Spiritual Theology

Spiritual Theology

Introduction: The purpose of the study at Holy Spirit Major Seminary, Banany is to make person a religious and spiritual person. It is a spiritual ‘Sadhana’. It is now a speculative experience, a study of progressive spiritual life to achieve holiness, daily walk to have perfect union with God. Ava¨vwZ¥KZv nj †`n, gb I AvZ¥vi mgš^q mvab| KviY holiness is wholeness. God breathed his spirit in the nostril of man. God poured his divinity upon man. Christian spirituality says that in every moment of life, spirituality will be expressed. Spiritual theology helps us to be other Christ. It gives us invitation to holiness. Spirituality is a relationship with own self, with God, with others and with the cosmos. If I see everything and everybody as part of me, then there will no enemy of mine. Spirituality means not only prayer but also lived life and ministry. Spirituality emerged in 18^th century as a distinct theology. It is called ‘Spirituality’ or ‘Spiritual Theology’. Some call it ‘Spiritual Life’, others ‘Devout Life’, some other ‘Supernatural Life’ and still others ‘Interior Life’. Spiritual Theology is divided into two parts:

 1. Mystical - being part,

                                                                                     2. Ascetical - doing part.

The basis of Spiritual Theology is ‘Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.’ All Christians have spiritual life.

Fullness of Life: Fullness is totality or wholeness, fullness is perfection of love, where things are done with hundred percent sincerity and love, commitment and dedication. Christian spirituality is participation in the mystery of Christ. Limited _vK‡j g‡b nq Avwg c~Y© wKš‘ hLb unlimited – G cÖ‡ek Kwi ZLb g‡b nq A‡bK Lvwj| me m„wó my›`i n‡q‡Q| wKš‘ cvc c„w_ex‡Z cÖ‡ek Kivi mv‡_ mv‡_ me wKQzi aŸsm ïi“ n‡q‡Q| Lªx‡ói cybi“Ìv‡bi ci me wKQz Avevi bZzb fv‡e i~cvš—wiZ n‡Z ïi“ K‡i|

Definition of Spirituality

Spiritual theology is a systematic study of the progressive spiritual life of a Christian. In his/her daily walks toward the perfect communion with God. It is the practical way of spiritual life guided by the Holy Spirit to the imitation of Christ to be in full communion with the Father. This is the divine project of God. Jordan Ammanm says, “Spiritual Theology is that part of theology that proceeding from the truths of Divine Revelation and the religious experience of individual persons, finds the nature of supernatural life, formulates directives for its process by which souls advance from the beginning of spiritual life to its full perfection.” ‡`n, gb, AvZ¥vq cwic~Y©Zv AR©‡b I cig AvZ¥vi mv‡_ wgj‡b gvby‡li †h Aweivg mvabv hv Zv‡K mwZ¨Kvi A‡_© ¯^vaxb, myLx, cweÎ Ges Av‡jvwKZ K‡i †Zv‡j ZvB Ava¨vwZ¥KZv|

Spiritual theology has two parts:

1. Revealed mystery – God

2. Human experience – Human

Christian faith is subject matter of spiritual theology.

1. Religious experience of individual persons – how I experience God, how I discover God,
2. Practical and applied theology
3. Supernatural experience
4. Awareness of working of the grace.

A man uses the way proper to himself. Spirituality is the life of lived experience; it is what the Holy Spirit creates and initiates in me. Man is the co-creator. The Holy Spirit inspires guides, sustains and animates. Ava¨vwZ¥K gvby‡li g‡b Avb›` _v‡K| †m Rxe‡bi c‡¶i gvbyl, aŸs‡mi bq| Spirituality is a journey towards inner most self and transcendence.

