three elements are dynamic models depicting a process.
Third, structuring helps produce a visual which is worth a thousand words. Looking at this valuable spiritual tool, we can ask ourselves: Where is the Spirit moving me? Where is there action taking place in my spiritual life? In my understanding of myself as a person? Or in working at evangelization or spiritual formation? Or in growing in holiness? Or am I becoming more aware of the Spirit prompting me? Or am I more conscious of the Risen Christ within me and striving to manifest His presence? Have I dug more deeply into Scripture? Perhaps, more to the point, where do we need to get some action going? What action can we take to make spiritual progress? The chart helps.
Note that the Church has a structured program to educate its members in spirituality which is the lectionary readings read during the liturgy of the Mass. For the most part, people at the parish level develop their spirituality from these readings and the sermons based on these readings, unless they participate in parish education programs or go on retreats or do their own spiritual reading. But for most people, it is the spiritual nourishment they get at Mass that determines their spirituality.
Ironically enough, these lectionary readings do not communicate the fullness and richness of the Church’s spirituality. They are based primarily on the historical Jesus and follow a calendar of His life, passion, death and resurrection. The result is that a great deal of emphasis is placed on the historical Jesus and little emphasis is given to the Holy Spirit or to the Risen Christ. In this Program, we have stressed the need for an integrated spirituality that is Spirit-centered, Incarnation-centered (Risen Christ) as well as Christ-centered (historical Jesus) to appreciate the richness of the Church’s spirituality.