Spirituality in Real Time

I believe that the test of a living spirituality is to be found in its interaction with the contemporary world, whether that be the chaos and contentiousness of feudal thirteenth-century Italy or the incivility, divisiveness, and growing pluralism of twentyfirst- century democracies. Lively spirituality and its theological reflections and practices must be “always new, always fresh, always beginning again” if they are to respond to the needs of a rapidly changing and often directionless world. The wisdom and traditions of the past must be integrated with God’s movement toward the fresh horizons of the future.

—from the book Simplicity, Spirituality, Service:The Timeless Wisdom of Francis, Clare, and Bonaventure
by Bruce G. Epperly