PERSONAL SPIRITUALITY

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PERSONAL SPIRITUALITY

• How our spirit enters into communion with God

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PERSONAL SPIRITUALITY AND PRAYER

• Spirituality is concerned with how our spirit
  enters into communion with God. It is concerned
  with our "disposition" of spirit in our relation
  with God. E.g. I might want to communicate with
  God by my art - that is a question of prayer
  style.
• How I make that communication through my art (do
  I seek the God in the world around me or use the
  art to transcend what I see about me, for
  example) is a question of spirituality.

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STYLES OF PERSONAL SPIRITUALITY

• Spirituality is subject not only to the
  particular needs of the individual but is subject
  to local culture.
• The present age of Catholic spirituality is
  filled with statues, structured devotions and
  centered on sacraments and sacramentals.
• Preceding ages of Catholics, however, have used
  other techniques such as asceticism, bridal
  imagery and prayers of emptiness.
• The measure of any style of spirituality lies in
  its ability to enable the individual in
  journeying more deeply into the heart of God in
  their life.

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CLASIFYING PERSONAL SPIRITUALITY

• There are two ways of classifying spirituality.
  First, we can understand it according to whether
  the prayer is filled with words, images, feelings
  and emotions. This is a prayer of fullness, known
  technically as kataphasia.
• Alternatively, the goal of the prayer can be to
  empty oneself of all thoughts and feelings,
  called emptiness or apophasia.

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CLASIFICATION OF PRAYER

• Prayer can also be classified according to
  whether it is principally an exercise of the
  mind, thought and imagination which is known as
  speculative (mind) prayer or an exercise of the
  heart, feelings and emotions referred to as
  affective (emotional) prayer.
• Traditional Catholic devotions could be
  classified as an instance of kataphatic affective
  spirituality (prayer of fullness and emotion).

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VARIATIONS OF PERSONAL SPIRITUALITY

• Augustinian Looks at God's action in world
  events ('grace') while drawing on a historical
  salvation perspective. Tends toward fullness and
  utilizing the mind and uses scripture as a
  prominent source of its meditative material.
• Benedictine Characterized by offering all deeds
  of the day as part of the communion with God,
  both formal prayer and simple tasks and labors.
  Also nourished by the scriptures, particularly
  when read and applied to ones life in the daily
  context.
• Charismatic A highly affective (emotional/heart)
  spirituality focused on the place and role of the
  Holy Spirit. It is energetic and seeks to awaken
  the "gifts" of the Spirit in the individual for
  better communication with God. It draws strongly
  on the acts of the apostles and community is very
  important.
• Franciscan Another 'emptying' and 'heart' style
  of spirituality, this is the source of much of
  what is now thought to be "typical' Catholic
  spirituality. It is focused on the person of the
  human Christ and on the events of his life and
  what they might have to say to us.
• Ignatian 'Mind' and 'emptying' are the emphases
  in this tradition which seeks to put you "in the
  shoes of Jesus", e.g. imagining yourself being
  the blind man or bleeding woman being healed, or
  present at the wedding at Cana. The goal is that
  by doing so, you might become more attuned to the
  mind and spirit of Jesus.

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MY PERSONAL SPIRITUALITY

• What is my personal spirituality? (the
  disposition" of my spirit in my relation with
  Godhow I make my communion with God)
• What is my prayer style? (by what means do I
  communicate with God)