General:
- Glory to God in the Highest (published: Tabor Voice, Nov-Dec 2002; Divine Light, Dec 2003)
- Living in the Will of God (published: Tabor Voice, Jan-Feb 2003)
- What we should do this Lent (published: The Examiner, March 2003)
- Lost your reputation? Rejoice! (published: Divine Light, July 2004)
- The Potter & His Clay - A Spiritual Analogy
- Death on an Easter Sunday
- How Jesus saved us from the fire next door
- God isn't deaf
- Get on a Barnabus trip
- A Year Older and a lot less Wise (Part 1 of the Birthday Trilogy)
- He sang to me (Part 2 of the Birthday Trilogy)
- The Value of Intercession (Part 3 of the Birthday Trilogy)
- Do you want a FREE GIFT that can never be taken from you?! (Dec 2003 / Jan 2004)
- Love is in the air... (February 2004)
- Was it worth it all? (March 2004)
- I Confess... (April 2004)
- The Beautiful Blessing of Christian Fellowship! (May 2004)
- Power Evangelize! (June 2004)
- 'Best Friends' till the end (July 2004)
- Family Matters (August 2004)
- Do you know WHY you believe? (September 2004)
- You're going to be let down (October 2004)
- Praying with the Holy Pope (November 2004)
- Hang in there (December 2004) (published: Divine Light, Jan 2005)
- Just like that. And you're gone (January 2005)
- The Divine Lover of My Soul (February 2005)
- Is it ever "too late" to do right? (March 2005)
- To Emmaus, or back again? The choice is yours! (April 2005) (published:Divine Truth, April 2007)
- Bear Much Fruit (May 2005) (published: Divine Light, July 2005)
- Holiness and the Heart of Love (June 2005)
- Spiritual Boot Camp (July 2005)
- Abundant Life! (August 2005)
- Unanswered Prayers? (September 2005)
- Trust in the Lord! (October 2005)
- Persevere! (December 2005)
- New Resolutions this New Year (January 2006)
- 'Having it All' = Having Jesus (February 2006)
- He Understands (April 2006)
- My Invisible Tattoo (September 2006)
- Cardinal Justin Rigali ~ "Glorify God in Your Body" (October 2006)
- A Fattened Calf for me (December 2006)
- How to come out of a Spiritual Downward Spiral - Part 1 (January 2007)
- Jesus is Alive. Need Proof? ( October 2007)
- Biblical Catholics (November 2007)
- Religion or Spirituality? (September 2008)
- Lessons from the strange race between the Tortoise and the Hare (October 2008)
- How to react when Spiritual Leaders fall / backslide: (November 2008)
September 2008
Religion or Spirituality?
September in Mumbai India, especially in the lovely suburb of Bandra in which I live, is associated with the feast of Mother Mary. Scores of people, thousand upon thousands seemingly, descend on us to pay patronage to our Lady of the Mount either by making the 9 days novena or simply to pay a visit to our Bandra Basilica and offer up candles – many of them in different shapes (houses, body parts etc) to pray for specific needs.
While many admire the “simple faith” of many people who do these things, lots of people criticize them as having “no real faith” and only running to follow religious dictates with no personal spirituality of their own.
Many such critics put down religion and “religious spirits” and claim “the rituals are not important, the personal faith is”
I often have had discussions with people on this exact same topic – and it saddens me how more and more “born again” Christians leave the Catholic Church for this reason.
They ask me how I can be spiritual and yet follow the rituals. I tell them this - rituals have their place in worship.
Community worship wherein many meet together under one roof as equals to worship cannot be replaced by individual personal prayer or we will lose our sense of being one body in Christ “we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” Romans 12: 5
Similarly only ritualistic worship, with no real participation, with no real heart, with no real individual personal connection with God, too can leave one feeling empty and dry.
And both are interconnected - A personal connection and experience with our Lord and Saviour will enable us to unlock the wisdom and beauty of the traditions and rituals of our Catholic Church, in turn making them enrich our individual walks with the Lord.
If you, like me, have been accosted by someone who has told you to concentrate on your spirituality rather than your religion, understand this – our Catholic Church offers great variety of tradition and rituals that are meant to enrich our individual and communitarian walks with the Lord.
If you’re a reader, I suggest picking up Scott Hann’s books on the sacraments – “The Lord’s Supper” (wrt Holy Mass) & “Lord have Mercy” (wrt Reconciliation). They’re written in easy to understand modern language and will unravel the mysteries and rich symbolism behind these two sacraments.
And when you’re done, pick up another book and keep at it. Study and you will understand personally what a rich heritage our Catholic church has for us!
It is upto us to delve deeper into the rituals and traditions, understand the sacraments for what they are and then truly we will have a spiritual experience with everything religious.
Wishing you a renewed and enriched spiritual experience,
September 2008
