FIVE PILLARS

OF THE
SPIRITUAL LIFE
Session # 1
November 13, 2008
• Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D., wears many hats. He is
a Jesuit priest, the president of Gonzaga University,
an author, speaker, teacher, and a participant in
community affairs. His fresh and innovative
approach stems from his diverse areas of interest:
public accounting, finance, theology, physics,
metaphysics, ethics, and, of course, Gonzaga! With
his previous experience as Professor of Business
Ethics and Director of the Institute of Professional
Ethics at Seattle University, he has worked in an
advisory role with over 300 companies such as
Boeing, Toyota, Costco, and Caterpillar.
• Fr. Spitzer averages 130 major business and public
presentations per year, including: Tony Blair's
Cabinet in London, officials of the Russian Orthodox
Church, leaders of both sides of the Northern
Ireland conflict, and to members of the current
leadership in Costa Rica.
• Hosted several shows on EWTN
 What is our Spiritual Life?
St. Paul says in his Letter to the Romans 8:9,
11-13 “Brothers & Sisters: You are not in the
flesh, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of
God dwells in you”….

“For if you live according to the flesh, you will

die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the
deeds of the body, you will live.”
 What is our Spiritual
Life?
 Plato - “Philosopher of Spirit” proposes that
everything emanates from an idea - the ultimate
idea – GOOD, BEAUTY, TRUTH – is very close to our
concept of God. Something that transcends our
physical selves.

 To be "spiritual" means to know, and to live

according to the knowledge, that there is more to
life than meets the eye. To be "spiritual" means,
beyond that, to know and to live according to the
knowledge that God is present to us in grace as the
principle of personal, interpersonal, social and even
cosmic transformation. To be "open to the Spirit" is
to accept explicitly who we are and who we are
What is our Spiritual Life?
What I think and do on every level of existence
affects my soul. And when my soul is touched
by God's grace, my thinking, my feeling and my
body are also blessed.

We are all members of the Mystical Body of

Christ
What is our Spiritual Life?
• Members of the Mystical Body – bound together
by a supernatural life communicated to us by
Christ through the sacraments. Christ is the
center who endows each of us with gifts. Grace
forms us into an organized whole (WE ARE ONE
BODY)
• The Church grows as the individual develops
himself into the likeness of Christ
• We are nourished by the Eucharist.
What is our Spiritual Life?
G.K. Chesterton wisely said that where people
stop believing in the truth (JESUS CHRIST), they
do not start to believe in nothing, they start to
believe in anything (fools walk in where angels
fear to tread)
C.S. Lewis wrote “There is no neutral ground in
the universe; every square inch, every split
second, is claimed by God and counter-claimed
by Satan ( a society that believes in moral
relativism)
Luke 13:6-9 The withered fig tree. We must
take action to “fertilize” our spiritual lives so
that we can bear fruit
What is our Spiritual Life?
UNDERSTANDING GOD
RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
AWARENESS OF GOD
SURRENDER TO GOD
JOURNEY WITH GOD
The First Pillar: The Holy
Eucharist
The Eucharist is the center of Catholic spiritual
life. CCC1324 says “ The Eucharist is the
source and summit of the Christian life”
It is Christ’s unconditionally loving presence
that heals, transforms, unifies, and brings us
peace
This unconditional love of Jesus is a love that
cannot be exceeded!
The preciousness of this gift cannot be
underestimated –a never ending well of grace
that flows from it
The First Pillar: The Holy
Eucharist
• Three facets that require discussion
B. The Institution & Grace of the Eucharist

