A SPIRITUALITY FOR ALL SEASONS

People generally associate spirituality with piety, retreats or the religious life. We do
not usually associate spirituality with our everyday lives. Traditionally, spirituality has been
defined as a process of personal transformation in accordance with religious ideals. Since
the 19th century spirituality is often separated from religion, and has become more oriented
on subjective experience and psychological growth (Wikipedia).
There is a raison detre (reason for being or reason for existence) to all what we do.
Whatever we do is a result of some motivation, orientation, lifestyle, attitude or philosophy.
Thus, there can be a spirituality of dressing, behaving, buying, working, exercising,
studying, celebrating, etc.
The Christian is one who is inspired and influenced by the simplicity and humility of
Jesus and Mary. We are transformed and we act accordingly. We become more just, humble
and caring of others. Gods kingdom or presence becomes real to us. Truth, justice, mercy
and compassion are the weightier matters of the Law, as Jesus taught us. They should not
remain abstract ideals.
For example, we work hard for our families. Our sacrifices are motivated by our love
of family. Others work ambitiously to get rich or famous. We eat because we are hungry, but
others cannot stop overeating because of the pleasure of eating. We dress for comfort or
modesty, while others insist on expensive clothes or dress skimpily to show off. We wear
shoes for protection and comfort, while others torture their feet to be fashionable and to
attract attention. The way we behave or treat others reveals the kind of spirituality we
have.
All worship is based on a particular orientation or spirituality. We may not realize this,
but the attention we pay to our human traditions can shift our focus away from Gods
message of goodness and humble service of others. We can easily turn our observances
into showy productions that are full of pomp and circumstance, and we end up focusing on
ourselves instead of focusing on God, because we follow our ways instead of the ways of
Jesus. We can end up worshipping our religion instead of worshipping God in spirit and in
truth. Look at what happened between Jesus and the Jewish authorities 2,000 years ago.
We imagine we impress God but we forget God does not need any impressing. We are
really calling attention to ourselves, not God. We impress ourselves and we feel good after
the religious presentation. Then we go back to the sacristy and store all our vestments and
paraphernalia to wait for the next big liturgy.
Why is Pope Francis considered even by non-Christians and non-religious people the
most popular person on earth? Just look at the witness of his simple and humble life. He is a
very credible witness of the authentic Christian life. People say hes the real deal. He
reminded us early on that we must stop being self-referential and that we have forgotten
the language of simplicity. He has also reminded us of Jesus admonition not to judge by
appearances and to treat others the way God treats us.
We have turned our faith into something cluttered with wordy, elaborate and
contrived traditions. We tend to pay attention to a lot of liturgical details, but we hardly pay
attention to the simplicity and humility of Jesus, Mary, St. Francis of Assisi and Pope Francis
himself.
We have much to unlearn and relearn our Christian faith. We do not only find God in
big and periodic occasions, we must also learn to find God even in small things, in very
ordinary and humble circumstances. This is what St. Ignatius taught us in the Spiritual
Exercises, to find God in all things.
The overall theme of Pope Francis visit was Back to the Basics, back to Jesus and
Mary, back to simplicity and humility, back to the greatest commandment to love God and
others, back to the least of our brothers and sisters, back to mercy and compassion.
Vatican writer John Allen spoke about the Popes older son problem last year in
Tagaytay. In the Parable of the Prodigal Son (others name this the Parable of the
Compassionate Father), the older son is unhappy with his fathers mercy and compassion to

his wayward brother. There are those who feel the same about Pope Francis focus on the
universality and inclusiveness of our Catholic identity, following the example of Jesus in
dealing with the Samaritans and calling sinners back to the fold. The Popes older sons
today are doctrinal purists, liturgical traditionalists, political pro-life activists, Church
personnel.
Here are some scripture texts for prayer and personal reflection: Matthew 9:10-13 on
Mercy, not Sacrifice, Matthew 7:1-5 on Judging Others, Matthew 7:15-20 about A Tree and
its Fruit.
Salvador Wee, SJ