by Father Robert Lauder

Seventh in a series

There are several insights that I like in the essay “Are We Relating to God in a New Way?” by Father Gerald M. Fagin, S.J., which first appeared in the Review for Religious, (November-December, 1993).

In the essay, which has been the subject of my columns for the last six issues of this paper, Father Fagin compares and contrasts a traditional spirituality with a contemporary spirituality. Though it seems clear that he prefers the contemporary spirituality, as I do, he points out that there are values in the traditional that we should never lose.

Redemptive Love

Though he likes the contemporary approach that has a positive outlook on the world as a gift from God and as the place in which God’s redemptive love is present, he writes the following about the traditional approach’s more negative outlook on the world:

“No one can deny the truth in this approach to the world. Growth in a relationship with God demands a radical detachment and renunciation. We live in a world of obscured values and distorted perceptions, a world infected with sin that stands in opposition to the values of the reign of God. The world is groaning for redemption, and Christianity must stand as a countercultural force in a broken and wounded world.”

An insight that it took me and many of my classmates a long time to grasp was that the traditional spirituality that was presented to us in the seminary was a monastic spirituality. The day was filled with class and study, and when we were not in class or in our rooms, we were in chapel. I think we spent close to three hours in chapel each day and on some days more.

When we were ordained, many of us tried to duplicate the spiritual practices that were required and emphasized in the seminary, and it was really impossible for a busy parish priest to live a spirituality designed for monks. I eventually came to believe that it was not only impossible but also not a good idea.

Monastic Spirituality

When I was a young priest, I presented this monastic spirituality to lay people. I suspect that they found it as difficult to live as many parish priests did. I believe that spirituality ought to be based, at least in part, on a person’s experience of God, and I imagine that a layperson’s experience of God is different from a monk’s. That does not mean that a layperson will necessarily be more distant from God than a monk, but it does mean that the way that each relates to God probably will differ.

Noting that contemporary spirituality has come about – at least to some extent – because of a new understanding of revelation, of grace, of the Church and of the human person, of the world and of salvation, Father Fagin writes the following:

“Each age in the life of the church struggles to define Christians’ relationship with God. Christian spirituality is a lived experience shaped by life, culture, and theology, but above all by the graced initiation of God. I conclude by suggesting four characteristics of a Christian spirituality that is responsive to the invitation and challenge of the contemporary world.”

Father Fagin suggests that we need a spirituality that is incarnational, holistic, prophetic and ecclesial. By incarnational, Father Fagin means a spirituality that finds God not only above us but also with us – and finds mystery and the sacred in the strong affirmation of the world as a gift from God.

By holistic, he means a spirituality that integrates all aspects of the person and nourishes a healthy sense of sin and forgiveness while aware of the human psyche’s limitations and possibilities for growth in relation to God.

Mystical and Political

What he means by prophetic I find especially challenging. He wants a spirituality that combines the mystical and the political and sees a passion for justice and solidarity with the poor as integral to a union with God.

When I examine my conscience in relation to serving the poor, one aspect of my life that I rejoice in is teaching at St. John’s University in Jamaica. Part of the mission of this great Vincentian university is to serve the poor. I have to say that I am proud to be involved in that mission.

By ecclesial, Father Fagin means a spirituality that relates to God in community and establishes a balance between discernment and religious authority. It also should free the person to respond to the call to ministry that baptismal grace enables us to hear. Father Fagin ends his essay by noting that Christian spirituality will always be a response to the Gospel call to conversion and to discipleship.

I find Father Fagin’s essay very challenging and plan to share it with two discussion groups I moderate. If thinking about how we relate to God is not important, then what is?[hr]