We often use the adjective “spiritual” in various contexts, such as “Spiritual Person”, “Spiritual Life”, “Spiritual Direction”, “Spiritual Director”, etc. However, opinions on what constitutes “spiritual” can differ significantly. The definition of “spiritual” varies depending on whether one is outside or within the Catholic Church, and even within the Catholic Church it varies.
To start with, let us explore the general meaning of it. I found this explanation:
“A spiritual person is someone who seeks a deep connection with the transcendent or the divine, often expressed through an inner life oriented towards personal growth, meaning, and purpose beyond material or worldly concerns. This person is usually attuned to the sacred or metaphysical dimensions of life and strives to align their thoughts, actions, and emotions with higher principles such as love, compassion, humility, and truth.
In a Christian context, a spiritual person is often understood as someone who fosters a close relationship with God through prayer, meditation, the sacraments, and living out the virtues of faith, hope, and charity. They aim to discern and follow God’s will, recognising the importance of both personal sanctification and service to others. Spirituality, in this sense, is deeply relational, emphasising communion with God and others, as well as personal transformation in Christ.
From the perspective of spiritual theology, one might highlight that a truly spiritual person seeks to live the liturgy as prayer, integrating their union with God into every aspect of their life, allowing God’s grace to shape their thoughts, decisions, and relationships.”
This article may appear brief to some, but it contains several hyperlinks. By exploring the linked content, the reader will find it to be more substantial. To avoid unnecessary repetition, I have chosen to direct readers to these related articles, where the implied points are discussed in greater depth.
In this article I will try to give one point of view, not the general one, not the general Christian one, not even the normal Catholic one, but the deep Catholic one. By “deep” I mean encompassing the whole journey of growth, from baptism to the fullness of love. As you can imagine, it involves somewhere in the middle of this journey a second conversion (see here one example of second conversion), which can often occur in a progressive way, or better said: which can take years. Remember the case of St. Teresa of Avila, an emblematic case, a teaching for the whole Church who at her time was, for three centuries, struggling to be renewed, council after council.
And when I say “deep Catholic” I am using “theological means to understand and discern”. You find them is “Spiritual Theology”. To be more precise, I am using as a point of reference the mystical doctors of the Church: St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila and St. Therese. Mainly St. John of the Cross though.
When we say “spiritual life” we use the adjective “spiritual” implying that it is because of the work of the Holy Spirit that this or that is “spiritual”. The holy Spirit sanctifies and makes things spiritual. Plus, when we use the word “grace” especially in the western theology, it is important to remember that it is the Holy Spirit who gives it. Without entering in minutia, we can say that one can use alternatively Holy Spirit and Grace.
As a consequence, before talking about anything that is “spiritual” we need to remember that in the Catholic context what really makes something “spiritual” is the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to have a certain knowledge of the different modalities of the working of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we are using the adjective “spiritual” without really understanding what we are saying. Please see the article here about the different levels of the working of the Holy Spirit.(Please see at the end of article other articles on the same subject.)
It is very important to move from a simplistic way of seeing how the Grace of God works in us, to a more differentiated one. The grace of God’s goal is to unite us to Jesus (in the Church and through the Church) and to lead us to the fullness of his height or to the fullness of his Love. Uniting us to the Whole Jesus, Head and Body (therefore also to our brothers and sisters). In this sense the way and modality the grace of God work in us is linked to our degree of growth and of course the grace itself makes us grow, sanctifies us, transforms us. We are not talking here about other graces. The work of the grace of God work follows the journey of growth: prepares each step, helps us accomplish it and perfects it.
In this sense, before using the adjective “spiritual” it is wise first to understand the journey of growth, or at least to have a general idea about it. Please see in this link this important article.
If the reader has explored the hyperlinked articles, this article becomes quite extensive. Now, as we approach our conclusion, it’s clear that the additional content adds significant depth.
As a conclusion, one can us the word “spiritual” in a very broad way and say that any human being is spiritual and one can say that a baptised is spiritual, and another can say that a person after second conversion is even more spiritual (see the articles on the Particular help of the Grace of God at the end of this article). Yes, the grace of God works in all human beings, but it does so in different ways and degrees of depths. The aim of the grace of God is the same, to make us find Jesus, thereafter, to purifies us, to united us to Him and finally make us reach the fullness of His Love. No comparison at all between a degree and another, no comparison between Christian Catholic life before and after second conversion.
So, if we were to say that a person is “spiritual” or if we seek “spiritual direction” it is important to understand and agree on what we mean by “spiritual”.
Read also
Can we Trigger Second Conversion?
Deeper Contemplation: Turning Points After The Second Conversion
St. Teresa of Avila: The Supernatural
The Foundations of the Work of the Holy Spirit in Our Life
The Five Modes of Activity of the Holy Spirit
The Particular Help of the Grace of God in St Teresa of Avila