BIG NEWS: Christian Spirituality: First Things

I'm halfway through an exciting writing project on Christian Spirituality, and I’ve decided to share the journey with you through a series of blog posts. Each blog will include a free resource. Keep an eye out—I'll be publishing one blog from this series each month over the next two years.

Let’s get started…

Welcome to the first blog, “Christian Spirituality: First Things.” In this blog series, you will hear words like “spirituality,” “ascetical,” “mystical,” and “contemplation.” What do you think of those words? How do they make you feel? Like me, they may make you feel uneasy, fearing their apparent association with “New Age” concepts and Eastern religions. You may feel the need to be cautious of practices that seem too esoteric and mysterious, unorthodox, or heretical. In addition, the words are quite vague and ambiguous. However, I hope you will also feel a sense of intrigue and openness to discover new possibilities in growing in intimate communion with God, deepening your relationship with him, developing your prayer life, and transforming your walk with Jesus Christ.

Staying Grounded

As a conservative-orthodox Christian, I’ll do my utmost to keep the blogs level-headed and biblical, while acknowledging that the readings at times might seem a bit too esoteric or even unorthodox. In this case, I would ask you to be patient and forbearing. On the other hand, read with a critical mind and engage with the material. I believe that once you take this approach, you will find this blog series an invaluable guide on your journey.

A moment ago, I mentioned the vague and ambiguous nature of some of the terminology that we will be using. Theologians and writers assign these words whatever meaning they wish them to have. I will use these terms in a manner consistent with their Christian common usage.

Christian Spirituality

Christian Spirituality can be understood as encompassing every aspect of Christian life, which includes asceticism (like prayer and fasting), mysticism, contemplation, and so on.[1] We are spiritual people, so spirituality is all about the lived personal experience of our Christian faith through practice. Our spiritual lives must be formed by the activity of the Holy Spirit, which gives shape to our prayer life and our Christian devotion, fostering a deeper relationship with God and transforming one’s life in Christ. Christian spirituality encompasses theology, prayer, and practical devotion—it is the lived integration of faith. Our spirituality is our interior life, which ought to overflow into the world.[2] One generally notices three aspects of Christian spirituality: practice, spiritual formation from various faith traditions, and the academic study of Christian spirituality. We will be touching on all three in the blog series. At the heart of Christian spirituality lies the daily discipline of training ourselves to love God more fully. This brings us to a key area known as ascetical theology, which explores how we respond to God’s love through intentional practice.

Ascetical Theology

One typically thinks of asceticism as austere religious practices like extreme fasting and self-mortification. These are not only unhelpful but could at times even be considered sinful, especially when it involves self-harm. However, when we talk of asceticism and ascetical theology—as the English Anglican priest and Ascetical Theologian, Martin Thornton (1915—1986) explains—we are talking about one’s deliberate choice to respond to the “love of God by training, effort and discipline, freely undertaken.”[3] He continues, “Ascetical theology is grounded on the doctrine of prevenient grace, that is, God’s grace drawing us to himself. God always acts first, so there is a sense in which everything is his direct gift.”[4] It’s all about Christian progress—learning to pray better in whichever situation we find ourselves. It’s about not climbing a spiritual ladder,[5] but it is about achieving perfection through virtuous living, self-discipline, growing in:

• Fasting

• Prayer

• Study

• Contemplation

• Solitude

• Chastity

• Simple living, etc.

I’ve discovered that practicing the disciplines brings about tremendous peace, even when my life seems to be in turmoil and chaos. It gives me a profound sense of serenity, centeredness, and grace. This brings us to the third term, mysticism.

Mysticism

What happens when our efforts are transformed into a deeper, experiential awareness of God’s presence? That’s the realm of Christian mysticism, which focuses more on the experience of communion with God and union with him through the prayerful practices of contemplation. It is focused on the members of the Trinity and emphasizes love, humility, and surrender to God’s will. Christian Mysticism does not seek self-focused enlightenment. While there is some overlap between Ascetical Theology and Mystical Theology, asceticism is usually considered a necessary step towards mysticism. As you might imagine, Christian mysticism can take various forms depending on the mystic, their experience, and God’s grace given to them. A key practice in Christian mysticism is contemplation, the focus of the next term.

Contemplation

Simply put, contemplation is a form of prayer focused on God and his divine presence. Ringma explains, “In contemplation, we encounter Jesus through the practices of prayer, meditative reading, and reflection, and we also encounter our neighbors through the practices of service and action.”[6] Referencing the Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, Ringma emphasizes that “contemplation is not concerned with having ‘extraordinary experiences,’ personal security, or arriving at some sort of perfection, but rather with ‘self-denial and sacrifice,’ ‘humble surrender,’ and patience in ‘the weary and arid path that takes us through dry places in prayer.’”[7] Contemplative prayer is usually done in stillness, silence, and receptiveness. Examples of popular methods of Christian contemplation are:

Centering Prayer: a practice of prayer inspired by the ancient Desert Fathers and an ancient English work titled, The Cloud of Unknowing. Centering prayer emphasizes silence and inner stillness to foster a deeper relationship with God. I’ve practiced the method of contemplative prayer taught in the Cloud of Unknowing for a while now, and it has enriched my prayer life in deep and profound ways.

Lectio Divina: an ancient Christian practice of prayerful, meditative reading of Scripture. Through Lectio Divina, we engage Scripture spiritually, rather than intellectually, seeking a deep connection to God.

This is sufficient for us for now to get us started. How might your first steps in disciplined prayer to moments of deep union with God help shape you and help you become more like Christ Jesus? I invite you to continue with me on this journey as we explore the riches of Christian spirituality together.

Task

Read Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God, and reflect on your own experience of God's presence.

• How do Brother Lawrence’s teachings resonate with your own spiritual journey?

• What challenges or insights arise as you consider implementing his practices in your daily life?

Be honest and vulnerable in your reflections, drawing connections between Brother Lawrence’s ideas and your personal experiences. You can find a PDF copy here.

Look out for the next installment, "Spiritual Reading of Scripture."

[1] Martin Thornton, English Spirituality: An Outline of Ascetical Theology According to the English Pastoral Tradition (Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2012), 16–17.

[2] What Is Spirituality: An Interview with Bernard McGinn, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KxIEjrGwJw; What Is Spirituality: An Interview with  Sandra Schneiders, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXJV8HLcV7c.

[3] Thornton, English Spirituality, 19.

[4] Thornton, 19.

[5] Thornton, 22.

[6] Charles R. Ringma, In the Midst of Much-Doing: Cultivating a Missional Spirituality (Carlisle: Langham Global Library, 2023), 47.

[7] Ringma, 106.

AI Disclaimer:

This article has been edited for grammar, clarity, and readability using AI-assisted tools. The core content, theological insights, and personal reflections remain my original work.