21st Century Spirituality

Sister Ruth Ann Myers, OSF, reflects on the topic of spirituality from her broad background in theology, psychology and spiritual direction.

What is happening in the 21st Century Spirituality? Significant, perhaps, is the enormous interest in spirituality that is emerging today. Some writers are calling it “The Spiritual Revolution”. New, too, is that the interest is coming from a broad spectrum of people, not just religious groups. Also, the “revolution” is rising from below, not from above.

William Johnson, the Jesuit theologian, says that within the last thirty years, spirituality has become democratized. Holiness is no longer viewed as an ideal state attainable for only the elite; instead, it is within the reach of the ordinary person.

This interest may not be surprising in the light of the rapid changes taking place in the 20th and 21st, changes far exceeding preceding centuries. These changes are making demands on everyone, demands that stretch us beyond the human and push us into the spiritual.

We understand ourselves through the world around us, so as the world changes, we, too, change. We know ourselves through the culture and the scientific developments in our particular time in history. This understanding of ourselves influences how we perceive Christ. Christ is not out there someplace, detached from place and time. Instead, he is within our personal and communal experiences in the era in which we are living. (To be continued…)

By Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity