Look at Me!

"Contemplation is nothing else than a secret, peaceful, and loving infusion of God, which if admitted, will set the soul on fire with the Spirit of love."

St. John of the Cross

There is a difference between a person who is religious and a person who is in possession of a spirituality. Before we go any further, I absolutely do not mean those people who utter one of the more stupid statements found in the modern world, "I'm spiritual but not religious". If you want to know why this is so stupid, please say so and I'll elaborate but that's not the point today.

You can be both religious and spiritual or you can be religious. What I mean here by religious is the very basic definition of one who adheres to a religion. In a bigger sense, this means a person who participates in the life of their religion. A religious person goes to church, or synagogue, or temple, or whatever. For our purposes I'll continue the example using Christianity. A religious person attends church (religiously). They tithe. They attend the church's functions. They even serve on things like councils and committees. Very often they are willing to take on leadership positions that have great demands on their time and talents. So... what's the problem? 

If a person is purely religious their piety is external. In other words, it's all for show. There are a couple of reason why this may be. The first is the "Checked-Box Religious" that sees their faith as a series of hurdles to be overcome. They want to make sure their card is punched. They treat God like a cosmic vending machine, "I put in my money, now You have to give me heaven". This is where some people get the idea (the wrong idea) that Catholics believe they can earn their way to heaven by doing good works. Basically, God is an accountant and you have to make sure your balance sheet adds up. 
The second reason is pure self-interest. They wear a thin veil of piety but in reality it's all about them and their ego. This person does all that they do in an effort to be recognized by the population. This is also the type that takes on many projects and then complains (which code for fishing-for-compliments) about all the work they do and all the time they spend at the church, etc.
The common thread running through both is that the outward signs all point to a holy life, on the inside there is no real love of God. 

However, to have a spiritual life implies a religious life. The spiritual life is the interior. Who we are or what we have on the interior is ultimately manifested in our exterior life, which is why I said one can be spiritual and religious; meaning one will certainly have the an exterior manifestation of the interior life. The interior life is what enables us to be religious even when there is no consolation. We are religious because we are spiritual, or we engage in the externals because of the internal. If a person loves God they will also love their neighbor. If a person loves God they will do good works. 

The externals that make up the religious part of our lives are only worth-while to the extent that they provide for continuing interior conversion. It doesn't matter how many rosaries you say if it is a mere mechanical action. What makes prayer "prayer" is the elevation of the heart and mind to God, not a recitation of words. A person is made holy by uniting their will to God's, not by serving on councils. A person who has a deep spirituality certainly may (and probably will) serve the community but they do it because they love God and their neighbor not because they are going to get a plaque or a mention at mass by the pastor. 

That being said, the interior life comes first. You can't help fix your neighbor's house when yours is crumbling. If our exterior life is impeding our interior life we need to step back, or step down, or whatever. If we have taken on so many pious "duties" that we have no time or inclination to actual piety, it's time to reevaluate. God is not an accountant, He is our Father. He doesn't want your balance sheet, He wants your heart.