In Pope Francis Apostolic Exhortation “Evangeli Gaudium” (Joy of the Gospel) Nov 24, 2013, there is clear evidence that we are all called to deepen our spirituality, to be true missionaries. “The Joy of the Gospel” is a missionary joy which provides “the drive to go forth and give, to go out from ourselves, to keep pressing forward in our sowing of the good seed.” Pope Francis goes on to say: “True missionaries, who never cease to be disciples, know that Jesus walks with them, speaks to them, breathes with them, works with them….Jesus is alive in the midst of all missionary enterprises…and as a disciple there is no greater freedom than that of allowing oneself to be guided by the Holy Spirit.  All of this implies a deepening of our spirituality.  

During this program we will uncover together the elements of our Christian Spirituality. We shall discover that far from being confined to the inner life of prayer and contemplation, Christian Spirituality needs to manifest itself in daily interactions within our homes and communities. Our way of being in the world with God, will be challenged by the interactions with other community members. Realizing that we are shaped by our attitudes: to the Creator, to the whole of creation, how we pray or express our embodied selves, how we respond to suffering, disaster and tragedy and the life choices we make: this will enable us then to shape our Spirituality in a new and exciting way. 

Resource Person: Anthony J. Gittins, CSSp, PhD, Fr. Gittins is a member of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost – Spiritans. He received his PhD is Social Anthropology from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Tony, as he likes to be called, has spent many years in Sierra Leone as well as Tanzania and recently in Kiribati, Central Pacific.  He has taught Theology and Anthropology at the Catholic Theological Union (CTU) in Chicago from 1984-2011 and is now Emeritus Professor of Theology and Culture.

He is involved in various ministries in Chicago serving in the local soup kitchen and he has also spent almost thirty years among homeless women on the streets and seven years he was part of Genesis House, a community where women struggle to escape prostitution. He also travels to many areas giving seminars, workshops and ongoing formation programs to various groups. His focus is on the interface between the social sciences and theological disciplines. He is the author of many books on theological and anthropological topics and on mission and spirituality. Most recently “Living Mission Interculturally” (2015 Collegeville, MN).