Wilkie Au, S.J. 

"You have a book in you!" a friend said to me as I left the Jesuit residence at Loyola Marymount University to start a sabbatical. He was referring to my experience: a recently completed term as Jesuit novice director, and before that five years of teaching and counseling adults and students at the university, and training in psychology and spirituality. His encouraging nudge marked the start of what you are reading. Having worked closely with both religious and lay people, I wanted to write something that would benefit all Christians. Thus, the focus of this book is on a common gospel spirituality that is shared by religious and lay alike.

I chose to entitle this work By Way of the Heart: Toward a Holistic Christian Spirituality for several reasons. To go to God by way of the heart is to take a path to holiness that is both graceful and human. It is graceful-not strained even in the midst of struggle-because it relies radically on the enabling power of God to achieve its end. While Christian transformation calls for personal responsibility and effort, it can only come about when God replaces our often cold hearts of stone with warm hearts of flesh capable of loving. The way of the heart is also very human because it requires the involvement of the whole self-body and spirit, mind and emotions. The term "heart" is a traditional image for a way of perceiving, feeling, and loving that engages the total person. To St. Augustine, the word signifies "our whole interior and spiritual life, and it includes mind and will, knowledge and love.''' "Heart," when used to symbolize a spirituality, indicates that following Jesus is not something primarily heady, action-oriented, or moralistic. Rather, it is a matter of being caught up in a dynamic loving relationship with the Lord and others. Thus, Christian habits of the heart are those ways of knowing, valuing, and acting that are appropriate to followers of Jesus. Although the term "holistic" conveys much of what "heart" does, I nevertheless include it in the tide because it describes contemporary values which I feel should characterize an integrated spirituality. Finally, "toward" is meant to communicate the incomplete nature of what I present. Clearly, this book does not contain a completely developed holistic spirituality, but merely presents a moment of personal synthesis. The process of reflecting on Christian life is never-ending. This work represents one pilgrim's desire to share with his fellow-travelers his observations and insights of the trip up to now.

CONTROVERSIES AND CONTEXT

Two controversial but important issues of Christian life-the relationship between religion and psychology, and between religious and lay people-provide the context for this work. A brief description of them will help to express further the purpose of this book.

First, Christians are short-changing themselves when they "exchange . . . their heritage for a mess of psycho-babble.» (2) According to theologian Richard Neuhaus, this statement in the National Review reflects the view of a number of thinkers. It exposes a persistent prejudice shared by many Christians: psychology and faith do not mix. For those of us who value the contribution of psychology to spirituality and presume this appreciation to be universal, Neuhaus report, like a sobering shake, returns us to reality. Some believers are still wary of psychology and worry about the "psychologizing" of religion. Persuaded that the churches have bought tainted goods in being so heavily influenced by modern psychology, some current observers urge them to reappropriate a peculiarly biblical wisdom about mental and spiritual health. Neuhaus reiterates Paul Vitz's argument that the mainstream of contemporary psychology has become, not an ancillary aid to biblical religion, but a substitute for it. (3)

Second, on another polemical front, the argument about the relationship between religious and lay people in the church still flares up. In a widely-circulated journal, an article entitled, "Superiority of the Religious Life," recently appeared. "In the worlds of finance, medicine, the military," the author states, "there is no reason to ascribe superiority to the religious state." But "in the world of holiness and the sacred, there is." (4) These are jolting words for those who thought that Vatican II's emphasis on the universal call to holiness shattered for good all such divisive stratifications of Christians.

To articulate a holistic Christian spirituality based on gospel loves is the purpose of this book. Such a spirituality is meant to strengthen two important alliances: the alliance between the therapeutic and the spiritual, and that between religious and lay spirituality. The therapeutic, which represents what psychology has discovered about healthy human development, can serve spirituality by guarding against any attempt to abandon the human in pursuit of the holy. And by highlighting the gospel values that form the single spirituality offered by Jesus, the holistic approach offered here is intended to bring about a closer unity among members of the one body of Christ. Both alliances are under attack.

