B a to z of spiritual living sample

• ascetiCIsm • Beauty contemplation • discernment • everyday thanksgiving • faithfulness • gratitude • humility • image & likeness • joy • kairos • living effectively • mystery • nothingness • ordinariness • prayers • redeeming the past • stability • transformation • upsets • asceticism • Beauty • contemplation • discernment • everyday thanksgiving • faithfulness • gratitude • humility • image & likeness • joy • kairos • living

A-Z of Spiritual Living

effectively • mystery • nothingness • ordinariness • prayers • redeeming the past • stability • transformation • upsets • vanity • x-ray • young spiritual life • X-Ray • • asceticism • Beauty contemplation • discernment • everyday thanksgiving • faithfulness • gratitude • humility • image & likeness • joy • kairos • living effectively • mystery • nothingness • ordinariness • prayers •

By Beauty • contemplation Gerard Bogan

redeeming the past • stability • transformation • upsets • asceticism •

• discernment

• everyday thanksgiving • faithfulness • gratitude • humility • image & likeness • joy • kairos • living effectively • mystery • nothingness • ordinariness • prayers • redeeming the past • stability • transformation • upsets • vanity • x-ray • young spiritual life • X-Ray •

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Contents Asceticism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Beauty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Contemplation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Discernment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Everyday thanksgiving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Faithfulness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Gratitude. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Humility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Image and likeness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Joyfulness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Kairos (God’s moment). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Living reflectively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Mystery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

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Nothingness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Ordinariness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Prayers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Quietness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Redeeming the past. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Transformation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Upsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Vanity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Word of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 X-Ray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 Young . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Z to A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Endnotes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

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All rights reserved. First published 2016 by The Incorporated Catholic Truth Society, 40-46 Harleyford Road London SE11 5AY Tel: 020 7640 0042 Fax: 020 7640 0046. Copyright Š 2016 The Incorporated Catholic Truth Society.

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ISBN 978 1 78469 118 9 4

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Introduction Living with God is the most important way we have of expressing our understanding of human life. This is true for people of all the world’s main religions. Christians call it “the spiritual life”. What is written in these few pages comes from a Christian perspective, and within that, of Catholicism. That is simply because a Catholic priest is who I am. However, I think that it may have resonances for people of other religious groups. Moreover, I have attempted to write it in such a way that people who have little religious commitment, or even none, may find something valuable. For this reason what could be called “religious language” has been kept to a minimum. The search for God is also the search for Wisdom, the search for the fulness of life. It is useful to remember the story about the man who asked directions and was told that if he was going to that place, he wouldn’t want to start from this one. When it comes to the spiritual life, we all start from different places - different places geographically, and different stages of our lives. But we start from where we are, not from where someone else is, or from where we might have been. That is why these directions for the spiritual life are arranged as an alphabet. This way people can focus on the words or ideas which may be helpful for them. It is not necessary to start at the beginning and read through to the end. Pick it up when you are having a cup of tea. Read one and think about it.

A-Z of Spiritual Living is not comprehensive: it doesn’t cover everything. What it attempts to do is to cover some of the main themes in the spiritual life and present them in a way which may be readable for most people.

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• ascetiCIsm • Beauty contemplation • discernment • everyday thanksgiving • faithfulness • gratitude • humility • image & likeness • joy • kairos • living effectively • mystery • nothingness • ordinariness • prayers • redeeming the past • stability • transformation • upsets

Asceticism

• asceticism • Beauty • contemplation • discernment • everyday thanksgiving • faithfulness • gratitude • humility • image & likeness • joy • kairos • living effectively • mystery • nothingness • ordinariness • prayers • redeeming the past • stability • transformation

Asceticism is a technical word for the preparation we need to make before we enter into prayer.

• upsets • vanity • x-ray • young spiritual life • X-Ray • • asceticism • Beauty contemplation • discernment •

It can have practical applications: a personal discipline which everyday thanksgiving • faithfulness • gratitude •

sets aside a time for prayer when on our own; the way we sit in silence and get ourselves ready before the celebration • mystery • nothingness • ordinariness • prayers • of Holy Mass; maybe reading over the Mass readings before redeeming past • fasting stability • transformation upsets we arrivethe at church; for some time in anticipation •of • asceticism Beauty • can contemplation discernment Mass. More• than that, it help us in the very• business of just living, celebrating life. • faithfulness • gratitude • everyday thanksgiving humility • image & likeness • joy • kairos • living effectively

• humility • image likeness • joy • kairos living Essentially it means&living as simply as possible.

If we •are

effectively mystery nothingness • ordinariness • going to a• friend’s house• for dinner, we do not eat before we

go. •We prepare ourselves by not eating. So,• with prayer - it prayers redeeming the past • stability transformation

cannot just be another to do. We must get life ourselves • upsets • vanity • x-raything • young spiritual • X-Ray • ready for it. But not just in the few moments leading up to it.

Simplicity is the key word. By living as simply as possible, we will be making room in our lives for the practice of prayer.

Therefore, it is something we engage in throughout our lives, and in every aspect of our lives. In a sense it is emptying ourselves of the things that clutter our lives, but do not enhance them. We do not need many of the things we often

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feel we do. However, it is worth keeping in mind that this will be different for different people. We are not in competition with each other. St Francis de Sales has taught us that what is appropriate for one member of the Church may not be for another.1 We cannot live simply enough. When we start to take simplicity seriously, we will always be striving for greater simplicity. This does not mean we have to look a certain way.

Brother Roger of Taizé said that to choose to live Gospel poverty, does not mean to look poverty-stricken. That would be vanity. Instead, it is about learning to recognise the difference between what we need and what we desire.

In this way we begin to notice how wonderful the world is around us, how marvellous its peoples are with their cultures and languages and customs, and how full our life is with the invitation into God’s presence. This is asceticism: getting ready for God’s life.

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Suggestion Try to limit your choices, and live as simply as possible.

X-Ray •

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