| Chapter 1: | Transformation and the Study of Christian Spirituality |
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The intrinsically relational character of all spirituality is particularly clear in Christian experience. As Michael Downey puts it:
What differentiates this study of spirituality from systematic theology or moral theology is its focus on the dynamic and concrete character of the relationship of the human person to God in the context of the whole of their life. Moreover, this relationship is one of development, of growth in the life of faith and spirit, and thus encompasses the whole of the human lifespan. In contrast to the study of theology or ethics, this study of Christian spirituality in L’Arche concerns the religious experience of the Holy Spirit as it shapes individual and corporate ways of life, not just theoretical reflection on God or moral obligations arising from religious convictions.
Toward a Definition of Christian Spirituality
When integrated with the functional and phenomenological perspectives on spirit and spirituality I have surveyed, it is possible to formulate the following definition of spirituality as “a person's way of experiencing and responding to the sacred in the context of her/his life in all of its dimensions.” This way of life in response to the desire for union with the sacred is always mediated through experiences and constructions of the sacred, what James Fowler has called “centers of value” and “images of power.” In this study, the phrase “the sacred” is used in contrast to “the holy” when designating a more functional understanding of ultimate value that may or may not refer to a divine or transcendent dimension of reality.
Spirituality, understood in these terms, functions psychologically to support a total existential orientation that is self-transcending and life-integrating.