D. The Eucharist as the Universal prayer

F. The Eucharist & it’s relationship to the liturgy

and the sacraments
The Institution & Grace of
The Holy Eucharist
Jesus had a plan “This is my body which will be
given up to you”
He didn’t leave us to our own accord. He
entrusted the Apostles and formed the Church
to safeguard the “deposit of faith”, He left us
with the Counselor, the Holy Spirit to gives us
wisdom , and finally He left us His body to
nourish us with a bounty of grace.
The Greeks used the word “soma” instead of
“sarx” for the word body. Soma means the
whole person. Mind, soul, will, as well as
corporeal body. Translated Jesus says” This is
my whole self given up for you.” Not only his
The Institution & Grace of
The Holy Eucharist
 This unconditional love is corroborated with the gift
of His Holy Blood
 Blood is the principle of life for the Israelites
 Blood meant Atonement for sins. Now replaced by
Christ’s blood a new vehicle for protection from
our death by outshining sin and darkness
 Blood means sacrifice – Christ is our Paschal Lamb
replacing the unblemished lamb with His divine
presence
 Blood means a covenant “literally guaranteeing
absolution from sin, freedom from slavery &
darkness, and eternal life
The Institution & Grace of
The Holy Eucharist
What does Jesus intend that this total gift of
Himself bring? Peace, Transformation, and
Unification both now and (unconditionally) in
the kingdom to come
The Eucharist is truly the center of our lives as
Catholics and Christians.
In the midst of our frantic activity find ways to
receive the Holy Eucharist – it can transform
your life
The Eucharist as the Universal
Prayer
Jesus intended the Eucharist to be both a
universal & unifying gift
Paul I Corinthians 10:16-17 “The cup of the
blessing which we bless, is it not participation
in the blood of Christ?...Because there is one
bread, we who are many are one body, for we
partake of one bread”
John 6:33 “ For the bread of God is that which
comes down from heaven and gives life to the
world”
World is the entire human community
The Eucharist as the Universal
Prayer
• Eucharist was the communion that unified the early
Church. The themes of “unity of believers” and “life
for the world” were pick up by the Early Church
Fathers . St Ignatius of Antioch considered the
Eucharist the communion between the faithful and
the bishop.
• Our personal transformation cannot be held to the
domain of personal. It reaches out to the whole
world giving life to those in spiritual & temporal
needs. We pray for the entire world and recognize
that the Lamb of God takes away the sins of the
world.
• It unifies the Church in it’s life giving nature and
moves through the Church to the rest of the world.
The Eucharist as the Universal
Prayer
Jesus self offering on the cross (the gift in the
Eucharist) is his whole person (His
unconditional love) given for the sake of all
peoples, promising good news for the poor.
Mother Teresa understood well the universal &
unifying power of the Eucharist.
As she worked in the streets of Calcutta she
said “ I realize that when I touch the oozing and
odorous members of a leper, I am touching the
body of Christ, just as I receive him in the
Eucharist”
The Eucharist and the Liturgy
The Eucharist’s unifying, healing, and
transformational power is brought more fully
alive through the liturgy in which It is
embedded
The liturgy is the showcase by which the
Eucharist is so beautifully presented and
contains both communal and individual worship
Healing – Penitential Rite “I confess… Lord
have mercy…
Unity – prayers for Church & World
Inspiration & Transformation in the Liturgy of
the Word & the Homily
The Eucharist and the Liturgy
Communion to the congregation (WE ARE ONE
BODY)
Continuity with the past life of the Church to
it’s traditions CCC 1345
Continuity with the Kingdom of Heaven in the
Eucharistic Prayer
Vestments, architecture, music – all that makes
our hearts soar.
Communal & Individual Worship & Praise
Individual Prayer emphasizes intimacy
The Eucharist and the Liturgy
Communal prayer – emphasize
complementarity, community & breadth
Eucharist is intimate, the Gloria communal
Praise, The Penitential Rite individual contrition,
Word of God & homily are both individual and
communal
Every aspect of liturgy is preparing oneself for
the sacred meal of the Eucharist to enable us
to receive the abundance of sanctifying grace
available to us
The Eucharist & the Other
Sacraments
Eucharist is an ongoing empowerment of the
grace of your Baptism, Confirmation, and
Marriage or Holy Orders
Penance is a complement to the healing &
transformative power of the Eucharist
Penance “liberates” the full healing power of
the Eucharist
Second Pillar Spontaneous
Prayer
• Easy to remember vehicles for grace in daily
life
• Divine assistance in times of challenge – as a
child turns to it’s mommy and daddy when it is
hurt, in need, sad etc. we turn to our Daddy…
His yoke is easy..
• Broke up into four groups
4. Prayers in times of trial, suffering and anxiety
5. Prayers to ask for forgiveness
6. Prayers to offer forgiveness
7. The “all-purpose” prayer “Thy will be done”
Prayers in Times of Trial, Suffering
and Anxiety
• Help! The first and most important prayer here –
acknowledge that we are not in charge, surrender,
it is the first step in trust and love
• The Hail Mary – this prayer when repeated, opens
up a consolation filled at once with familial
strength, a mothers understanding for a “child not
