Gervais Dumeige, S.J.
Hislory of Spiriluality-A Key {or Self- Underslanding This m·ticle is not a mini-history of spirituality-that would be sketchy indeed. Instead the autho1· shows the importance of knowing the various periods, persons and spiritual experiences which a1·e 7Jart of our heritage. Ten years after the Second Vatican Council, the problems raised by the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes remain unanswered in the consciences of many christians. And those problems are well formulated in the fundamental question: "What is man?" Expressed by the Church and by the world, this query is harassing many people. Who am I? What is the aim of my !ife? Have I anything to do in this world? Strangely enough, it seems that the answers given by the Council have hardly been perceived or taken into account. The texts have been read but not put into practice. Sorne christians are torn between hope and anguish; their life takes the shape of a question mark. They fee! insecure. Their thirst for freedom is met by a feeling of bondage. The steps they ought to take are impeded by the speed, the instability of ali things; and they indefinitely postpone their decision. The fascinating questions return again and again: Who am I, and for what purpose? Sorne men and women are investigating their identity while others confeR-~ they have !ost it. They somehow realize that they are "mysteries," enigmas for themselves and for others. Disconcerted, they long to grasp the sense of their existence, to understand their own self so as to value and love it, finally to be fully alive. The age we live in makes it difficult to realize one's identity. A deep uneasiness is brought about in our christian conscious55
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