Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Cross, Page 8
Thursday, March 23, 2000
People who take spirituality seriously
FOODFORTHOUGHT
“We ... find God in dirty dishes,
exasperating children and
difficult co-i
in prayer am
CNS photo by Bill & Peggy Wittman
By Sheila Garcia
Catholic News Service
Q
kJ pirituality on the subway?
As I ride Washington’s Metro to
work, the signs abound. An older
woman studies her well-worn, pocket-
sized Bible, a married
man fingers his rosary,
a young adult pores
over a spiritual classic.
Friends tell me of using
their commutes to re
flect on the upcoming
day and how they will
encounter God in the
workplace. These ordi
nary people — office
workers, laborers, stu
dents — understand
that God calls all of us
to holiness.
I find that people
who take spirituality
seriously, although out
wardly diverse, exhibit
certain common char
acteristics.
First, they realize
that we become holy
through ordinary
events in life. They find
God in dirty dishes, ex-)
asperating children
and difficult co-workers
as well as in prayer and
devotions. Catholics
have taken to heart
Vatican Council II’s
teaching that “the
forms and tasks of life
are many, but holiness
is one” (Lumen Gen
tium, No. 41).
Ten years ago a
woman I know had be
come frustrated dealing
with her headstrong
10-year-old son. She
hoped he would change — and soon. A
wise spiritual friend suggested that
perhaps her path to holiness lay pre
cisely in dealing with the challenges
presented by her son. That advice
gave her a whole new perspective.
Looking back, she sees how coping
with her son challenged her to grow in
patient endurance. Gradually she
came to a deeper understanding of
God’s own merciful love for us all.
Second, people who take spiritual
ity seriously make it a priority. Their
daily choices reflect their commit
ment to grow spiritually. They forego
television in favor of spiritual reading
or devote a Saturday morning to help
ing out at the local food bank.
Third, because spiritual growth
never proceeds smoothly, persever
ance is key. Becoming holy is a life
time job; we are always a work in
progress. So spiritual people usually
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have routines to help them grow in
their relationship with God.
For many that means setting aside
a fixed time for daily prayer and medi
tation. This fixed time is always a
helpful practice, especially in times of
turmoil or spiritual dryness when we
are less inclined to approach God in
prayer. The ability to fall back on
prayer routines ensures that our
spiritual lives can develop even in
times of distress.
Fourth, some people make daily
Mass a priority. St. Matthew’s Cathe
dral in downtown Washington is filled
with men and women who regularly
attend noon Mass.
The specific practices that we adopt
will depend on our circumstances:
—Kay, a guidance counselor, takes
a half-hour to pray when she arrives
home in the late afternoon.
—Bill says a decade of the rosary
before falling asleep at night.
—A businessman asks for God’s
guidance before making a phone call
or meeting a visitor.
—Some young mothers retreat into
the bathroom to pray. It is the only
place where they can remain undis
turbed for a few minutes!
■ a i
We do not become holy in isolation,
however. Another characteristic of
spiritual people is their connection to
the church and, within the church, to
smaller faith communities: the “do
mestic church” of the family; the par
ish; faith-sharing groups; lay move
ments.
These faith communities both chal
lenge and support us. Community
members can hold each other account
able for following through on the com
mitment to spiritual growth.
Members of one men’s spirituality
group, for example, decided to reorder
their priorities in order to spend more
time with their families. Now, at bi
weekly meetings, each man describes
the concrete steps he is taking to
reach this goal. The men affirm each
other’s progress and often suggest ad
ditional ideas.
The community can also help those
who are attempting to discern God’s
will in their lives. One 57-year-old
man had grappled with the possibility
of taking early retirement from a se
cure but dissatisfying job. He dis
cussed his dilemma with a small
group of spiritual friends who knew
him well.
The friends suggested that God
might be opening up new opportuni
ties in his life. They offered ongoing
support and encourage
ment as he left his job
and became an activist
for low-income housing.
Communities help us
to become less focused on
ourselves and more re
sponsive to the needs
and concerns of others —
another characteristic of
the spiritual person. At
the end of his life,
Chicago’s Cardinal Jo
seph Bernardin discov
ered a new ministry:
reaching out to people
who, like himself, had
been diagnosed with can
cer and other serious ill
nesses. In his book “The
Gift of Peace,” he wrote
about corresponding
with cancer patients,
visiting them and com
piling a prayer list with
more than 700 names.
Finally, spiritual
people often radiate an
inner peace. Like all of
us, they can recite a
litany of troubles, but
they retain their single-
hearted focus on God.
The conviction that
nothing can separate us
from God’s love yields a
serenity that flows out
to others around us.
Who takes spiritual
ity seriously? More
people than we might
imagine: cardinals and
cab drivers; young fathers and aging
grandmothers; teachers and students.
All are called to share intimately in
God’s life and love.
(Garcia is assistant director of the
U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Family,
Laity, Women and Youth.)
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state, recently blessed a
kiosk in St. Peter’s Square where hot tortellini and a sandwich are being
served to the poor every day during the current holy year. He is Vatican
secretary of state.
The Vatican has been at pains to accent the Jubilee Year 2000’s
spiritual nature. Commenting on the free-meals program, Archbishop
Crescenzio Sepe, the Vatican jubilee committee’s secretary, said: “Without
charity the jubilee would not be the jubilee, but a dead thing without
spirit.”
Pope John Paul II accented the spirituality-service connection in his
1999 message to the church throughout America titled “Ecclesia in
America.” A spirituality based in prayer and sacraments is not opposed to
the Christian’s social responsibilities, he wrote. “In following the path of
prayer, believers become more conscious ... of their duties toward others.”
So, spirituality, charity and pasta: jubilee-year traveling companions in
Rome. Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, president of the Vatican jubilee
committee, said:
“If there is a word that seems to go with ‘charity,’ it is ‘pasta.’” This
gives “a bodily sense to charity’s spirituality, thus avoiding getting lost in
words alone.”
11 David Gibson, Editor, Faith Alive!