What is Spirituality?
The answer is an invitation, not a definition.
A Franciscan sister who is a friend and colleague recently sent me this query:
Do you have a simple definition of spirituality that you use?
Ironically, in my books I talk a lot about mysticism, but I don’t really try to define spirituality. And that may be simply because, like mysticism, spirituality is a broad and vague word that different people use in radically different ways. How do you define a word that can be used by religious people but also agnostics and atheists, by adherents of all faith traditions, by those who are natural contemplatives but also those who are natural activists?
It’s impossible to narrow it down too far, but maybe this not-so-simple explanation can be a start:
Spirituality encompasses our relationship with the Spirit (whether that means the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Life, or some other way we understand Spirit). It is both active and contemplative, which means it involves both things we do (like prayer, meditation, contemplation, religious observance, service to others, and so forth) and also, on a level deeper than effort, simply a dimension of our being: who we are.
When spirituality is grounded in faith in a loving God/Holy Spirit, then it is deeply relational (the love story between the Spirit and us), full of grace (Love originates with the Spirit, and we love in response to the Spirit’s love), and both individual and communal: we are invited into the inner room where we meet the Spirit of Love in intimate solitude, and we are also invited into a loving relationship with others, our neighbors, and even our enemies, for it is love that makes community, peace, and justice all possible.
Whether you find yourself nodding along, or feeling resistance to these words, I invite you to dive in to your response, for that is the key to your spirituality. Spirituality is not what I (or anyone else) says it is: rather, it’s something you experience in your body, your heart, your life. I offer these words as a doorway. Walk through them — and look for what’s truly important: what calls to you from the inside.
