The title for this inspirational piece comes from an essay from a former Jesuit, Louis Savary. The article was shared with me by a friend who knows what I like to read. The essay describes a new spirituality, which I found to be very interesting. Much of it was not surprising to me, but it is something I can use in a variety of different things I do. Savary’s words in the essay are actually an introductory commentary on a new book from him, The New Spiritual Exercises. If you are Catholic, you might guess since Savary is a former Jesuit, this book is a re-look at the founding Jesuit, Ignatius of Loyola’s famous little book, Spiritual Exercises. Since this original work appeared some 450 years ago, it is worth updating.
Let me summarize Savary’s perspective, since his thoughts on contemporary spirituality are worth noting. Savary is concerned above all that contemporary human beings take seriously what science teaches us. This is especially true for those of us who claim a faith tradition, which for him and myself is the Christian tradition. For too many people of faith, faith comes first and often at the expense of any scientific knowledge. It is easy today to believe things that make no sense.
Basic to our scientific understanding of our world is evolution. Granted I might not know much, or anything, about evolution. But that does not mean evolution is not true! There are many things I don’t know anything about, but I believe they work and are true. That is the case with my car. I have no clue how an engine works, but when I climb into the driver’s seat, I expect it will take me where I want to go. My ignorance about auto mechanics has nothing to do with its functionality.
Savary is quite clear. He says, “The new spirituality embraces science.” In fact, it makes good sense to understand that creation is a book of revelation. There is a nice tradition within Christianity which makes this very point. Many of us know that Revelation is the last book of the New Testament. But that is not the only revelation. The term, revelation, is a Greek-based work which means to “make known” or to “uncover.” If we see creation as a book of revelation, then we are able to “see” and to “know” something about who God is and how God works. This is exciting.
This enables Savary to say things like, “Scientific discoveries do not replace scripture, but rather complement it.” The leads us to appreciate the nature of change. We all know that creation continues to change our world. There is the annual change. Each spring I watch the trees bud and grow leaves. And then in the fall, those leaves charm us with color and fall to the earth. We are not surprised by this change; in fact, we would be alarmed if it did anything else.
And so, change seems built into the system of creation. And this is just the point of evolution. And evolution does have a point. This is one of the most exciting things about the world of Savary and others he relies on. For example, he frequently mentions Teilhard de Chardin, an early twentieth-century scientist, among others. Because evolution is happening as a result of God’s work, we can trust its truth as we learn about it. Savary and others help me see that one of the truths about our evolving universe is the insistence that love is the core principle of evolution. I simply would say that our evolving world happens because of love and for love.
And this is where we come in. We are part of this evolving process---you and me. In fact, I like to think about myself as a fact of love. I am love manifest. When I am at my best, I represent love. I reveal love. Of course, because of my freedom, I am capable of being at my worst. Instead of loving, I can choose to be egotistical and arrogant. I can refuse to share. I can wink at justice and hoard my own stuff. And so on.
Near the end of his essay, Savary has a couple lines I like. He says that “God has a great evolutionary project going on here on Earth, and you are a unique part of that project.” You are unique---one of a kind. Furthermore, “you are called by God to make your life matter.” What a gift and what a challenge. It is not unusual for people to hope they live a meaningful life. I surely hope I do. It is not unusual for college students to say they hope to make a difference in the world. And I hope they do.
What Savary and the new spirituality offer is an even higher calling. It is a calling built into the very fabric of creation itself. We have a unique part of that creative project. We are called by God to make our lives matter. The good news here is it does not matter how old you are. If we only have today, we have a chance to make our life matter. In fact, we can only do it today. Yesterday is over. I can hope to do it tomorrow, but that has to wait.
Most of us don’t really need instructions to know how to make life matter. We know it is not through sin. It is not through selfishness, etc. Sadly, I can still choose to go that route. Many of us sin knowingly. I can be selfish in the full knowledge I am doing it. Of course, I rationalize it in a way to get myself off the hook.
I hope you are up to the calling and challenge: make your life matter.
Let me summarize Savary’s perspective, since his thoughts on contemporary spirituality are worth noting. Savary is concerned above all that contemporary human beings take seriously what science teaches us. This is especially true for those of us who claim a faith tradition, which for him and myself is the Christian tradition. For too many people of faith, faith comes first and often at the expense of any scientific knowledge. It is easy today to believe things that make no sense.
Basic to our scientific understanding of our world is evolution. Granted I might not know much, or anything, about evolution. But that does not mean evolution is not true! There are many things I don’t know anything about, but I believe they work and are true. That is the case with my car. I have no clue how an engine works, but when I climb into the driver’s seat, I expect it will take me where I want to go. My ignorance about auto mechanics has nothing to do with its functionality.
Savary is quite clear. He says, “The new spirituality embraces science.” In fact, it makes good sense to understand that creation is a book of revelation. There is a nice tradition within Christianity which makes this very point. Many of us know that Revelation is the last book of the New Testament. But that is not the only revelation. The term, revelation, is a Greek-based work which means to “make known” or to “uncover.” If we see creation as a book of revelation, then we are able to “see” and to “know” something about who God is and how God works. This is exciting.
This enables Savary to say things like, “Scientific discoveries do not replace scripture, but rather complement it.” The leads us to appreciate the nature of change. We all know that creation continues to change our world. There is the annual change. Each spring I watch the trees bud and grow leaves. And then in the fall, those leaves charm us with color and fall to the earth. We are not surprised by this change; in fact, we would be alarmed if it did anything else.
And so, change seems built into the system of creation. And this is just the point of evolution. And evolution does have a point. This is one of the most exciting things about the world of Savary and others he relies on. For example, he frequently mentions Teilhard de Chardin, an early twentieth-century scientist, among others. Because evolution is happening as a result of God’s work, we can trust its truth as we learn about it. Savary and others help me see that one of the truths about our evolving universe is the insistence that love is the core principle of evolution. I simply would say that our evolving world happens because of love and for love.
And this is where we come in. We are part of this evolving process---you and me. In fact, I like to think about myself as a fact of love. I am love manifest. When I am at my best, I represent love. I reveal love. Of course, because of my freedom, I am capable of being at my worst. Instead of loving, I can choose to be egotistical and arrogant. I can refuse to share. I can wink at justice and hoard my own stuff. And so on.
Near the end of his essay, Savary has a couple lines I like. He says that “God has a great evolutionary project going on here on Earth, and you are a unique part of that project.” You are unique---one of a kind. Furthermore, “you are called by God to make your life matter.” What a gift and what a challenge. It is not unusual for people to hope they live a meaningful life. I surely hope I do. It is not unusual for college students to say they hope to make a difference in the world. And I hope they do.
What Savary and the new spirituality offer is an even higher calling. It is a calling built into the very fabric of creation itself. We have a unique part of that creative project. We are called by God to make our lives matter. The good news here is it does not matter how old you are. If we only have today, we have a chance to make our life matter. In fact, we can only do it today. Yesterday is over. I can hope to do it tomorrow, but that has to wait.
Most of us don’t really need instructions to know how to make life matter. We know it is not through sin. It is not through selfishness, etc. Sadly, I can still choose to go that route. Many of us sin knowingly. I can be selfish in the full knowledge I am doing it. Of course, I rationalize it in a way to get myself off the hook.
I hope you are up to the calling and challenge: make your life matter.
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