From time to time, I return to something I have read years
before. I guess that is one good
argument for a library! In our
technological culture I am sure there is less book buying than I did. That is not a bad thing. But I still do like to have a book to hold in
my hand, to underline and place back on a shelf in the hope that some day in
the future, I will again pull it off the shelf and re-read parts of it.
I did that just yesterday.
I am working on some guest lectures for the near future. It is a topic that I have given some thought
to, but have never actually lectured or spoken publically about this
theme. This is an odd place---a place
where I have been many times. The topic
given to me to address is one that I am quite happy to do. I have many, many thoughts, ideas, and
half-baked suppositions running through my head. On one hand, it feels like I know quite a bit
and could stand up right now and speak for an hour on the topic. On the other hand, realistically I know that
I have no organized way to present the extraneous material floating about in my
brain.
I may know quite a bit, but it is randomly related,
unorganized and, probably, chaotic. I
could stand up and make a whole range of thoughts that would not be related or
connected. An audience would think I am
nuts, if I were to do it right now. I
need to ponder the topic. I need to find
a couple filters to sift through the variety of ideas that I have. I need a magnet to line up the various
strands of thought.
The topic is about spirituality. Of course, there is much more specificity than
that. Spirituality is a very general
term. There are many ways you could take a speech. Some in the audience would assume they know
what spirituality is. And others would
claim to have no clue. What is needed is
some definition. Some focus would be
helpful in the moment.
And that is exactly what I found in a book that I had pulled
down from the shelf. I knew I had read
it before. Indeed, the markings in the
book proved that I had read the whole thing.
I am always amazed and a little disappointed to see that I had read this
book fairly carefully and, yet, had little recollection of what it said. Maybe it is better to have read and
forgotten, than never to have read at all!
I have no memory of the book’s definition of
spirituality. Sister Joan Chittister, a
Benedictine nun, is one of my favorite writers.
She is a spunky, daring writer who takes all of us half-hearted
spiritual creatures to task. In a book
from the 1990s Chittister distills the meaning and truth from St. Benedict’s Rule.
The Rule offers guidelines for
monks, nuns and other spiritual people to live meaningful lives. I have read it often and try to follow its
direction.
It was not specific words on the Rule that captured my
attention. What grabbed me was
Chittister’s definition of spirituality.
She says, “Spirituality is more than churchgoing. It is possible to go to church and never
develop a spirituality at all.
Spirituality is the way in which we express a living faith in a real
world. Spirituality is the sum total of
the attitudes and actions that define our life of faith.” To me that resonated as quite true. Don’t confuse spirituality with
churchgoing. Somehow, spirituality is
different than going to church---although spirituality may include going to
church.
It was the next line that made so much sense to me. She says that spirituality is the way we
express a living faith. That also is a
general statement, but it strikes me as being profound. Spirituality is an expression. It is more than ideas and more than
doctrine. It is an expression---an
expression of a living faith. It leaves
me with some queries---some questions.
Do I have a living faith? I am
sure I have a faith. But it is a living
faith? That’s the key question.
She continues.
Spirituality is the sum total of the attitudes and actions that define
our life of faith. Again, I like the
idea of spirituality as both attitudes and actions. Attitudes and actions are so much more than
mere ideas. For example, I could have a
belief in God---a doctrine of God. But
if it does not shape my attitudes and develop specific actions, it is actually
pretty puny.
Chittister’s definition gives me a good way to think about
my own spirituality. Is it a living
faith? Or it is only something to which
I give only incidental, passing thought?
Does my spirituality actually shape my attitudes? Or do I have my normal attitudes about things
that have no real connection with my spirituality---my living faith?
Finally, does my spirituality shape and define my actions in
the world? Do I do anything because that
is how my spirituality dictates the action?
Or are my actions totally unrelated to what I would say my spirituality
is? Perhaps that is the key question: do
I act in a way that befits my spirituality---my living faith?
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