PSYCHOLOGY AND RELIGION AS ALLIES

As Neuhaus reports, some modern thinkers suggest that psychology is inherently antagonistic toward the goals and values of religion. In this view, religion and psychology are sworn enemies, determined to destroy one another. Human growth is looked upon as a threat to religious growth, and vice versa. Such views force an unnecessary choice between religious and psychological truth. The problem with this dichotomous mentality is its failure to recognize that truth is a seamless garment and that authentic religion and authentic psychology, each in its own way, shed light on the truth of the human condition. Truth has nothing to fear from itself, whether the truth be of mathematics or physics, physiology or phenomenology, and yes, psychology or religion. It is to the lasting credit of St. Thomas Aquinas, who taught that there is a harmony between faith and reason, between grace and nature, that we recognize there is one author of both, and therefore there can be no contradiction between them. Each, with its own methodology and criteria for determining truth, is a valid, though different, way of knowing.

As a priest and a counselor, I believe that psychological and spiritual health are intimately related and that genuine religion is psychologically healthy. My clinical experience in counseling, as well as in spiritual direction, makes me unsympathetic to alarmist calls to abandon psychology simply because of the excesses of certain true believers of the therapeutic god. In a society where pop psychology is often presented as the panacea for personal problems, abuses will inevitably occur. Nevertheless, when used with intelligence and common sense, psychology can support biblical faith and genuine spiritual development. I hope that the following pages will make clear that spirituality can often find a helpful ally in psychology. Just as authentic human growth cannot be built on a spirituality that denigrates the body or the earthy conditions of human existence, spiritual maturity also has definite psychological prerequisites. For example, love of God and others presupposes a modicum of self-love, just as intimacy with the Lord in prayer requires the ability to be intimate in some prior human relationship. Instead of substituting for religion, psychology can assist pilgrims in their spiritual journey from narcissism to altruism, from egotistic self-realization to self-surrendering love. This book illustrates how psychology and religion can be natural allies in the process by which we are made whole and holy.

THE COMMON VOCATION OF LAY AND RELIGIOUS

The unity between professed religious and lay Christians is being undermined by a prejudice that refuses to die-the myth that a higher spirituality exists for professional religious and priests, and a watered down form for lay Christians in the world. Behind this view lurks the suspicion that secular life is a sort of compromise or halfway measure. Any view that keeps alive the ancient prejudice that looked on monks as total Christians and lay persons as partial Christians misunderstands their common vocation. The spirituality that would stratify Christians into those called to a wholehearted and those called to a halfhearted following of Jesus is incompatible with the spirituality presented here. My dealings with both religious and lay persons have convinced me that both modes of Christian life offer equal opportunities for generous commitment to Christ and rich spiritual development. Lay people, whether called to the married, single, or widowed life, can give themselves totally to God through their devotion to family and friends and their dedication to work and community service. Professed religious can do the same in community life and ministry. Is it belaboring the obvious, then, to say that one can be deeply religious without being a religious?

In purposing a holistic spirituality based on gospel values, I hope to enhance the unity of Christians. While religious life and secular Christian life represent two distinct ways of responding to the radical demands of the gospel, neither constitutes an intrinsically better way of following Christ. Religious life in the church, John Lozano contends, serves as a parable reminding the whole church of the demands that the gospel makes on us all. (5) As such, "the religious life is really no more evangelical than secular Christian life, because the gospel speaks to us of faith, hope, conversion, purity of heart, humility, service and solidarity with the oppressed-none of these are more related to the religious life than they are to secular Christian life." (6) Love, prayer, worship, ministry, and community are the heart of the Christian experience for all. What religious and lay Christians possess in common is far more real, profound, and important than any differences they might have. (7) When Vatican II reaffirmed that the call to holiness is universal, it led to a gradual shedding of elitist interpretations of religious profession that would make it appear to be an intrinsically higher life than the lay state. All Christians, according to the council, are called to strive for the perfection of charity. (8) Consequently, it no longer seems proper to set off religious from others as those with an exclusive vocation to a "state of perfection." This realization has "created a challenge to reinterpret religious life as a way rather than a caste." It also seeks "an understanding of the vows that does not imply a separation of religious from other Christians or ex alt them above their sisters and brothers in the Christian community." (9)

