Posted: September 14

A first gathering of editors of spirituality journals

(Oxford, England) It’s the grass—so evenly uniform and smoothly green as it rolls from gravel paths up to centuries-old halls of learning. That is what sets Oxford apart. Of course, purists would insist on the centrality of the professors whose scholarship ensures the continuing prominence of Oxford among the world’s universities. But the grass: you don’t find that in other places. Not in St. Louis, even with its rain and humidity. Not in Rome, with its Mediterranean climate. And certainly not in Florida, with its ragged, saw-edged swamp grass.

No, Oxford is special, as both Father Dave Fleming and I agreed, sauntering through the precisely-kept grounds of Christ Church Cathedral and ambling along the banks of the Isis River. Dave also belongs to the Missouri Province (and was provincial when I asked to study graphic design). He and I came to Oxford to participate in the first-ever gathering of editors of Jesuit spirituality journals. Father Philip Endean, editor of The Way, convened the meeting to see how these journals might better accomplish their mission. Spirituality is very much at the heart of Jesuit life, and we take it seriously.

Of course, spirituality is more attractive to many people today than religion. The main distinction between the two is how one encounters God, through a communal experience or a more individual one. It is a commonplace now for many people to say, “I am a spiritual person, but not a religious one.” (Which means I search for God but don’t belong to any one church.) Actually, both spirituality and religion are necessary. Spirituality without the communal commitment of religion can become narcicisstic and self-centered. Religion without the conversion experience of spirituality can become formalistic and external. Some people like the freedom of choice of picking and choosing only the things you like from the marketplace of tradition. (“I’ll take a bit of Ignatius, along with a dollop of St. Francis, and a side order of Buddhism, thank you.”)

It is hard work trying to be both very contemporary and yet faithful to the authentic roots of a tradition such as the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. And that is my interest. I have been suggesting to Jesuits who work in communication that we should focus much more on the Spiritual Exercises than we have tended to do, and especially on how one lives out the consequences of the Exercises in everday life. What do you do after the retreat is over? I am interested in seeing how these editors see their work and how they understand the task of supporting, interpreting and promoting spirituality today.