Christian spirituality

Christian spirituality is spirituality in Christ where we find Christ’s incarnation, childhood, youth, teaching and preaching, suffering, death and resurrection. Christ is the center and source of spirituality. A person is justified whether he is true or not through his speech, money and relation. Money/wealth and God do not go together. Any congregation grows richer or having more wealth, loses comparatively its spirituality or spiritual treasure. Therefore, let Christ grow and work with his values and spirituality. Spirituality will transform a person; it needs our attempt and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Ava¨vwZ¥KZv nj Õmvwe©K ev me©v½xb my¯’Zv, †`n, gb, ü`q-AvZ¥vi g‡a¨ mgš^qwfwËK ¯^vfvweK Rxeb|Õ Ava¨vwZ¥KZv nj GKwU `„wófw½| Ava¨vwZ¥KZv gvby‡li mKj w`K‡K cÖfvweZ K‡i| Ava¨vwZ¥K gvbyl‡K wek¦vm Kiv hvq, Zvi ˆbwZKZv _v‡K, _v‡K Aš—`„©wó, ¯^”QZv, g½jgqZv, ¯^vaxbZv; Gfv‡e Zv e¨w³Z¡ dz‡U D‡V| Ck¦‡ii Kv‡Q Avgiv RvMwZK `ycqmvi wRwbm PvB wKš‘ Ck¦i Avgv‡`i wPiš—b m¤ú` w`‡Z Pvb Ges †`b| AvZ¥vi Aax‡bi gvbyl mwZ¨Kv‡ii ¯^vaxb gvbyl (†hvnb 6:6)| Ava¨vwZ¥KZv †`n, gb I AvZ¥vq my¯’Zv `vb K‡i| Ava¨vwZ¥KZv nj wgjb I HK¨| hxïi gva¨‡g gvbyl cwic~Y© gyw³ jvf K‡i‡Q| ÒIi me euvab Ly‡j `vI, Avi I‡K †h‡Z `vIÓ (‡hvnb 14:44K)| gvbyl Capax Dei gvby‡li Ck¦‡ii gZ nIqvi mKj m¤¢vebv _v‡K| Ava¨vwZ¥K mvabv gvbyl I mgvR‡K cwieZ©b K‡i|

Characteristics of Christian spirituality

 “Christian spirituality is dynamic and action oriented,” Urula King.

“Ora et Labora,” St. Benedict.

1. Christian spirituality is linked with our spiritual tradition.
2. Christian spirituality is Trinitarian – unity of Father the Creator, Son the Redeemer and Holy Spirit the Advocate.
3. Christian spirituality is relational.
4. Imitating Christ.
5. The centre of our spirituality: growth in humility, prayer and love.

The content of Spiritual Theology: God and man

In one God, there are three persons. God reveals himself to each one of us in different ways. Therefore, each individual experiences God differently.

• In the very first verse of the Bible, there is the Presence of the Triune God—Gather, Son and Holy Spirit. The Spirit proceeds from the Father through the life of the Son.
• One of the great sins in contemporary period is being self-centered.
• Our God is Trinitarian and Communal, Transcendent and Immanent.
• Our God is mysterious and revealed.
•  

The notion of God

1. God, the Creator

God created everything out of his love. He created everything through his word—davar. God’s creation is nice and beautiful. Creation is the 1^st act of God’s revelation. Revealed God is also hidden God. God’s creation is a continuous process.

2. God of the covenant

Covenant is a divine mystery. Covenant is for man to be united with God and make love-relation with him. In the salvation history there are three covenants:

 1) With Abraham

2) With Moses – conditional

3) With Christ – unconditional

The nucleus condition of covenant is love. God is faithful to his promise, but man fails to follow his part. 

3. God as Father (Yahweh)

God is the origin of everything. There is parental (father and mother) tenderness in him. We see, in our context, God as a dominating father only, not as a good, loving and caring father. It is the duty of the Religious to reveal God through their life as a loving Father.

4. Almighty Father

God is the all-powerful, almighty but he allows everything, even sufferings and destructions, to happen. It is a mystery. Christ is the suffering God.

5. Transcendent and Immanent God

God is far away from us, at the same time, He is with us. Divinity becomes humanity, man gets Divinity. God became man without loosing His Divinity. It is God’s revelation to man and man’s highest dignity.

Jesus Christ

The second person of Trinity

Christ means the anointed one (Mt.1:21). He is the only Son of God; He is the Lord (1 Cor.12:3), Incarnation of ‘Logos’, and true God and true man. Without knowledge of Christ, there is no knowledge of God, without action of Christ, no salvation for man from God. Christ is the ideal of spiritual life. In New Testament, Jesus has seven names:

1. Lord
2. Son of man – 50 times in the Bible used by Jesus himself and once in Acts 7:56.
3. Logos—Word was with God (Gen 1:1), Word becomes man (Jn 1:1).
4. Son of God—This title is in the Synoptic Gospels and refers the Trinitarian God.
5. Servant of God—Isaiah 42:55, Acts 3:15.
6. Christ – Jesus is for Mk. a secret Messiah, for Mt. the fulfillment of the OT and for Lk. the Messiah to the gentiles—suffering servant of God.
7. God—Hebrew shows that Jesus is greater than prophets, priests and sacrifice. He is both God and man (Jn 1:1; Pt.1:2).