A SPIRITUAL RENAISSANCE AMONG LAY AND RELIGIOUS

After more than fifteen years of involvement with the spiritual training of both religious and lay persons, I recognize that both groups share many of the same struggles and problems. Much of what I offer them in spiritual direction and retreats is the same, though adapted to the concrete exigencies of their different lifestyles. A principal concern of this book flows from the common nature of their spiritual journey: How can the spiritual aids traditionally given to professed religious be more equitably shared with the growing number of lay Christians, who individually or in community, seek to deepen their life of faith? This work attempts to open up the rich treasury of Christian spirituality to all Christians who long to take their religious life more seriously, but lack any kind of formal spiritual formation. As the author of a book on a holistic approach to catechesis rightly maintains, "the essential elements of the religious life, which for many centuries were the preserve of a professed few, must once again be made available so that all Christians can mature in holiness. "(10)

By describing a spirituality that is holistic in its integration of gospel values and its concerns for the humanity of the whole person who is called to spiritual transformation, I hope to contribute to the renaissance taking place today among both lay and religious. Professed religious in increasing numbers are committed to the notion of continuing formation, clearly acknowledging that their development must be actively fostered throughout their lives and not abandoned once they have made a formal profession of vows. Among the laity, this spiritual renewal has taken many forms. Growing numbers of Christians find themselves searching for greater depth in living their religious commitment. I am thinking specifically of directors of religious education, lay spiritual directors, as well as those who are active in myriad forms of lay ministry, charismatic prayer groups and covenant communities, L'Arche houses, and Catholic Worker communities.

AN OVERVIEW

I mentioned earlier that this book originated in my desire to share the insights I have learned from my experience in spiritual direction and psychological counseling. No attempt has been made here to develop a coherent theory of spirituality using the strict methodology of a single discipline. I draw from many sources - scriptural, psychological, personal - to illuminate the multifaceted process of spiritual growth. Some of the material included in this work has already appeared as articles in journals which I indicate in the acknowledgments. While previously published materials have been edited and rewritten for this volume, the major portion of this book appears here for the first time.

A brief overview of the book's structure may be helpful. In Chapter I, I introduce an overall framework based on gospel loves. These biblical values provide a useful context to discuss key issues that affect holistic growth in the spiritual life. While Chapter I presents the General landscape, Chapter II elaborates on each element that contributes to the whole picture. In discussing each gospel value, it is not my intention to be comprehensive, but merely to comment in a way that can enhance its integration into our lives. Then in the remainder of the book, I devote a chapter each to decision-making and life-choice (Chapter III), prayer (Chapter IV), obedience (Chapter V), chastity (Chapter VI), and poverty (Chapter VII).

The first four chapters are obviously equal in their relevance to both religious and lay Christians. Chapters V, VI, and VII discuss the virtues of obedience, chastity, and poverty as gospel values that are important to the lives of all Christians, not only to professed religious. As stated earlier, the religious life of the vows is not different from Christian life. N ot that all Christians are called to profess the three vows, but all are nevertheless called to embody the underlying gospel values that the vows represent. If lived in a holistic way, the religious life of the vows can support the vocation of lay Christians who are called to proclaim the same gospel values in the home and the workplace. The religious life can thus be seen as an attempt to articulate explicitly in a lifestyle that which is common to all Christians, that is, the vocation to follow Jesus in his central and all-consuming concern for preaching the good news of the reign of God in our midst.