fully in control” It activates a providence that
betokens a mother’s request of her son as Mary’s
request @ the Wedding Feast at Cana
• “Lord make good come out of this suffering” –
suffering can be debilitating and depressing if we
don’t see any good coming out of it. Good for
ourselves, good for others, good for the
Prayers in Times of Trial, Suffering
and Anxiety
Offer it up – Our suffering can with Christ’s
suffering help in the redemption of others.
Present it as gift of self to the Father to shower
upon humanity as a grace to strengthen and
unify the Mystical Body of Christ
Prayers for Forgiveness – Asking
for
• “Lord I accept your forgiveness” – don’t put
limitations on God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness.
“if only we were…a little more deserving…a little
less weak…a little more perfect.
2. Affirm – God’s Unconditional Love
3. Affirm - that God wants to forgive & heal you
4. Affirm – that you accept God’s mercy
5. Affirms your total dependence on God
 Luke 18:9-14 The prayer of the Publican “Have
mercy on me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” And
further I accept Your forgiveness and invite You
into the depths of my soul so that You may call
me to transformation.”
Prayers for Forgiveness
The worst possible prayer “ Don’t worry God,
I’ll take care of it”
“I’ll get my life in total order then you can
forgive me”
“I have done all the work to help you get my
life in order and I don’t expect you to do that”
WHEN IS YOUR LIFE GOING TO BE IN PERFECT
ORDER?…NEVER! This is like asking God to
wait forever when we so desperately need Him
now.
Better prayer “Have mercy on me for I am a
sinful man or woman”
Prayers Offering Forgiveness
• “Lord you are a just judge you take care of it” –
Jesus enjoins us to forgive one another from
the heart…to forgive seventy time seventy,
and to ask our Father to “forgive us our
trespasses as we forgive those who trespass
against us” When anger starts to get the
better of us invoke this prayer…He sees the
hearts of every human being and understands
our history and our failings…”Lord…you take
care of it”
• This helps in the process of letting go when we
are wronged. Slows down the anger and allows
the Holy Spirit to work in our heart so we finally
Prayers Offering Forgiveness
Prayer for Enemies – Jesus admonishes us to
love our enemies, to do good to those who hate
you, bless those who curse you, and pray for
those who abuse you – let the power of the
Holy Spirit work through the hearts of
intrinsically dignified human beings drawing
them to love for which they were created
Thy Will Be Done
The prayer of all prayers to summon us to be
instruments of God
The most important prayer of all. “Thy will be
done” Jesus teaches us this in the Our Father
and uses it Himself at the agony in the garden
It has become a centerpiece of Christian
spiritual life – used in times of fear, temptation,
anger, trial. In fact it can substituted for any
prayer. If you can’t remember a prayer use this
one
Thy Will Be Done
• The will of God is optimally loving, optimally
good, optimally just, and optimally salvific and
when the will of God is working through you,
you become an instrument of His will to the
world.
• We cannot have the wrong attitude about God,
attributing qualities that are not His. Stoic
indifference to us, competition with us,
adolescent anger & retribution, unkindness and
unforgiveness.
• God’s will is that of the Beatitudes or as Paul
describes in the letter to the Corinthians
Thy Will Be Done
“Take, Lord, receive all my liberty, my memory,
my understanding, and my entire will.
Whatsoever I have or hold, You have given to
me. I give it all back to You. Dispose of it wholly
according to Your will. Give me only Your love
and Your grace and that’s enough for me, and I
ask for nothing more”
We need to pray to God “Thy will be done”
The Third Pillar: The Beatitudes
 The Beatitudes in relationship to the Examen
Prayer
 We are being contemplative here.
 A little prayer in which we attempt to co-join the
heart of Jesus – transitioning to awareness of God’s
love for us.
 Five Aspects of the Examen Prayer
5. Gratitude – seeing God’s goodness in everything
6. Petition – tied to gratitude , asking for insight &
strength
7. Review – looking at the spiritual moments of the
day
8. Forgiveness – for our failings & shortfalls
The Third Pillar: The Beatitudes
St. Ignatius describes his spirituality as
“contemplatives in action” AWARENESS,
UNDERSTANDING, ACTION
Jesus elevated love (agape) to the highest of all
commandments. He placed love of God and
neighbor in a complementary relationship
Agape – does not require affection, friendship,
or romantic feelings, does not require feelings
of reward or return
The Third Pillar: The Beatitudes
• It is love that arises out of empathetic
recognition/connection to the unique intrinsic
dignity, goodness, mystery of the other.
• Cannot occur if we are fixated on the bad news
in the other (irritating, weak, stupid, unkind)
• Are people mysteries or problems? Is life an
opportunity or an adventure? Am I a mystery or
a problem?
The Third Pillar: The Beatitudes
Look for the good news in others
Do I have peace of mind for sufficient good
judgment? This where the contemplative life
come in.
The Beatitudes express the conditions, habits,
and fruits of agape.
In a contemplative way how can we love like
Jesus loves? Jesus loves as He teaches us in the
Beatitudes
The Third Pillar: The Beatitudes
o"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven

o Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be

comforted.

o Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

o Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for

righteousness, for they shall be satisfied

o Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

o Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.
The Third Pillar: The Beatitudes
o Blessed are the peacemakers, they shall be called
children of God

o Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

the kingdom of God is theirs

o Blessed are you when men insult you and hate you and
utter every kind of slander falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven will be
great.
The Third Pillar: The Beatitudes
• In contemporary terms:
• Blessed are the humble-hearted
• Blessed are the sorrowing
• Blessed are the gentle-hearted
• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for the
will of God
• Blessed are the forgiving and merciful
• Blessed are the pure of heart
• Blessed are the peacemakers and reconcilers
The Third Pillar: The Beatitudes
Blessed are those persecuted for the will of
God
Blessed are you when men insult you and hate
you.
The Third Pillar: The Beatitudes
Quick overview –
Six Beatitudes describe fundamental interior
attitudes
- attitudes embedded in the heart
Three describe conditions of life that God will
alleviate, heal and sanctify in the kingdom of
heaven ( the sorrowing, the persecuted for
holiness sake, and “you” when you are
persecuted for the kingdom.)
The Third Pillar: The Beatitudes
• Six Central Virtues describe Jesus’ view of love
2. Humble-heartedness
3. Gentle- heartedness
4. Intense desire for the will of God
5. Forgiveness and mercy
6. Purity of heart
7. Peacemaking
The Third Pillar: The Beatitudes
• Blessed are the Humble Hearted
B. Placing the needs of others over our own

D. Knowing our proper place in the grand

scheme of things
Blessed are the Humble Hearted

Life long process of looking for the contributive

life before looking for the comparative life
Level 3 – Level4
How can I make an optimal positive difference?
– Level 3 – Level 4
Family
Friends
Church
Kingdom of God
Blessed are the Humble Hearted
• Doing – writing a book, teaching catechism,
giving a person a ride to work
• Being – playing with your niece, listening to an
older person tell about a their struggles, giving
a friend advice or spending more time with
spouse or children
• Draft a list of ways you can begin to be
contributive to family, friends, church, Kingdom
of God and reflect on a Saturday for a couple of
hours on matters in a deliberate a yet
serendipitous way
Blessed are the Humble Hearted

Knowing our proper place in the grand scheme

of things
Replace my self as the center of my interior
universe with God, who properly belongs there,
then finding a coequal place around the center
with my neighbors (who are the image of God)
We can best love our neighbor when we are
free from having to be the center of our and
other people’s universe
How can we do this? With Prayer!
Blessed are the Humble Hearted

My purpose in life is to enhance and to be co-

responsible for whatever part of the community
that God might want me to help.
We must be contemplative , using that as a
vehicle for God to move our hearts to the
proper place.
Pray, read Scripture, read the life of a saint,
read good Catholic spiritual books, go before
the Blessed Sacrament and meditate, meet in
small groups, meet with a spiritual advisor
Blessed are the Gentle Hearted

• Follows Humble Heartedness

• When I know my place I can afford to be gentle
to my neighbor
• You can tell this is happening when you can
take delight in people without diminishing them
in relationship to you.
• We can enjoy their insight, love, zeal for the
kingdom, courage, wisdom, faith as a grace, as
God speaking to me through them
Blessed are the Gentle Hearted

• The Psalms are the most useful prayer for this.

