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Spirituality
a Response to the
Signs
of Our Times
We
are living in a world of tremendous change and contradictions a
world of great wealth and extreme poverty. Our Church, usually a source
of strength seems weakened by its own sins and fragility. How easy it is
in such times to lose hope. Yet today, in my experience as spiritual
director of the Spiritual Enrichment Center in Santa Rosa, California, I
find more and more people are seeking to find God. Undoubtedly God is
speaking in their hearts and consciences, and, at the Center, I,
assisted by my lay advisory board, am trying to respond to this need.
Our mission statement reads:
. to support and promote personal
spiritual awareness and spiritual deepening through prayer, reflection
and action
Let me share with you some of the ways this is
happening.
Today
many are faced with life-changing decisions unknown to past generations.
Responding to this the Ignatian Exercises
with its inbuilt dynamic of discernment is central to the work of the
Center.
For
those who feel the need to do something more than just go to Church we
sponsor a series of talks in Advent and Lent.
These spiritual presentations center on the upcoming liturgical
celebrations.
Others,
wishing to grow in a deeper relationship with Christ are offered the Spiritual
Exercises in the form of Annotation 19. They meditate daily and
visit a spiritual director weekly from September to May.
Many
are experiencing a hunger for Contemplative Prayer. We meet this need by
sharing with them contemplative prayer according to the Christian
tradition, with special reference to the teachings of Sts. John of the
Cross and Teresa of Avila, and Thomas Merton.
We
offer a Spiritual Book Club ideal for
people just becoming aware of spirituality and the need for spiritual
nourishment. At weekly meetings participants share their experiences of
the readings and become more competent in the area of spirituality and
theology.
To
walk with people on their spiritual journey is a wonderful but awesome
privilege --- especially today when the hunger and need is so great.
Jesus said over 2000 years ago: The harvest is rich but the laborers
are few
.(Mt. 9:37) How true that is today!
