CHAPTER 14-A: “To Become Holy (Divinely Transformed Individuals), Is Not To Be Any Less Human", the Realistic Witnessing By the Saints

Before thematically going into an elaborate talking about the above heading statement, we have to first of all make known and acknowledge the historical fact that God has never forgotten of his creation, man, whom he had banished from Eden after his having disobeyed the one rule God has placed upon man, rather upon Adam & his woman, Eve.  This was what is called the "Proto-evangelion".  It was God's eternal intention that He rescues man back even if man initially willed to disobey Him.  Adam, the first man lost God or his union with God.  Then, Eve, the first woman and his partner in offending God, who have become cut off along with Adam from God, had then received along with Adam the stain of this original offense against God for which she and other women off-springs had been cursed with the pain in giving birth.  This happened because they lost the glorious & painless supernatural life shared with them by God. But from God-the-Son, Jesus Christ, born of Mary, has in eternity been provided the plan of man's redemption with the coming of the new woman, new Eve: Mary, who was to give birth to the new Adam: her Son and the Son of God, Jesus Christ --- God made fully human.          

And so, Alleluia! Christ is raised! Christ is ascended in heaven, and seated at the right hand of the Father! Alleluia! Mary, a woman is assumed in heaven, and crowned Queen of Heaven! Alleluia! The Holy Twelve are honored in heaven! Alleluia, together with the Twelve, are enumerable Holy Martyrs, enumerable Holy Sufferers of Different Burdens, enumerable Holy Poor “while-on-earth-for Christ sake”, enumerable Holy Crippled & Disabled in life, enumerable Holy Retarded/Innocent on earth, enumerable Holy Gullible & Victims in life, enumerable Holy Oppressed in life, enumerable Holy Hermits, Monks, & Contemplatives of the Church, enumerable Holy Virgins, enumerable Holy Priests, and Consecrated Men and Women, enumerable Holy Confessors, enumerable Holy Disciples/Evangelizers, enumerable Holy Preachers/Teachers of the Faith, enumerable Holy Counselors, enumerable Holy Soldiers/Security Personnel, enumerable Holy Thinkers/Philosophers, enumerable Holy Consolers/Sympathizers, enumerable Holy Care-Givers, enumerable Holy Visitators of the Sick and of them imprisoned, enumerable Holy donors/Charity-Givers, enumerable Holy Leaders/Managers-Supervisors, enumerable Holy Family-Providers & Homemakers, enumerable Holy Medical Doctors, Nurses, and Medical Personnel, etc.. Count in also the enumerable holy “fathers-of-the-families & mothers-of-the-families”, including enumerable holy “husbands & wives”. And we could more and more blessings upon men and women of the world as effects of Christ’s victorious rising from death! Alleluia, indeed! All of these taking place for all of them who that have been saved, i.e. because they finally received of the fullness of grace of Christ. 

St. Paul implied no man could imagine the infinite manners of perfection awaiting men and women of faith in the after-life. “What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!” 2 Corr 2:9 Hence, our above listing is by no means a comprehensive attempt-categorization of the types of holy/perfect individuals that shall inhabit the heavens by the wonder of the graces of God. Yet God is supposed to have created in all eternity men and women each one individually unique according to the absolute design and scheme creativity of God and according as each one has been given his/her distinct personality and circumstances of life within time and space, in the world and within the Church. Thus with whatever publicly hidden and unseen human traits and experiences, men and women, who faithfully journeyed through their respective individual lifetimes, shall in the rewarded after-life manifest their types of sainthood or holiness or perfection in accord with the will of God. It will not be a wonder then when it shall come true and proclaimed that them that were the ‘lasts’ on earth shall be the ‘firsts’ in heaven! And probably just as there seem to be the widespread scattering of the ‘poor’ all over the place on earth; perchance it is meant that an almost the same abundance of unknown “heavens’ noveau rich” or them “FIRSTS-at-last in the heavens”? Is it perchance any wonder why indeed God had permitted so many of them to be born and to live poor? The Lord had said, “Blessed are the poor!” Perhaps, again, that is how the heavens are being populated ‘numerously’? (The Book of Revelations attests to these great aggregates of Holy Ones.) Of course, we are not univocally and literally equating holiness with being impoverished! But we are to understand however that the journey of poverty is the way most leaning forward towards the living and embracing of the opportunities of GRACE. I.e. mass of poor people patiently bearing the struggles of being poor in the Spirit of faith. (Although, we are neither particularly limiting the scope of perfections we are alluding to above to the fate of being poor. We have noted that the variety of unique lives lived for God is only left to the divine plots and divine providential schemes.) 

