We live in a world that is rich in most everything, except clarity in the area of spirituality. It is not easy to know how we should live out what is essential within our lives of faith. We know about our insurance policies, our 401K’s, our portfolios … but what about our other priority? Even though we may have accepted a creed, been baptized into a church, and are familiar with the Bible, we are still constantly subjected to voices calling us in different directions. Daily we face a perplexing series of questions: Is this important or not? Is this something of substance or just a fad? Will this endure or will it pass away? Must I get involved in this or can I choose to ignore it?
What is essential within our Christian spirituality? What are the pillars upon which we should build our spiritual life? The spiritual writer Father Ron Rolheiser lists four nonnegotiables of a healthy spirituality: private prayer and private morality; social justice; mellowness of heart and spirit and community as a constitutive element of true worship. For Jesus, these four elements comprise the essentials, the nonnegotiable, of Christian discipleship. They comprise the essence of the spiritual life. I invite you to have an open and mellow heart as the Gospel of Mark continues to unfold and tell of our call to new life in Jesus and perhaps redirecting our energies.
Our task as Christians is to transform the world with a healthy spirituality and with a mellow heart. As a contemporary theologian has told us, our task as Christians is to transform the world through love and justice, but he is clear that we will not succeed in this if our actions issue forth from anger or guilt. Only one kind of person transforms the world spiritually: someone with a grateful heart.
God bless! Have a wonderful week!