Maturing in the Religious Life by Noel Jeffs 

'Provides food for thought and a plea for a broader appreciation of what it is to be fully human, mature, and spiritual'


Maturing in the Religious Life
By Noel Jeffs SSF
MoshPit Publishing
ISBN: 978-1922703248
Reviewed by Jeanette Mathews

In this slim volume, conveniently read in a single sitting, Jeffs has made available his Masters Thesis submitted to Antioch University in 1993 to a wider audience. Jeffs is an Anglican Friar in the Society of St Francis, writer, poet, and trained psychotherapist. He lives alone (though if googled he is pictured with a noble-looking German short-haired pointer named Lemy) and “enjoys conversations and silence and writing” (About the Author).

The author’s training in psychotherapy is well evidenced in this volume. He succinctly overviews the work of Sigmund and Anna Freud, Margaret Mahler, Donald Winnicott, Erik Erickson, and Carl Jung. These and their interpreters are discussed to show how theories of maturation, sexuality, and emotion (affect) influence the way celibacy has been understood in the religious life.

Jeffs compellingly offers a view that is not typical, but first outlines a conventional dualistic view that understands celibacy and sexuality (narrowly defined by genital relations) as opposite poles. He wryly acknowledges that any popular discussion of sexuality in relation to the Religious Life emphasises scandal but invites in his own work deeper reflection on the integration of sexuality and spirituality.

His view is that the healthy self will allow the “heart’s desire” to guide relationships with others, which always reflects an individual’s relationship with God. Sexual desire, an inherent aspect of being human, can be “creative and fertile” even if not physically gratified.

As a biblical scholar, my interest was especially piqued by a brief discussion of a scriptural basis for Jeffs’ proposal in that the “heart” is a central biblical metaphor for human will and intellect. This recognition raises the matters under discussion to a conscious level of intention rather than allowing oneself to be ruled by emotion and passion alone. Continuing in the biblical theme, I have long wondered why friendship is not a more central metaphor used for the relationship between God and humanity. Biblical expression tends to use less egalitarian imagery such as “father,” “king,” and “lord” to establish the divine-human relationship. Yet Jesus Christ was, according to the gospels, fully human with mature and fulfilling relationships despite being unmarried and celibate. This is another biblical resource that would support the thesis put forward in this volume.

I found this little book well worth reading. It offers readers deeply thoughtful reflections on the role sexuality plays in a mature religious life. I found it especially helpful in breaking down perceived differences between “holy” and “ordinary”, between “religious” and “lay.” Jeffs reminds us that taking vows in religious orders is not a removal from “this world” but rather an affirmation of the created order.

This volume will provoke thought and discussion about the need for different expressions of sexuality – not only widening the spectrum of heterosexual and homosexual expression but including the possibility of non-genital expression as well. I was reminded of a documentary I viewed recently titled God is the Bigger Elvis (2011, Dir. Rebecca Cammisa). It focuses on Dolores Hart, an actress from the 1960s who starred opposite Elvis Presley but left her promising Hollywood career behind to become a Benedictine nun. Views expressed by some of the nuns interviewed in the documentary resonated with the work of Jeffs, describing fulfilling sexual experiences within the convent that is devoid of genital intimacy. In a similar way, Maturing in the Religious Life provides food for thought and a plea for a broader appreciation of what it is to be fully human, mature, and spiritual.

The Revd Dr Jeanette Mathews is Head of School of Theology at Charles Sturt University and Senior Lecturer in Old Testament at St Mark's National Theological Centre in Canberra. She is an ordained Baptist minister.  

This review first appeared in the college journal St Mark’s Review (no. 260, 2022), and is republished here with permission.