The question is: “Why are we vividly illustrating here holy men and women of the heavens?” To put this perspective another way, how does it make sense that finite and mortal men and women, or imperfect and actually men-sinners and women-sinners could ever be, and shall be habituating SAINTS of heavens? It seems more understandable or easily acceptable that holy angels co-inhabit the heavens with God. But it seems so far-fetched that wretched men and women belong to the heavens? FAR FROM IT! From the very beginning and through eternity and time this has always been the will of God. The Divine reality is or was that God had/has very special affection for mankind. God demonstrated and effected this reality and truth on two accounts: by Creation and by Salvation. From creation, it is said God created man UNTO his image, like himself. While from salvation history, God HIMSELF becomes MAN! First, there was the before-the-Fall Adam, who was so pleasing a creature to God in so far as He has made him like unto HIM. Then second, there is Christ - the Second Person of the Divine Triune God-head, the Son of God the Father, SENT DOWN to earth, who WAS MADE FLESH/HUMAN! The God-Man. Ultimately, moreover, in the manner of the salvation plan, after Christ, the Son of God, redeemed the sins of all men and women, he was to deliver and forever give himself or his BODY & BLOOD & SOUL & DIVINITY as men’s “Food” so they could have their New Life, i.e. their LIFE OF GRACE. Hence, by this are the sinner’s men and women restored their likeness with God, as well as become recipients of God within them which nourish them with the very BODY, BLOOD, SOUL, & DIVINITY of Christ, making them as “gods” with God. Not even the Angels ever had this privilege and fortune that is given to men and women who believe. Angels do not receive the Eucharist. You have to be a man to “eat” of the Eucharist, to be fed with Christ. 

Presto, this is why to become holy/perfect inhabitants of the heavens, saved human creatures MUST BE TRULY HUMAN; they must be genuinely true to God’s will to be true human “copies” of the Divine (according to their pre-Fall human nature), and be true human Christ “copycats & co-Cross-bearers participators-in-the-salvation work” by way of the powers of Christ’s grace. I.e. truly free individuals, and truly born-again-men and women in Christ. In both  Divine acts of God’s work of creation, and later, work of salvation, God made and retained man’s being man or being a human being that 

God intended him to be. This is why in the pursuit of heavens man is to remain human, but a truly human being that images God because the Son of God had chosen precisely to become fully human when He became Incarnate.  After all the Son of God is truly the God-made-man. 

We want to mark in this Chapter the place of ‘humility’ in salvation history. Like insinuated by our dual titles, God irrevocably and unmistakably planned and implemented this manner of realizing salvation of mankind. First, that he willed it that his Son became ‘flesh’, became a human being, became a person even lower than the Angels but who was all subservient to the dictate of the Divine Will. Also, that the Heavenly Father has willed mankind do like his Son did, namely man’s similar genuine embracing of his own poor human estate, and therefore, his humbly depending upon the mercy and care of God for all their human needs. For his own Son, Jesus, humbled himself becoming man thereby also embracing man’s poor estate.  By this humble accepting of natural limitations and insufficiency mankind is led to, by the grace of Christ, work to care, and sustain one another. On this basis do we explain the Church’s teaching about man’s need for faith and works by grace in order to be saved? We have discussed how proud and futile human beings were/are of any age and any race, whoever sought/seek or claimed/claim human self-sufficiency in their earthly Endeavour, or even at attempts in saving their souls. For man’s lesson in humility, it was not at all show that Jesus himself cried out in dependence upon and to the Father at the very end of his life, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”, and “Into thy hands I commend my Spirit.” (Of course, the first verse did not mean Jesus being despondent or actually lacking in trusting upon God. It only meant his last act of human acceptance of or resignation to his permitted and destined fate of being crucified to death. The second verse validates this actual trusting of Jesus that in the end the Father, absolutely in charge and in control, will take care of Jesus crucified and dead.) And so as far as we, human beings, and our salvation are concerned we must take heed of the Lord’s warning, “Unless  ...” we be “like little children” in trusting God the Father “...we cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” 

