Hajja Salesjana

In this modern age where much emphasis is given to reason and intellectual pursuit, even in many Catholic circles, this teaching is very important to understand. God communicates with us in our hearts, making spiritual maturity not only an endeavor of the intellect–knowing right and wrong, but one of the heart–developing a “listening ear” so to speak, and responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The emotionally mature individual is one who has a greater sensitivity and keen appreciation for all that is good, beautiful and true and is able to experience joy and to develop warm and intimate relationships. They place less emphasis on “doing” and more on being, thanks to the greater harmony between their emotional and intellectual life. Another important component of emotional maturity involves effectively guiding our emotions by reason. For example, a toddler who gets angry may hit his brother. An adult who may be similarly enraged is expected to use reason to find more socially acceptable solutions. He experiences feeling angry, is aware of it and uses reason to guide if or how he expresses it. Being aware of his anger and understanding whatever provoked it, he can then also use the anger What’s the difference between emotional and spiritual maturity? That’s an interesting question and one that I think warrants definition. As a therapist, I deal with the emotional life of my clients and how those emotions intersect and interact with their thought life. As a specifically Catholic therapist there’s an added dimension of integrating their spiritual life and spiritual principles and practices into the process. So what’s the difference? Is there a difference? Well yes, there is a difference, but they do overlap at times. Emotional Maturity: First let’s discuss emotional maturity. Eminent Catholic psychiatrists Dr. Anna Terruwe and Dr. Conrad Baars, who based their work on the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas, wrote extensively about the emotional life. They defined emotions as “psychological motors, designed to move us toward all that’s good, beautiful and true and away from what’s not.” They further taught that by nature our emotions want to and need to be guided by reason, but that reason serves the heart, or the emotional life–not the other way around. EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL MATURITY: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? by Allison Ricciardi Top Photo by Helena Lopes - Unsplash.com 32 Jannar-Marzu 2024 hajja