~ We are formed through Struggle ~

1Spiritual maturity does not occur as a result of the accumulation of skills and techniques, but as a result of our being opened up to, and confronted by, realities which disturb and transform us: the reality of the Word of God, challenging, piercing, shaking us; the reality of the encounter with ourselves, with God, and with the depths of other people, through silence and darkness. Common to these encounters is the element of struggle, of conflict. We are formed through struggle.

The idea of struggle assumes a social dimension to the spiritual path. . . [T]here can be no private spirituality. As Martin Thornton has written:

‘Private’ piety, or even ‘private’ prayer, aimed at some sort of spiritual self culture, is unchristian, heretical, and a contradiction in terms: there is no such thing.2

The word ‘private’ in fact is not a Christian word at all. The process of spiriual formation takes place within a world of wars and rebellions, of unemployment and strikes, of racism and oppression, of wealth and poverty.

~ There can be no private spirituality. ~
~ The word ‘private’ in fact is not a Christian word at all. ~

COMMENT: One of the reasons I was drawn years ago to the writings of Kenneth Leech is because he insisted on taking theology out of the academy. While serving in parishes, he wrote contextual theology from the tough streets of urban London where he did battle with the forces that afflicted his neighborhood with poverty, racism, and drug abuse. He brought to bear the vision, life, and teachings of Jesus and the hope of the gospel on the pressing local and global issues of the last fifty years. By way of example he wrote things like this:

Protest is a byproduct of vision. If the church recovers its contemplative vision, becomes more rooted in God, it will become a disturbing force for society.

In a tribute to Leech, Rev. Angus Ritchie wrote:

In his writing and in his action, Ken held together contemplation and resistance, prayer and prophecy. He recognised that a spirituality disconnected from our actual material relationships was fundamentally unChristian. By the same token, he recognised the danger of a shallow, prayer-less activism; of social action disconnected from the transforming power and love of the living God.

1 Kenneth Leech, Spirituality and Pastoral Care, p. 31.
2 Martin Thornton, Spiritual Direction, p. 14.

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