Many of us wonder why we do not have the excitement of our faith and spirituality we once enjoyed during our younger years. Why has the joy soured within? Why are we lonely even when surrounded by friends and family? I don’t mean to imply this reality happens only to people in their senior years; young adults are often casualties of loneliness as well. Lately, there is a buzz among spiritual directors, retreat directors, theology, and spirituality teachers, that something just might provide help, might stimulate the soul into a more fulfilling awareness of the joy and community within reach of the seeker.
In his book, Finding Light in Darkness: A Spirituality for Our Wisdom Years, Ronald Rolheiser has used the word ‘meta narrative’ to explain this spiritual malaise so pervasive today. ‘Meta’ is a Greek word meaning ‘beyond’ or ‘after’ its remaining base word for example without changing the meaning of the base: metaphysics, meta center, meta mathematics, meta ethics. The Rev. Robert Lauder, a professor at St. John University, Jamaica, New York, has written that Rolheiser’s term, meta narrative, suggests that “…we don’t draw hope from our stories; we draw it from a much bigger communal story within which our own stories take place.” He adds, “Life is never about happiness; it is about meaning. And meaning is only found in the whole picture.” In other words, our stories are isolated vignettes that are part of a larger story – narrative – that all people are part of. Meaning grows out of the sharing or awareness or telling of all of our stories. In the context of faith, these stories are elevated, their meaning then is discovered and celebrated.
When we become deeply concerned about others beyond our narrative, our story, we begin to see first, how we humans are not so different from each other and that God exists, thrives, in all of us. Often, we place achievements as differentials between ourselves and our fellow human beings. We think of achievements as our fruitfulness in life, says Rolheiser, but real fruitfulness is beyond achievements. It is generosity, kindness, graciousness. When we act this way, we are living a meta-narrative of the Christian life, we are part of the larger whole. When we die, we will be remembered more for our fruitfulness, our graciousness of heart, our kindness more than for our achievements.
Second, in making the effort to live the meta-narrative of spirituality, we listen to the stories of others closely. We do not judge as we listen; we do not hurry the story along. We do not wait for the pause where we can inject our own achievements or our own profession or career. In other words, in the meta-narrative, as one narrative is being shared, another is being included into the community beyond, the community of the meta-narrative where Christ is present.
Lauder says Rolheiser claims that young adults do not have or know a bigger story on which to set their own story; their own story is all they have. Thus, they can become selfish and unable to empathize with the needs of others. Senior adults who become very focused on their losses, both personal and physical, are likewise apt to turn inward spiritually. The key is to go beyond one’s story to the stories and narratives that surround us.
I remember some 35 years ago when a student I taught in college volunteered to work in Cleveland’s city Food Bank as part of a service project requirement. During the course of the semester, I noticed a change in the student. She became more focused and attentive to fellow classmates. When she graduated, she took a fulltime job at the Food Bank which surprised me as she had been a brilliant student with a career in business looming on her horizon. She has stayed with the Food Bank all these years and as a hands-on executive director in recent years. I believe her experience in a college service requirement led her to a meta-narrative of faith that became her life’s work, that of feeding the hungry in our city. It seems this is the purpose of service education; a term I prefer to service project.
Reflection
According to Fr. Rolheiser, if you feel a bit lonely and are going through the motions of prayer on a daily basis and not sure of God’s special love for you, you probably need to include more meta-narrative spirituality in your daily spiritual activities. If you feel the losses in your life are too much to handle, that aging and growing incompetencies are making you wonder if God forgot about you, well you might need to study meta-narrative a little deeper. If you are young and think you are not really known or understood, you might need some time to reflect on how you can look into meta-narrative spirituality.
For anyone wishing to explore this type of spirituality or Fr. Ronald Rolheiser’s book, check it out: Finding Light in Darkness: A Spirituality for Wisdom Years.
Fr. Robert Lauder’s article on this book was published in the Tablet Magazine, January 28, 2026.
All quotes above are from Fr. Lauder’s article.
May you, my readers, find peace in meta-narrative spirituality. Never stop exploring your faith or asking questions about it. Sometimes God loves to play hide-and-seek with us!
In All Things Charity 
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