The Holy Spirit

In Latin (Spiritus) and Greek (Pneuma), Spirit is invisible-without body. In Hebrew (Ruah), indicates something dynamic; God created man out of soil and breathed in his nostril (Gen 1:3). Divine breath gives life in eternity (Ps.51:12-13). Holy Spirit is the Paraclete, Spirit of God (Gen 2:7; Num 11: 17-26; 26:84; Is 32:15), and God is spirit (Jn 4:24). Nine activities of the Holy Spirit:

a)      gÛjxi RbK,

b)      Holy Spirit sanctifies the Church,

c)      Holy Spirit dwells in the Church,

d)     Spirit guides the Church in the way of truth,

e)      Spirit unifies the Church,

f)       Spirit restores her hierarchy, gives charismatic gifts,

g)      Spirit gives spirit, freshness and life,

h)      Spirit leads the Church to unify her with her spouse.

Pentecost

Pentecost is the new life of the Holy Spirit. Apostles were asleep and Holy Spirit awakened them. Pentecost is an experience and event; it is a new birth, understanding, vision and mission. It is the renewal of life. The confused group of Apostles suddenly was transformed into courageous and strong in spirit and faith so that they may give the world the News of Jesus as well as the Kingdom of God.

Our spiritual life

Spiritual life is life in the Spirit. A Christian is reborn in water and Spirit. “Spirit is the new Law, principle of our activities, interior master of our life, a gentle guest and a friend who inspires, guides and strengthens,” St. Thomas Aquinas.

Charism

Charisms are the graces of the Holy Spirit. They are free gifts of God (Rom 5:5) enabling persons for performing particular activities/ministries in the Church. Symbols of the Holy Spirit are: water, anointing, cloud and light (OT) and Dove. Spiritual life is discernment and renewal in the Spirit. Man by nature is a spiritual being. He is composition of body and soul.

AvZ¥cwiPq

 wb‡R‡K bv Rvb‡j gvbyl nxb¨gb¨Zvq fyM‡e ev AnsKvix n‡e| I am precious to God, we are masterpieces to God. Our basic vocation is to be human being, self-realization and to blossom fully. The glory of God is human fully alive. God wants us to be perfect in body, mind and spirit. I am unique and only-no one is like me. God created me with joy and love.

The source of Spiritual Theology

1. Theological source—Sacred Scripture, Tradition, Magisterium, Liturgy, Sacramental theology, dogmatic theology, moral theology.
2. Specific sources – History of spirituality, writings of saints/mystics, life-story of saints.
3. Auxiliary sources—Psychology, religious –psychology, sociology, cultural and theological anthropology.

The Christian Holiness

‘Be holy as your Heavenly Father is holy’ means full development of Christian life of grace of the believers under the Holy Spirit. It is the ontological completion of life. Holiness is wholeness. OT says that only God is holy, creation can be holy in the extension of Divine Holy. NT says that holiness belongs to Jesus Christ, Son of God with Holy Spirit. The Church is holy because she came from the Spirit of the risen Lord. Holiness has two aspects:  

1. Ontological aspect and

2. Moral aspect.

The means of achieving holiness are:

1. Church
2. Sacraments
3. Act of love-charity.

Holiness is a journey ongoing without end. St. Teresa of Avilla showed 7 stages.

The principal stages in the development of one’s spiritual life are: a) Purificative stage

b) Illuminative stage, c) Unitive stage, d) Love in action.

Spirituality of NT

1)      Discipleship: Discipleship is a friendship. Jesus was never alone; he was always with his disciples. Discipleship is to follow Jesus.

2)      Discipleship is relationship: Love is the only criteria of discipleship. What discipleship is is described in Mk 3:13-15. GwU AwR©Z bq wKš—y Awc©Z| Discipleship is a vocation to be with Jesus and to be sent out for his missions.

The Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God is the Rule of God. In the person of Jesus, the Kingdom of God is announced. The center and main theme of Jesus’ preaching is the Kingdom of God. It is here and now. Repentance is the condition to enter the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God in OT: Deu 33:5; Judge 8: 23; Is 43:15; Chronl 17:14, 28:5, 29:11; Ps 22:28, 47:2 and so on. The Kingdom of God in NT: Mt. 17:4, Mt. used frequently the phrase ‘Kingdom of Heaven’. The Kingdom of God is the central topic of apostolic preaching. The Kingdom of God is found in other synoptic Gospels and in the book of Revelation as well. The Kingdom of God consists of:

• wgjb I åvZ…‡cÖg cÖwZôv
• b¨vh¨Zv I kvwš—    ,,
• fvjevmvi ivR¨     ,,
• ‡mev

Mysticism: It is a way of love, sacrifice. Gk word ‘mystikos’ is an adjective and ‘mysterion’ is a noun. Mys means ‘to close’. Therefore, mysticism is the way of love where eyes will be closed to see what is beyond, and mouth will be closed so that mouth may not reveal it. Mysticism means close union with God.

 Some general notions of mysticism  

v  Peak of religious experience

v  It is a sacred way of life. It may not be connected with the Bible, but it is a superior stage of religious/spiritual life.

v  John of the Cross says, “Contemplation is the secret, peaceful and love infusion of God.”

v   G.Moili says, “It is a lived experience of interiority.”

Stages of mysticism are:

1. Awakening: Awakening in the conscious of presence of God, instance feeling of joy and exaltation, new world and meaning created.

2. Purification: Aware of God greatness, and humbleness  and tiny ness of his own.  

3. Illumination:  Detached by the senses, cheerful feelings of Transcendence, seeing God in everything.

4. Dark night: Illumination is accompanied by dark night, it is the mystical death, it deads towards union with God, and

5. Union: True communion with God, transforming union, state of peace and joy.

Love and mystical journey

-          Mystical journey is of love, union with God,

-          Love gives meaning into our life; ‘Heart of Love’ is a book by Pickett. ‘We must long for God with our whole heart.’

-          Fire of divine love,

-          All can become mystic,

-          It unites all people and nations.

Aseticism: It is the human efforts and practice of virtues. GUv‡K hviv PP©v K‡i Zv‡`i ejv nq Zvc¯^x, ˆeivMx, K…”Q mvaK,Z¨vMx BZ¨vw`| kvixwiK Z¨vM¯^xKvi, AvZ¥mshg I Kó‡fv‡Mi gva¨‡g GB Zcm¨v Kiv nq| Asceticism is a commitment, an obligation, an effort.

Vow of Poverty

It should promote humility, poor in the spirit, not eÂbv! Avwg ewÂZ! hv ivM, AnsKvi I wnsmv m„wó I RvMÖZ K‡i| It is a spiritual exercise. Gk word ‘Askeein’ is practice or exercise in order to acquire some skills, like athletics.

‘Kenosis means renunciation of self. (Mk 8:34-35; 12:25; Mt.10:39; Col 3:9-10; Ephe 4:22-25).

 Anthropological meaning

-          Self control, moral health,

-          Moderation,

-          Abstinence of sex,

-          Exercises to purify our thought,

-          Expiation,

-          Sign of repentance.

Christology

-          Participation in Christ’s passion, crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection. (Gal 2:19).

Ancient/early church/Christianity controlled

–        Virginity, white martyrdom, mortification, fasting, abstinence, vigil, manual work.

–        Absolute poverty,

–        Interior mortification,

–        Apostolate,

–        Silence.

Asceticism is means of perfection. Mysticism and asceticism are co-related.

1.     “If I would never love, I would never cry.”

2.     ‘The end does not justify the means.’

3.     ‘Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future.’

4.     ‘Variety is beauty, but division is sin.’

5.     ‘God is the source, I am the channel/medium.’

6.     ‘Community life is the Supernatural reality.’

7.‘Who is more powerful—wR‡Z›`ªxq, bv B›`ªwRZ?Õ

8.Ò‡kvbvi gvbyl nj †mvbvi gvbylÓ

9. ÒmewKQz Ki cÖv‡Yi ZvwM‡`Ó

10.         Ô‡Kvb Kvi‡Yi Rb¨, k‡Z©i Rb¨ fvjevm‡j †mLv‡b mxgve×Zv _v‡KÕ

11.         ÔbM` AvBbv evKx‡Z LvIqvBZvwQÕ

12.         cweÎ AvZ¥vi wei“‡× cvc: Ôcv‡ci Rb¨ AbyZß bv nIqv, nZvk nIqv †h Avgvi cv‡ci ¶gv bvB|Õ

13.         ÔwWg evB‡i †_‡K fvs‡j GKUv Rxeb bó nq, wKš‘ wfZi †_‡K fvs‡j GKUv Rxeb †ei nq|Õ

14.         Ôc„w_ex‡Z eo Afve nj – fvjevmvi AfveÕ