Defining spirituality¶
Here I will contend that spirituality is a kind of purposiveness. The spirituality of a pencil is ordered towards writing, whereas the spirituality of a human being is ordered towards blessing, or willing the good. We do not invent our own purpose, rather we discover it over time.
The ancient Greeks defined telos as something or someone's final end; the end towards which something is aimed 1. In book 1 of the Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle famously said that every act or purpose is directed towards some good (e.g. health in the case of medicine and wealth in the case of economics). He further states that the final good of human beings themselves is eudaimonia (living with skill and virtue over its course) 2.
St. Thomas Aquinas completes this in the Summa Contra Gentiles, book 3:
If every agent acts for the sake of a good, as was proved above, it follows further that the end of every being is a good. For every being is ordered to its end through its action. It must be, then, that the action itself is the end, or that the end of the action is also the end of the agent. And this is its good.
Again, the end of anything is that in which its appetite terminates. Now, the appetite of anything terminates in a good; this is how the philosophers define the good: “that which all things desire.” Therefore, the end for everything is a good.
It is, consequently, apparent that all things are ordered to one good, as to their ultimate end.
If, in fact, nothing tends toward a thing as an end, unless this thing is a good, it is therefore necessary that the good, as good, be the end. Therefore, that which is the highest good is, from the highest point of view, the end of all things. But there is only one highest good, and this is God, as has been demonstrated in Book One. So, all things are ordered to one good, as their end, and this is God.
Thomas also says in the Summa Theologiae, First Part of the Second Part, Question 1, that one's telos is the attainment of one's perfection, which can only be reached by knowing and loving God 3. God defines what each individual's telos is. A relationship with God is therefore the only way to know one's telos.
This is borne out by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states the following:
The dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God (article 1); it is fulfilled in his vocation to divine beatitude (article 2). It is essential to a human being freely to direct himself to this fulfillment (article 3). By his deliberate actions (article 4), the human person does, or does not, conform to the good promised by God and attested by moral conscience (article 5). Human beings make their own contribution to their interior growth; they make their whole sentient and spiritual lives into means of this growth (article 6). With the help of grace they grow in virtue (article 7), avoid sin, and if they sin they entrust themselves as did the prodigal son to the mercy of our Father in heaven (article 8). In this way they attain to the perfection of charity. (CCC 1700)
Endowed with "a spiritual and immortal" soul, the human person is "the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake." From his conception, he is destined for eternal beatitude. (CCC 1703)
The human person participates in the light and power of the divine Spirit. By his reason, he is capable of understanding the order of things established by the Creator. By free will, he is capable of directing himself toward his true good. He finds his perfection "in seeking and loving what is true and good." (CCC 1704)
It also points to Jesus' beatitudes in his Sermon on the Mount as revealing the end for which people are created:
The Beatitudes are at the heart of Jesus' preaching. They take up the promises made to the chosen people since Abraham. The Beatitudes fulfill the promises by ordering them no longer merely to the possession of a territory, but to the Kingdom of heaven:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. (CCC 1716)
The Beatitudes respond to the natural desire for happiness. This desire is of divine origin: God has placed it in the human heart in order to draw man to the One who alone can fulfill it:
We all want to live happily; in the whole human race there is no one who does not assent to this proposition, even before it is fully articulated. How is it, then, that I seek you, Lord? Since in seeking you, my God, I seek a happy life, let me seek you so that my soul may live, for my body draws life from my soul and my soul draws life from you. God alone satisfies. (CCC 1718)
The Beatitudes reveal the goal of human existence, the ultimate end of human acts: God calls us to his own beatitude. This vocation is addressed to each individual personally, but also to the Church as a whole, the new people made up of those who have accepted the promise and live from it in faith. (CCC 1719)
Peter Feldmeier, professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Toledo says that our spirituality is discovered by reflecting on what we treasure the most and how we imagine the world should be. It is defined by our ultimate aims or goals; the way we align ourselves with a larger goal that we consider more meaningful than ourselves, and in the process discover who we truly are 4.
According to the Anglican Diocese of Exeter 5, Sally Burns and Georgeanne Lamont reiterate this when they say:
The spiritual transcends the ordinary and encompasses an awareness of the meaning and purpose of life: Spirituality is a source of creativity open to us all. It brings that quality of aliveness which sparks inquiry, ideas, observations, insights, empathy, artistic expression, earnest endeavor and playfulness. It opens us to life and to each other. Spirituality is a thread which runs through our life, bringing hope, compassion, thankfulness, courage, peace and a sense of purpose and meaning to everyday, while reaching beyond the immediate world of the visible and tangible. It drives us to seek and stay true to values not ruled by material success.