Lauralea and I will be at a retreat for a day next week and as preparation we were asked to take a Sacred Pathways Assessment.
"Just as people have different personality temperaments, they also have different spiritual temperaments or preferred ways of approaching God for worship and discipleship. "
The results were interesting. Turns out I'm an Ascetic, go figure.
ASCETICS
Loving God in Solitude and Simplicity
DESCRIPTION “Ascetics want nothing more than to be left alone in prayer. Take away the liturgy, the trappings of religion, the noise of the outside world. Let there be nothing to distract them ”? no pictures, no loud music ”? and leave them alone to pray in silence and simplicity.
Ascetics live a fundamentally internal existence. Even when they are part of a group of people, they might seem to be isolated from the others. ...uncomfortable in an environment that keeps them from ”?listening to the quiet".”?
“It is in these dark, intense, lonely times that ascetics" souls awaken.”?
“Ascetics live strict lives of self-denial so that they would be free to contemplate God.”?
“True ascetics are strict with themselves but treat others with supernatural gentleness.”?
“...modern ascetics...don"t have time to find a desert to express our faith; inner detachment allows us to find a lonely desert in the midst of the busiest city.”?
“He (St. Francis) devoured fasting as a man devours food. He plunged after poverty as men have dug madly for gold.”?
CAUTIONS
An ascetic will need to be intentional in seeking out other Christians with whom to fellowship. We need feedback from our brothers and sisters to be able to see ourselves clearly.
Actually it was very helpful in understanding some things I have been struggling with.
We went through this quiz one night at my brother's house a few years ago, and it's funny how my responses have changed so drastically. I was by far intellectual before and everything else was really low, and this time things have evened out a bit. Today I was Ascetic (28), Traditionalist (26), Naturlist (23) and THEN intellectual (21). My whole view and experience of Christianity certainly has shifted these past few years. And for the better, I think... :)
ReplyDeleteProbably just the baby in you that balances you out nicely.
ReplyDeleteI came out as an Ascetic too. Do you know a good place to buy a camel hair shirt?
ReplyDeleteActually my results were tied between Ascetic and Naturalist. This Sunday I'll be worshipping in the church of the Moist Mixed Grassland Ecoregion, part of the Prairie Ecozone synod.
I scored between 19 and 23 for all the areas except traditionalist 16 and sensate 12. I guess I'm not too excited about any one way.
ReplyDeleteI came out most strongly a naturalist. But the ascetic is fairly strong too. So I went out and sat alone down in the bushes at the side of the river for a long while tonight. Felt good.
ReplyDeletei took the test and came up with Contemplive.
ReplyDeleteRandall - I think you've been discipling some people secretly.
ReplyDelete;-)
I came out as contemplative, but with enthusiast, activist, intellectual and caregive following strongly. Some of it's right (I do find myself singing some of the songs they listed) and some of it misses a bit.
Traditionalist scored 10. :-))
Naturalist 29
ReplyDeleteTraditionalist 27
Ascetic 26
Intellectual 24
Sensate 21
Curiously, contemplative only rated 9, which to me doesn't jive with the rest of the results.
Nevermind. I just read the description of contemplative and it the low score makes sense now.
ReplyDelete