In Chapter 8: Christian Living and Grace we write, “There is a long list of Saints whose lives or biographies will edify and enlighten us on the living of the life of grace” particularly in so far as they entrusted to God their struggles and suffering in their journey on earth. Specially, “God willing, we shall also in the future more relevantly examine ordinary lives of the living saints, i.e. the present believers/followers of Christ living in the world, and unfold the many, many graces they are given and being given day-in and day-out, notwithstanding and on account of human ‘weaknesses’/limitations.” An appendix write-up at the end part of this article would sample us with the lives lived holy by many a man and woman, who were no different from all of us in terms of being beset with the same natural predicaments & struggles that befall all human beings but who equally benefited from the redeeming powers of the grace of God by which and with which they set straight their human ways and fulfillment. 

We cite aspects of human holiness/perfection right here and now in Chapter Four, On the Call to Holiness. When after the experience of a sacrament, especially the Eucharist, or some sacramental activity like Prayer Fellowship, or some works of Mercy or Charity, “...there is the Holy Spirit's working of grace, precisely so during this era of the reign of the Holy Spirit in the world after Christ’s departure for the heavens, enabling many moments of sacramental initiation of Heaven on earth upon individuals who are faithful believers. Examples of these are moments of peace, moments of deep spiritual enlightenment, moments of peaceful sufferings, moments of genuine peace between individuals, moments of temporal retribution for offenses against God and man, moments of pure acts of charity, pure acts of forgiveness, etc....” 

From Chapter 10: What is the Life of Grace, we illustrate the possibilities and realities of being good natured, as displayed even by them so-pitied to be very much less humanly capable, the handicapped. “...we can rely upon the magic and power of grace to let it transform our human acts or even life happenings that ultimately are glorifying to God and spiritually beneficial to us! Hence, the submitting of our acts not to our mere human good sense but to the grace of God! Not on account of themselves per se are individual lives to be seen and examined as regards their meaningfulness or real value! Anything comes to be good in the eyes of God, or comes to be an occurrence of grace if it is an affirmation of what God had deigned in His wisdom and eternity to any person at any particular circumstance of his/her life no matter how lowly in stature before the eyes of people. We are to posit here all kinds of human realities without excluding those which do not manifest apparent, albeit hide very covertly genuine human meaningfulness and value. E.g. Charlie and Sammy are giant species of teenagers, both very pleasant and hardworking except don't expect from them entertaining conversation. They happen to be mute. Jessie and Paul is a pair of youths who do not tire at playing with and telling each other jokes. But don't expect them to be telling you joke as you jog around the field. Jessie and Paul cannot walk. Juan and Antoine will beat you to the line; they are always on time. And they will not pass up opportunities for action. They are never without energy and enthusiasm for their kind of athleticism even if they are forced to do it on wheelchairs. Mark and Janie love to sing; they are prepared to pander to any volunteering audience with the endurance of their vocal chords with their own rendition of songs after songs. Just accommodate them air their physically impaired versions of musical sounds. 

As regards these physically challenged individuals their being less functional about many regular human abilities does not make their interpersonal relating with others any less human. And they are not as well any less pleasing to the One Maker of man. Actions, thoughts, and feelings identify them being no different. And when you come down to their sincerity to just live their lives or be let be makes them a little above their normal peers. In fact, ironically and wondrously this is how their striving for normal life is every bit an act of grace.” 

