Contemporary Spirituality
“God-life in me opens to the God-life in the other.” ~Margaret Ferris, CSJ
Contemporary spirituality is our own unique journey of openness to the experience and mystery of God alive in each of us, alive in our neighbour, in the biosphere and the cosmos. It is a contemporary spirituality because our journey in sensitivity to and awareness of God is lived out today and tomorrow and into the future. It involves us as individuals-in-relationships, and it may ebb and flow as we move through our lives. The journey of contemporary spirituality helps to draw us into a life filled with meaning, a life that offers mercy, peace, justice and love to our neighbour and to our world.
Contemporary Spirituality and Justice
“If we will not help others, there is no help even in the most perfect self-help.” ~Karl Barth
Through relationship with God we deepen our relationship to each other and to all of Creation. We begin to catch the glimpses of oneness within diversity. We begin to see how our need to control other people, creatures and the biosphere creates separation and leads to violence of many kinds. If contemporary spirituality nurtures the growth of deep relatedness within our inner self and with the whole world, justice and non-violence are the ways that we embrace and reflect that relatedness. Justice is revealed in transformative actions that seek reconciliation and wholeness. Justice is revealed in wisdom toward neighbour, biosphere and the cosmos. There can be no justice without spirituality and no spirituality without justice.
Pathways
There are many ways that we can be called by God and moved by the Spirit to integrate the whole of our lives and bodies in a way that transcends self and seeks ultimate goodness. Contemplative Spirituality for instance is one example of spirituality which addresses the integration of body, mind and spirit.
On your own unique spiritual journey, you may find helpful resources and information for exploring an holistic spirituality that nurtures body, mind and spirit connections through the Spiritual Ministries Network, Spiritual Development.
