Moving Toward Spiritual Maturity : Psychological, Contemplative, and Moral Challenges in Christian Living

Moving Toward Spiritual Maturity: Psychological, Contemplative, and Moral Challenges in Christian Living uses examples from everyday life to provide a thoughtful, integrative exploration of the journey to spiritual maturity through three interrelated perspectives: psychotherapeutic psychology, prayer and contemplation, and moral theology.

Three ’windows’ to spiritual maturity

How can a faithful Christian avoid stagnating in their spiritual development? Moving Toward Spiritual Maturity: Psychological, Contemplative, and Moral Challenges in Christian Living explores effective ways in which Christian discipleship can grow in spiritual maturity. This thoughtful, integrative roadmap explains the journey through three interrelated perspectives, or ’windows,’ psychotherapeutic psychology, prayer and contemplation, and moral theology. The author uses numerous examples from everyday life to make the reflections interesting and practical. Unlike other books on Christian spirituality, this book is more challenging and sophisticated in its depth of thought.

Spiritual maturity is a process that begins when a person accepts Jesus Christ as Savior, and progresses ongoing through a Christian’s life. Moving Toward Spiritual Maturity discusses in detail the challenges one must face, including the sustained, in-depth, and faithful attention to psychological wholeness, conversion to the true self, and interpersonal and social responsibility. Effective strategies are given through example and personal story, making understanding of the principles easier. This reflection on Christian maturity helps readers to focus directly on the personal issues all must face when attuning to the Spirit of Christ.

Topics in Moving Toward Spiritual Maturity include:

• reforming the wayward self
• moral or guilt-based perfectionism
• achievement or shame-based perfectionism
• the two types of conversion
• responsibility and accountability
• agape and the loving of oneself
• three virtues at the heart of the responsible life—integrity, courage, and compassion
• virtues as habits
• the relationship between personal fulfillment and the Christian vocation

Moving Toward Spiritual Maturity is a unique look at the path toward spiritual maturity, and is challenging, thoughtful reading for laypersons, ministers, priests, and theological students.