From the same Chapter we also make an earlier reference to them other underprivileged though not necessarily physically handicapped. “In a very similar setting, other individuals not necessarily handicapped of abilities found themselves ever chasing their nick of the woods not to mention their dreamed rainbow. These are the majority of people who neither had full control of their circumstances, which very much like the handicapped persons, have been either held up or pushed aside because of geographical, race, cultural, or socio-economic situations. Examples of these are they that did not finish school, those that are confined by geography of water or distant villages, those who get discriminated for color or race, those whose families are broken up because of divorces, family separation, disabilities, or deaths in the families, those whose lives have been disrupted by calamities, accidents, or family setbacks, those unsettled by underemployment or unemployment, or the majority of dwellers whose social environment and real estate residential classification happen to be below the affluently advantaged residential communities who are easy beneficiaries of much more advantaged accessibility to services of modern living. Easily imaginable are dramatizations of the effects of these disadvantages to these instances of social inequities. But despite the cliché life is not fair, to these demographic communities of people life moves on notwithstanding the hold-up or their getting pushed aside. How? It has to be by the grace of God! It’s a miracle by grace how these people roll through their bumps!” 

All the above are testimonies and witnessing to humility, which only pleases God and glorifies God, the Lord of all provisions and sustenance in living. 

Yet we expect this same realm and opportunity for hope, which we believe these more helpless and unfortunate members of the human race and society capable of having and realizing notwithstanding their natural barriers, for the mainstream human populace as being attained and realized by them not so much by their normal talent and skills application of human excellence but precisely, like their less endowed fellow human beings, only by humble dependence upon God’s providence and care. This is the commonality reality that belongs to the entire human race: the experience of in-depth need for God as well as the opportunity for the absolute beneficence and grace of God if man believes. Within the context of this mystery of living the life of Christian humility, many a man will experience the dumbfounding awareness of his utter helplessness before God's inscrutable plan and destinies for individual human beings. Ultimately, being confronted with inescapable human angst and bottom-line life insecurities, mainly, vis-a-vis incomprehensible life fates and 'predestination', which are supposedly congruent with inalienable divine gift of human freedom and are not in contradiction to God's infinite and absolute love and justice, man is to be the true servile creature of the Divine ever submissive and faithful, and unfailingly trusting and obeying God's majestic and par excellent plan, design, and good will for his human creatures. To him is most proper the hope that despite such utter human helplessness, his servitude of faith will only in the end crown him with the final Divine filial adoption of him/her: his/her total turn-around fate/destiny of union with the awesome Divine Reality. 

Thus, intrinsically, or within the depth of himself/herself, the human ‘jewel’ of humble trust that man has or that man has been given him/her by God, notwithstanding his/her varying life circumstance or personal traits or lack of, necessarily comes to the fore however only under the assumption that such a man or woman has been re-born in the new life of grace of Christ. That we are treating this dimension of the OUR MISSION SERIES: CHRIST, THE COMING OF THE GOOD NEWS at this latter part of the series implies we are now dealing with human nature as it has become restored to grace, or as it has been liberated from its predicament of having been a fallen nature. We are returning to a recollection of the original human nature that God had made man, just as we are marveling at the ever more magnificent remaking of man by God by the WAY of no less than his Son, Jesus Christ. And so like we imply above we need not forget what we are, and from what conditions we are in when we examine and reckon how God wants us to fulfill our call to holiness or salvation. We begin right from being human beings; but human beings reborn in grace by the Spirit. 

Our model however for humanity is always the Lord Jesus, the God made man. In terms of the diversity of human virtues which are all perfected in Jesus, and which therefore are to be copied by different individuals according to the differing gifts from the Spirit, and according to the unique and diverse human conditions worked out by Divine Providence. We shall attempt to concretize these unending exemplifications of blossomed virtues, all from and by the Spirit, as testified and lived for us by many individual Saints, whom we shall try to call to mind later. At such time shall we further elaborate at the wondrous expressions and epiphany of Spirit and Grace that God has deigned the human persons to become and to be. 

