Spirituality vs. Activism

It is always difficult to merge two lifestyles together, especially two in such strong opposition as spirituality and activism, but Christina Leano proves it can be done, and done well, in her essay Listening to the Voices of My Spiritual Self. The decisions Christina has made define the three points outlined in Chapter 13 for creating change: Using the Head, creating an explanation for what is wrong and what can be done; Using the Heart, envisioning social change through our spirituality and values, and Using the Hands- ACTING on the ideas you have gathered.

At the start of her story, Christina is a woman who is pulled in many directions and is unsure which way to turn. She has voices from ever

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In her own words, “Spirituality and activism, contemplation and action are but two sides of the same coin of compassion and love. While amazed at the beautiful sights and the richness of Kenya’s culture, she realized that the daily struggle in Kenya was “foreign, while at the same time strangely familiar”. This realization became her ambition to explore her own heritage and discover cultural treasure that she is a part of. She has built a bridge between these two ideas and lives her life in a way that shows it can be done. She is still involved with a smaller branch of FACES, and continues to evoke change. She has slowed her pace to match her spiritual and emotional needs, although she realizes that “activism is actually part of [her] ‘spiritual practice’ and not a distraction from it”. One of Christina’s greatest learnings from studying theology is the epiphany that the great divide between spirituality and activism is a false one. As Chapter 13 tells us, “each person needs to find meaning in his or her life”. She discovers her hunger for cultural awareness while in Kenya for a semester abroad. Each voice prods her in a new direction, and she strives to incorporate every angle of her life into the person she wants to become. , where she strived to translate her Catholic faith into a justice-making language like those surrounding and supporting her. y aspect in her life speaking to her, from her self-defined “Filipino-ness”, to her faithful Christian self, to her desire to make a difference in the lives of others. Christina understands that this familiarity stems from the one visit she took to the Philippines as a child.

Common topics in this essay:
Hands- ACTING, Union California, Philippines Christian, Philippines Chapter, , Washington DC, Chardin Jesuit, Spiritual Self, Philippines American, Using Heart, spirituality activism, chapter 13, social change,

Approximate Word count = 595
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

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