THE P RTAL
February 2015
Page 22
Reclaiming the S-word
Antonia Lynn discusses the word ‘spiritual’
In the
past, these occasional musings of mine have appeared under the heading of ‘Spirituality Matters’.
I have this in mind as I write today, because I have just heard that the word ‘spirituality’ has been dropped
from the title of a piece of work in which I’ve been involved.
The reason, apparently, was suspicion of a word emotions, in which we process the data coming to us
associated in some people’s minds with wacky new- through our senses.
age ideas and self-indulgent navel-gazing.
Deepest of all is what Aschenbrenner calls the level
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. For a start, of ‘openness to the Spirit’, which we might name as our
I teach on two courses which have ‘Spirituality’ in spirit, where heart speaks to heart and deep calls to
their names - both robustly and unashamedly Christ- deep: the place of our true identity as beings created in
the image of God. It is like the ballast of a ship: many
centred, with not a crystal or chakra in sight.
people are unaware of its existence, like passengers
at the heart of our faith
enjoying themselves on the upper decks, but without
Certainly the s-word is used with a variety of it they and the ship would be lost.
meanings these days; dictionary definitions, such as:
All three layers make up the person I am. If you
‘things pertaining to the human spirit as opposed
to material or physical things’, don’t help much for prefer the metaphysical poets to makers of such
Christians, who have the Incarnation at the heart of models, recall John Donne’s words:
‘I am a little world made cunningly
their faith.
Of elements and an angelic sprite.’
But here is Philip Sheldrake:
Spirituality, understood in this way, is emphatically
‘In Christian terms, a working definition of
not about focusing exclusively on this innermost
spirituality might be as follows. It describes
layer. We encounter God on every level, as the
the ways that individuals and groups seek to
time-honoured Catholic traditions of sacramental,
enter into a conscious relationship with God,
discursive and affective prayer remind us.
to worship, to formulate their deepest values
and to create appropriate lifestyles in dialogue
Spirituality is the way of life that expresses our desire
with their beliefs about God, the human
for alignment and congruity as we ‘live and move and
person and creation.’
have our being’ in God, with our lodestone the hidden
contemplation in action
core within us, where faith, hope and love may grow
He goes on to say: ‘Theology needs to be lived as and - of course - bear their fruit out in the world.
well as studied’. Lived theology: rather than a narrow,
We are Catholics, not Gnostics or Manichaeans.
self-centred focus, this notion of spirituality is about
contemplation in action. I don’t think there is another Let’s reclaim the word and use it in our evangelisation,
word which quite encapsul