Fundamentally, however, Christ’s highest manifestation of the best human action and accomplishment he wants to teach and challenge all of us humans is the manner he subjects his human nature to his Divine nature, or the manner he submits all of himself to the Divine. Christ’s highest glory is attributable to his absolute obedience or surrender of his human will to the will of the Father such that he willed the carrying of his Cross and the abandonment of himself /life to the providential design and destiny of God’s salvation of mankind. From the Letter to the Philippians it is written, “Christ was humble. He obeyed God and even died on a cross. Then God gave Christ the highest place and honored his name above all others.” For his doing, so the Letter to the Philippians continues to say, “...So at the name of Jesus everyone will bow down, those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. And to the glory of God the Father everyone will openly agree, ‘JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!’ “ 

After this example, teaching, and challenge of Christ should we, thus, direct and shape our living of our human life. First thing, thus, humanly we are both always to have to link with the Divine Christ, and always to have to soak & characterize our every human action and activity unto whatever is divinely or spiritual. In this manner we can be sure our human actuation and human selves are guaranteed ever pure and holy or elevated, noble, and truly virtuous, and surely genuinely human. Then second we must be willing, no less than the way Christ himself willed, to submit our will to God. We repeat here how many times Jesus did submit his human self to the Divine. The following verses from Mark definitively confirm this submission of Jesus to God when he during his moment of agony surrendered it all, "Father, you have the power to do all things. Take this cup (sacrifice of death at Calvary to the Father for the sins of men) away from me. But let it be as you would have it, not as I." Mark 14:36 from our Chapter 11: On Suffering, we describe Christ’s reason for obedience to the Father thus: “Jesus' experience of suffering was real. It was, as an aspect of His Passion and Death, a hardest human experience even for our Lord. But He embraced it because in suffering He embraced the dying part of His mission of Salvation of mankind whereby He served as the Lamb Sacrifice to the Father for human sinfulness. As we already explained, His suffering was a central part of Jesus' Incarnation, death, and resurrection. And He fulfilled this earthly 'act' literally and completely.” This was supremely how concretely he submitted to the Father himself or his human life 

As for us Saint Peter says that, "We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God's own power when we learned that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness. God made great and marvelous promises so that his nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world." 2 Peter 1:3-4 notwithstanding our positive treatment and tone here in this present chapter, we invariably have to go back to what we have repeatedly marked, namely, the reality of suffering or of the negative in our living. Genuinely tackling the positive about the new human nature inevitably involves both the positive and a negative. Like they say, we do not completely separate the light and the dark; and this is the world’s state of affairs at least till before the End-Times. This is just very true as referred to by Jesus in the parable of wheat and the weeds: they stay together until harvest time. And so we write in Chapter 10: What is the Life of Grace, how the suffering “... is really the positive element of the paradox. When suffering under this context of sacrificial atonement we're not really losing something or just breaking our heart. In so far as the act is for God it is a positive thing. In the words of John the Baptist as ‘... we decrease’ God is ‘... increasing....’ in us. And nothing whatsoever in life could 'out-best' this manner of gain. Besides, those, in whom God has increased so much, eventually testify with the more successful self denial or emptying of themselves; and are finally rewarded with the most genuine human fulfillment of blissful unity with God. From the same Chapter Eight we say that, “We are to live according to the natural functions of our nature as a human being with the fullest use of all our physical senses and faculties, except we are not to negate our other human nature part, which is spiritual living and behaving. Body and soul man was created, body and soul we are to be integrally as a human being”. It is precisely on account of and by virtue of this reality about man why and how God’s love and union remains open to him despite man’s fallen nature: that within man resides the core freedom of will, to which and by which, touched by Grace, God is able to offer up one more time his love or New Covenant of reconciliation. This is thus, that human nature of being enabled by grace to WILL for God or the freedom to embrace back God’s pro-offered of salvation. Weakened by sin but strengthened by grace, the human will retained this capacity to want, albeit yearn for his lost God. 

Hence, because such acts are human acts in grace, like we have said in the beginning Chapter, “... liberated men by the grace of Jesus Christ are enabled to pursue and effect change and good will under the power of Christian love, and within the unconditionality of divine love.” 

