Good spirituality keeps us balanced in our relationship with God, others, and the material world. Contrary to what some would have you believe, Christianity is a practical religion concerned with helping us overcome sin, draw closer to God, and become more like Him (as manifested in the Person of Jesus), so that we can bring others to God. It has nothing to do with “pie in the sky by and by.” Christianity is a materialistic religion in the sense that it is concerned about the entire material cosmos and its transformation. Our Eastern Catholic faith is not about saving us from the world, but saving us in the world, using material things as a means for God to give us divine life and grace. The creation should be diaphanous (transparent); we should see the presence of the Kingdom through it, but it is always a solid reality.
Spirituality, therefore, is purposefully centered where we are. Even genuine mystics need to be concerned with seeking to know God’s will in order to do it; otherwise they are just wrapped up in an emotional experience that ends in a kind of quietism. This might fulfill their personal needs, but is of little real use to anyone else. Our Eastern Christian spirituality deals with the practice living out of the gospel of Jesus Christ through practices such as prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and so forth, which Jesus taught His followers to do.
Spirituality creates a firm context within which to work out our salvation: the context of living in Christ’s Body, His Church, and also building our lives on the foundations of worship, prayer and sound doctrine. Genuine spiritual prevents us from wasting our time trying to reinvent the wheel of doctrine, so that we don’t wander around trying to figure out what we are supposed to believe. Instead we can concentrate on the task at hand: growing in Christ so that we can “find out what is acceptable to the Lord.”
Spirituality is directly connected to becoming a “saint,” that is a person who is engaged during this lifetime in growing in the likeness of Christ, our God.