Saturday, March 20, 2010

Principle #6: Strengthen the Spirit

Principle #6: Support His Spiritual Development

As I drove to Cleveland yesterday, I reflected on this principle at length. I have, for quite some time, been puzzled by the people who say that they're "Spiritual, but not religious." Indeed, as I write this from a local a Bruegger's Bagels, one of the clerks described himself to a customer as one who'd rather be open to all spiritual paths rather than committing himself just to one.

It strikes me that the "spiritual, but not religious" phenomena is akin to a form of spiritual nomadism: people who wander from place to place, at best set down shallow roots, and should their be a challenge or change to the spiritual climate they are forced to move on or perish. My impression of many "spiritual nomads" is that they want their spirituality to comfort them, reassure them of their place in the cosmos, but don't want much care to be challenged to commit themselves to any particular path.

Now don't get me wrong: I don't think these are bad people. I do think that the risk of being a spiritual dilettante is a failure to take a stand, a missed opportunity to place oneself in the midst of a tradition both to embrace and be embraced by it.

One thing Jesuits in particular and all Catholics in general can do to help others establish roots is to become acquainted again with the riches of our spiritual heritage. The history of Christian Spirituality is a fascinating story and I can't help but think that there is someone for everyone within it.

For my brother Jesuits or those interested in promoting Jesuit vocations, I think it would be helpful to have a ready-to-hand list of resources that you might share with a person you think has a vocation or who has expressed interest in our way of life. We need always to feel confident enough to use the language of the Ignatian tradition to help those we encounter to come to know more clearly what it is that God wants for them. Casual spiritual conversation, long-term spiritual direction, or giving some form of the Spiritual Exercises would each be a practice that could help channel the enormous power of the Spirit that animates each person.

My suggestion, then, is to be sure that in addition to trying to promote vocations through an attentiveness to our hospitality and and enthusiasm for our way of life, we must also be attentive to the young man's spirit. We owe it to him to share the riches of our tradition and show him how our Ignatian and Jesuit heritage channels the enormous power of the Spirit and uses it for the building of God's Kingdom.

2 comments:

SueGrace said...

Fr. Ryan, these things are good and they are interesting to the "theologian" part of me. However, I hope you will continue being a "Pied Piper" to young people by sharing your love and talents in music...something that can do much to lift the spirits and draw others to Christ. I note that you have not written on your music blog lately. A fellow Christian educator, I was cheered by your good lessons on the tin whistle and impressed with the results shown by your students. I also teach college class (and private) lessons on recorder, and you did great things with your students. I cannot help but think how nice a mellow whistle would sound with the music of Taize...Thanks for your prayers, you will be in mine from now on.

Unknown said...

Dear Sue,

Thanks for your note. I do try to be the "pied piper" as much as possible; it's hard now that I'm teaching full-time and am not actively teaching music. It's so hard to keep up with the demands placed by so many venues...and, sadly, the music blog has taken a back seat of late. Hopefully I'll find time to bring it up to date in the near future.

I'll have to look into doing some of the Taize melodies on the whistle. I wonder if they wouldn't be pretty easy to work out.

Cheers!

Flute playing priest finds YouTube fame