So when the words that express my inner life have a larger theological framework, they help me move from the spiritual to the religious. Now people sometimes feel that they don't need to take this step. As a result, they miss the shared search for meaning that people of faith engage in. Their spiritual experiences remain locked in their private souls. This Lent we in this parish will be looking together at the practice of prayer.
Prayer is a good example of the spiritual becoming religious.
Many unreligious people in a moment of crisis will try to utter words of prayer. We can learn from the prayers of others, and their ideas and their words in turn enrich our life with God who transforms us and makes us His own. There are limits to the words of religion. There are hundreds of games we can play with it, but in the end there are only fifty-two cards. Yet this situation isn't all bad.