We become comforted by God’s deep love and
his delight in us
• When I am beloved by such a Lord, it is hard for
me not to see the “beloved ness” of others
• Yes it is a tough world out there and people are
trying to take advantage of me. We are not to
be wimps or milk toast. Jesus was firm with the
Scribes and the Pharisees
Blessed are Those Who Hunger and
Thirst for the Will of God (Holiness)
Intensely desiring the will of God follows
humble heartedness - realizing God’s love we
cannot but want what God wants
St. Ignatius points out that God works through
desire and in prayer enflames our desire for His
love and His will.
We will be happy following God’s desire when it
is also are own heart’s desire
God’s deep concern and tenderness for me and
the people around me allows me to consider
the goodness, lovability, eternity, and nobility
of His will
Blessed are the Forgiving and
Merciful
 Forgiveness is one of Jesus’ key concerns in the
moral life – a necessary condition for love to prevail
 Seventy times seven…forgive us as we forgive
others
 It is a primary manifestation of compassion and
love and truly of gift of self
 Love ( in the act of self-gift and compassion)
civilizes us
 Spiritual Power to “start Over”
 Highest degree of generosity
 Difficult – “all things are possible with God”
 Mercy is broader – encompasses the corporal works
of mercy and is not restricted to works
Blessed are the Forgiving and
Merciful
Corporal Works Spiritual Works
Feed the hungry Convert the sinner
Clothe the naked Instruct the ignorant
Give drink to the thirsty Counsel the doubtful
Shelter the homeless Comfort the
sorrowful
Visit the sick Bear wrong
patiently
Visit those in prison Forgive injuries
Bury the dead Pray for the living
and the
dead
Blessed are the Forgiving and
Merciful
It concerns a heart of mercy which leads to
works
A merciful heart keeps an eye out for those in
need
The lonely, the deprived, the helpless, the
disadvantaged, those ignored and pushed to
the periphery
What are the consequences or not being
merciful? Let’s see what Jesus had to say.
Luke 16: 19-31 Lazarus/Rich Man MT 25:31-46
“the least of my brethren”
Blessed are the Forgiving and
Merciful
• Cultivating a merciful heart should be high on
your to do list.
• St Ignatius has three succinct parts to doing
works of mercy
3. no obligation should detract from prior
commitments
4. Should not be debilitating
5. Should increase virtue not decrease
Blessed are the Pure of Heart
 Mt 6:21 Where your treasure is, there will your
heart be also – intrinsic connection between desire
and heart
 Our hearts follow our greatest desires. If we are to
understand what Jesus meant by “purity of heart”
then we must delve into the nature of desire which
lies in the center of our spiritual lives –our meaning
& identity
 Desire has levels of purity – we may intellectually
be there yet another level would be it is natural
and habitual without thinking about it
 Purity of Heart is the foundation of all other
Beatitudes
Blessed are the Pure of Heart
Purity of Desire (remember Level 4) is the
objective of contemplative prayer and is the
synthesis of contemplation and action
In summation, where there is purity of desire,
where there is love , there is humble-
heartedness, gentle-heartedness, forgiveness,
mercy, and peacemaking
Blessed are the Peacemakers
• St. Francis Prayer understands Jesus’ words in a
simple but direct way and really sums up what
a peacemaker is.
Lord make me an instrument of peace
Where there is hatred let me sow love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
Where there is sadness , joy
Summary
Being contemplative awakes, incites, cajoles
this conversion in the Beatitudes
While the conversion in the beatitudes
animates action of love
How? With the help of the Eucharist & the Holy
Spirit we can transform our hearts

I invite you to be here next week when we talk

about
Partnership with the Holy Spirit & The
Contemplative