Spiritual Pathways

Spiritual Pathways

One or two weeks ago, all of the Year 10's gathered in the Kelty Theatre to listen to a guest speaker. This guest speaker was Brother John Webb, a full time Christian Brother, and has been for forty years. Brother John lives in a community house with Brother John Ahern, who also is a brother and works at Rostrevor College. This essay is in relation to this event, and is also concerned with religion, spirituality, Edmund Rice, and Christianity.

Oxford Dictionary defines religion as any specific system of belief, worship, or conduct, often involving a code of ethics and a philosophy, while spirituality is described as the quality or fact of being spiritual and incorporeal or immaterial nature. While many people may think that religion and spirituality are the same thing, they are mistaken. Spirituality is about your heart, while religion, on the other hand, is about the way you express it. A religious person may not always be spiritual, and a spiritual person may not always be religious. While this is not known to everybody, people just assume that they are the same. Brother John describes spirituality as energy which helps you get through the day, and perform everyday tasks, as he describes religion as a way of expressing spirituality, which is the definition already stated by myself.

Some people are religious, some people are spiritual, and some people are both, but what does it mean to be religious? To be religious, is to follow one's faith or beliefs, such as Christianity or Buddhism. As our school follows the Christian faith, we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is one of many characteristics of Christianity, such as communion, and of course getting baptised, christened, when you are young. As a Christian, you should pray to God, and have a special relationship with God. Brother John described Christian spirituality as love, care, concern, and happiness, and relationships.

As Christians are Jesus' followers, and Brother John believes that we should follow the characteristics of them. These include caring and looking out for other people, friends or enemies, helping the less fortunate, and do as much as you can, by helping the homeless, helping to feed, clothe, and find shelter. This is the way of Jesus, and we should follow Jesus and be more like him as a person. Ð''Be Men for Others'.

Brother John Webb told the story of his