And it will not matter how humanly unbearable or impossible the acts. Even if we stipulate an essential and inescapable negativity about it, namely “... the invariable negative characteristic of true living of a mandated following of Jesus Christ, which we have already explained in that chapter. The idea being that we shall have attained the unity with God only in so far as we are united with Christ by way of our carrying of our individual cross or by way of our total self denial, and total surrender to God's occupying of, or filling up of our heart with His Divine life. I.e. our choosing over living our 'fallen human nature' in favor of letting God fill our heart with His Divine life of grace . . .” Nonetheless, “In the process, it will afford us to hear the Spirit's blessing our measuring up to the Lord's Beatitude. ‘Blessed are you who are poor’ the Lord would say, "... in your heart you already possess the Kingdom of God!" A paraphrasing of the first Beatitude, and, as matter of fact, of all the eight beatitudes. In other words, those whose degree of faith and discipleship for God has reached the level of the Beatitudes and who have more than a head-start in the road to sacrificial purification and sanctification are well along the way of perfection this side of Heaven. They are most likely already experiencing many moments of heaven-like bliss of peace and unity with the Divine.” 

And so, in recapitulation of the salient point above expressed, where Jesus is glorified by his total subjecting of his human life to the Father, in the same way are we to expect a share of his glory where we realize the same submitting of our human lives to the will of God. And when we do so we shall find us experiencing these shades of glory even now, and the all-around spiritual blossoming in the graces of God. In the end, humanly speaking, (humanly by the power of grace), we repeat the following highlight from Chapter 6, What is the Life of Grace, describing the destined perfections realizable even right here on earth, and in this life. As Saint Augustine disclosed, "...our hearts have "remained restless... until they rest in Thee (in God)!" This stage of practical living in grace is the high point of the fullness of grace. This is that level so beautifully summarized in the Lord's Beatitudes. This is that level when individuals have achieved the virtue of purity where as promised they see God in everything around them, not metaphorically but really kingdom-wise. This is that level when individuals who have become truly meek shall have very clear visions of how so much of the new earth they shall be given bounty of. This is that level when individuals who have really been through incessant tearful life misfortunes shall be overwhelmed by nothing else but overpowering spiritual consolations. (If there were indeed such things as becoming "high" on drugs,)... this is as it were the real "high" experiencing of God. This is that level when as individuals persevere seeking for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom they are made to also experience mystic visions of God's justice and goodness. When those that have lived martyrdom of life's oppression and persecutions shall forget all their life's tortures and torments as they assuredly contemplate how far more elevating and secure an equivalent "face-to-face" contemplation of God and God's Kingdom it will be even right here on earth. These are scenarios of pious individuals finally rewarded for their believing and following of God as pilgrims on earth. They are scenarios where they have been allowed by God heavenly privileges of great spiritual heights. The Church teaches of instances and occasions of inexplicable marvels gifted to many "Saints" of God. More specific examples of these are: "talking-in-tongues" (hearing them sound out foreign languages as they preach), "slaying-by-the-Spirit" (physical collapsing over a complete taking over by the Spirit, good Spirit, along with consequent disappearance of some ailments), "bi-location" (pious individuals being seen in two or more places at almost the same time), "locution" (speaking past or future events or information related to the Saint), "apparitions" (like the countless appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary all over the world throughout these last centuries), and actual physical levitation in space while in deep prayer. (Father Pio was seen rising to elevation while in prayers a few times.) Saint Stephen actually saw ".... heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God" during his ecstatic dying and uniting with the Saints of Heaven. The Blessed Mother is assumed to the Heaven, body and soul. Jesus Himself demonstrated some terrestrial but supernatural human feats like "walking in water", "penetrating through closed doors", "multiplying loaves of bread and fishes", and healing of many sick even dead people. He even promised the ability to move mountains if our faith bears such degree of approval by God, i.e. (degree of holiness). After the apostles received the Holy Spirit, they all spoke in tongues, and henceforth while preaching were healing many sick individuals, and performing miracles. Like it has been given to the Saints such privilege of performing miracle because they have become holy like God, which enabled them to become united with God. This is the ultimate criterion by which the Church officially confers the title of a "Saint of God" upon a pious believer and follower of Christ: proof positive that the saint performed a miraculous healing of someone very ill. On top of all these, the most glorious human experience on earth of the splendor of the Divine were the three Apostles' witnessing of the "transfigured Jesus", along with Moses, and Elias appearing in a state of glory. They saw the three men in the most unimaginable state of heavenly blessedness. But they experienced all of these not as visualizations by the human eyes or senses, or mental faculties but as human participating with the divine life of God via the abundant living in the grace of God!” 

