GERMANY
http://www.oberammergau.de
Oberammergau is not a shrine but a world-famous place of pilgrimage, where every ten years the Passion Play of Christ is performed before hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. Recognized as the world’s oldest running performance, the eight-hour theatrical production involves more than two thousand actors and actresses, all of whom are from the community of this small southern Germany village. The Passion Play recently took place this Jubilee Year.
IRELAND
http://www.loughderg.org/
St. Patrick’s Purgatory has been a place of pilgrimage since the eighth century and remains the only one of penitential nature in the modern Christian world. One and three- day retreats are available.
It would be difficult for the average American these days not to notice the stunning proliferation of “spirituality” articles in today’s newspapers and popular magazines. Or for that matter, to miss all the talk about God and the transcendent meaning of things coming from our pundits and leading politicians.
While this may be a function of the calendar year in which we are living, it may also suggest that our world is changing for the better. Perhaps this notion that human beings are indeed comprised of mind, body and soul is finally catching on in the mainstream culture.
Generally speaking, people are quite adept at feeding the body and even the mind. But the soul, for most, is another matter. The way to nourish the soul is to engage and exercise and properly maintain the spirit. But before we can begin, it is important to know what is meant by the word “spirituality.”
Spirituality is a state of being. It is living each day with our life ordered, led and directed to God through the Holy Spirit.
It’s like being at sea aboard a sailboat on a trip to a distant land. The Holy Spirit is the wind that fills the sail and moves the boat. Spirituality comprises the hundreds of decisions we constantly make to turn and adjust the boat’s wheel to stay the course.
Spirituality is to the soul what oxygen is to the body. It is life itself, the life God breathed into us at our birth and the life that shall carry us over the waters of death. As Christians, our need is to keep this life fresh and alive. There are many ways to do that. Here are five:
1) Surrender Everything to God
Some people think that being a Christian is complicated. After all, there are so many denominations to choose from. There is church authority to deal with and rules to follow. There is theology and doctrine, creeds and commitments to make. And there is the Bible and all those unrealistic things Jesus says, such as, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Mt 5:44).
While the above may be true, it is also true that God made it simple to become a Christian. The first followers of Jesus became disciples in a simple way. When Jesus saw Peter and Andrew, he said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men. At once they left their nets and followed him” (Mt 4:18-20).
If we want to be followers of Christ, we must leave our nets: leave behind our conditions on God … leave our need to be right … leave our ego and pride … leave our need to be in control of everything and everyone around us … and leave our fear that we are not enough without more power, prestige and possessions. These are nets in which we can become entangled. We may think we are free, but is that really true? How can we be free if we live with a constant low-grade fever of anxiety and fear caused by the false belief that we don’t have enough?
When we surrender everything to God, when we turn our life over to Jesus Christ, we discover that we are enough as we are. Why? Because God created us, and what God creates is always enough, always complete. At your birth, you were enough, for God loved you completely as you were then. God loves you the same way today, for in the eyes of God you are absolutely enough just as you are, warts and all. We don’t need to prove anything to God to gain God’s love because we are already beloved children of God.
And because we are God’s beloved children, God has a wonderful plan for each of our lives. God will provide all we need to carry out that plan. Jesus put it this way: “I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age” (Mk 10: 29).
Surrender everything to God. Yes, it is that simple even though to do so is difficult. As Christians, we learn that we must surrender constantly. Many times each day we are asked to hand over the boat’s wheel to Jesus and remind ourselves that he is the real captain. When we finally do let Jesus steer our lives, we begin to enjoy the ride. It is then that we can finally sit back and watch the sun rise over the horizon, over a sea of grace, over heaven.
2) Trust
After we surrender to God, the spiritual life requires trust. Trust that Jesus will be at our side, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health. He will be there to love and honor us all the days of our life. And not just here on earth but also in the eternal life to come, which Jesus promises to all who love and follow him. The spiritual life is a covenant relationship, like a marriage, between Jesus and each of us. But, as in any marriage, trust is the foundation on which a life together is built.
Trust is like a deep keel on a sailboat. When we trust in God, we feel a sense of stability, a sense of security, the only security we can count on in this life. Here’s what the prophet Isaiah wrote about trust:
“I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the Lord God is my strength and my might; God has become my salvation” (Isa 12:2).
3) Pray
Prayer is like the bilge pump on a boat. It helps us flush out all that can cause our souls to sink. In this way, prayer is a form of exorcism. Jesus casts out evil from us when we pray.
Cardinal Sin of the Philippines (yes, his name is “Sin”) once said, “Prayer is our strength and God’s weakness, for God cannot resist prayer.” God cannot resist listening to us as we pray and no prayer is wasted. God always responds, maybe not by giving us what we want but, instead, providing us with what we need.
Prayer is to the soul what exercise is to the body. We can live and not pray, but we sure feel a lot better when we do. Pray at least twice a day, for a half-hour in the morning and a half-hour at night, and you will have an invigorating spiritual life.
There are four kinds of prayer: Gimme, Thanks, Woops, and Wow. Gimme prayers are for when we ask something from God. Thanks prayers are prayed in gratitude for all God gives us. Woops prayers are prayers of lamentation. We lament before God the evil that has come to us. Wow prayers are prayers of praise. Most people pray prayers of Gimme and Thanks. Try Woops and Wow. And remember, God cannot resist!
4) Be A Doer of God’s Word
Prayer is like an artesian well in a mountain. The well water of prayer is pure and clean. But if well water does not flow out into a river, it will become stagnant. Bugs, algae and debris will cloud the water. The same is true with our spiritual lives. When our prayer life flows out into a river of action, we help to keep our faith pure. Pray always, but then go and act on God’s word if you want to remain in good spiritual health.
A good way to act on God’s word is to go to your pastor and ask how you might serve God in your church community. If you are not ready to do that, try the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, which are acts of charity done out of compassion or concern for those who suffer. The corporal works of mercy are: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick and imprisoned, ransoming the captive and burying the dead. Spiritual works of mercy include: instructing the ignorant, correcting sinners, advising the doubtful, showing patience to sinners and those in error, forgiving others, comforting the afflicted and praying for the living and dead.
5) Find A Faith Community
People sometimes say, “I want a spiritual life but I don’t believe in organized religion.” There is no such thing as a religion that is not organized. And no great religion or wisdom figures have ever believed a person can have a spiritual life alone, outside a faith community. Jesus made that clear when he said, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18: 20).
In other words, it is extremely difficult to have a Bible and Jesus alone and have a good spiritual life. Maybe some monks have done that, but a good abbot never allows a monk to become a hermit until he has been an active member of his faith community for a long time. Jesus wants us to be with others who can help us on our journey.
If you’re not ready to join a faith community, then join a prayer and faith-sharing group. To do this you will have to surrender your fear of self-disclosure to others. It is natural to be reserved when we are not used to sharing our faith with others. We may even feel embarrassed about saying the name “Jesus” before a group. But take heart and speak His name before others. You will feel good when you do. And from your spiritual life will flow many blessings.
These are five basic ways to maintain a healthy spiritual life. Although they may be simple, none are easy, even for those who have long practiced their faith. Try these five ways for five months and you will soon discover that heaven is sailing with Jesus all the way to heaven.
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