(Now at this juncture, it is appropriate to remark everything is not bleak, and is not at all doom and gloom, or humanly cynical like what readers may seem to read and complain about from Chapters Three & Four, and from the Chapters on Suffering.) 

Now our brief narrative references to our individual men and women who demonstrated sample accomplishments of God’s holiness mandate by obedience to God’s will while fully true to their human conditions and situations. (To be continued)

Chapter 14-B: Onward for the Parousia, Toward Her Final Maturation in Grace, 

The Full Blossoming of the Church as a People of God, and As the Mystical Body of Christ

(Christ’s Promises Eventually Showing Their Flourishing)

Preparatory Apologetic Statements:

    Before we start discussion on this last topic, I want to make it very clear this statement: I am not in this chapter directly talking about the End-Times, that moment of existence when finally, Christ returns the second time around to judge all of mankind and the world. I will not focally be discussing here on this chapter of the predicted elements or characteristic events that will supposedly mark per God’s time-tabled decision the end of the world. That is just not the focus here of our deliberating and presentation on the all-around target capped chapter of this Mission Series on the Good News of the Coming of Christ: the Good News of Salvation. But just like throughout the chapters on our Mission Series, we aim in this last chapter to specially mark the high points how we say according as God promised the salvation of mankind is undeniably come, is here. We aim to present irrevocable happenings and events in the world and upon men and women through generations unraveling supernatural transformations in and among human beings which only but supernatural powers could have, and continually could make happen. We, unashamed and unafraid, are as a matter of fact claiming God’s direct intervening for his glory and for the good of man in or within countless human beings who have finally been elected by God to have become so blessed with the life of Christ’s grace. It is such that these men and women undeniably manifest lives necessarily empowered by forces or strength beyond their human abilities, whether internally or externally. Our discussion will not be exactly just a repeat of words in the previous chapters. But we aim to make the presentation of how awesomely is taking place real spiritual or grace conversions of individual men and women of different ages. We also aim to make the presentation of how incomprehensibly marvelous the kind of spiritually heroic deeds these "saints" of God demonstrate, exemplify, and actually or realistically live amidst the world of unbelievers, and amidst life circumstances strongly and menacingly preventing or stopping them from doing so.

Presentation of the Mission Series' Epilogue Chapter

We begin thus by declaring that soon enough for all the children of God, whether from the ages past or even in the future, the moment has come about here on earth when Christ’s pilgrim followers, like Jesus has been glorified for his total subjecting of his human life to the Father, likewise have become sharers of his glory for their same total submitting of their human lives to the will of God. Whereupon they find themselves experiencing such undeniable shades of Jesus’ glory right here on what has become ushered in as real foreshadowing of the predicted "New Earth/New Heaven, a sort of eschatological ambiance where there abides a truly manifesting all-around spiritual blossoming in the graces of God by the holies/saints of God. (To this end, we are to refresh (previous highlights from Chapters 12 & 8, Living the Life of Grace and What is the Life of Grace) as we describe of the destined perfections realizable even right here on earth, and in this life, whereas Saint Augustine had disclosed, the believers’ human hearts have remained restless.. but now have finally found their rest in God! Beyond time, but within time men and women have, are, or will have reached their destined summit of human existence, of their created living: the possession of the Godhead within them, the Emmanuel in and among true men and women of God. This stage of the real practical living of grace is the high point of their fullness of grace. And this is that level so beautifully summarized in the Lord's Beatitudes. This is that level when individuals have achieved the virtue of purity where as promised they see God in everything around them, not metaphorically but really kingdom-wise. This is that level when individuals have then become truly meek, they have come to possess very clear visions of how so much of the predicted new earth they are being given bounty of presently. This is that level when individuals that have really been through incessant tearful life misfortunes have finally becomes overwhelmed by nothing else but by overpowering spiritual consolations. (If there were indeed such things as becoming "high" on drugs,) ... this is as it were that real "high" experiencing of God. This is that level when individuals who have perseveringly sought for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom then experience foretaste of the mystic visions of God's justice and goodness. When those that have lived martyrdom of life's oppression and persecutions then forget all their life's tortures and torments as they assuredly then contemplate the far more elevating and secure a spiritual contemplation almost already the equivalent future "face-to-face" contemplation of God and God's Kingdom even right here on earth, as it now prefigures that New Earth/New Heaven.

Hence, these are, then, the constant scenarios for pious individuals who have become finally rewarded for their believing and following of God as pilgrims on earth; these are then the scenarios whereupon they have become allowed by God such heavenly privileges of great spiritual heights and delights. This, within but beyond time, is the moment when all the saints/holies of God experience in some degrees what the Church teaches to be inexplicable marvels gifted only to the "Saints" of God. Thus, such following scenarios that have begun and has been continuing to take place according as promised by the Lord Jesus Christ, – and according as going to be commonplace occurrences or events on earth only previously and exceptionally permitted on occasions by God. Witness them in the forms like "talking-in-tongues" (hearing them sound out foreign languages as they preach), "slaying-by-the-Spirit" (physical collapsing over a complete taking over by the Spirit, good Spirit, along with consequent disappearance of some ailments), "bi-location" (pious individuals being seen in two or more places at almost the same time), "locution" (speaking past or future events or information related to the Saint), "apparitions" (like the countless appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary all over the world throughout these last centuries), actual physical levitation in space while in deep prayer, (Father Pio’s rising to elevation while in prayers a few times), Saint Stephen’s actually seeing ".... heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God" during his ecstatic dying and uniting with the Saints of Heaven, the Blessed Mother’s being assumed to the Heaven, body and soul, Jesus’ – Him self’s, supernatural human feats like "walking in water", "penetrating through closed doors", "multiplying loaves of bread and fishes", and healing of many sick even dead people, his promised ability to move mountains by true believers, the apostles’ receiving of the Holy Spirit & their consequential speaking in tongues, and henceforth their powerful preaching, healing of many sick individuals, and performing of other miracles, (for indeed it has been given to the Saints such privilege of performing miracle once they have been really united with God: the ultimate criterion by which the Church officially confers the title of a "Saint" of God upon a pious believer and follower of Christ, proof positive that the saint performed a miraculous antirecessionary healing for someone very ill), AND the most glorious human experiencing on earth by the three Apostles of the splendor of the Divine per their witnessing of the "transfigured Jesus", – with Moses, and Elias – in a state of glory, i.e. their seeing the three men, specially Jesus, in the most humanly unimaginable state of heavenly blessedness, (not as visualizations by their human eyes or senses, or mental faculties but by some spiritual enlightening upon Simon, James, & John). All these are truly grace fruits of God’s new men and women in Christ, which fulfill the final epiphany of Christ’s Mystery of Salvation. These transformed within-time-and-space eventualities featuring the born again children of God, are pre-eschatological Covenant fulfillment of God’s eternally promised restoring of the fullness of the grace of God within mankind and within creation. In this juncture, such prefiguring or foreshadowing of the New Earth/New Heaven in the lives of the true believers are taking place the world over, and despite the world, it demonstrates the prevailing power of Christ’s grace upon the believers new found ability and strength to cease being bothered by a supposed bleak world. No more do supposed specters of doom and gloom have disheartening effect upon believers. In contrast with their newfound internal and even external life blessedness, these pilgrim citizens of the world are now taken by a more prevailing spirit of hope and true peace in their midst no matter the worldly surrounding. Gone more and more in the hearts and minds of the "faithful" of God are previously overwhelming influences of life’s ugly cynicism, despair, and sadness from their experiences of persecution or suffering. Like St. Paul stated the sting of death, which are imaged by above referred-to-negatives of life, has been overcome by Christ, specifically by Christ’s resurrection from the dead. For whereas indeed the sacrificial holocaust of the Lamb, Jesus Christ is completely consummated to an end; likewise, indeed, are the equally sacrificial lamb-like holocausts of each oppressed believer/follower more and more being completely consummated in uniting with Christ’s sacrifice.

And so like we have professed in the earlier Chapter regarding the Mystical Body of Christ; we recall what we state then. For this moment, individual followers of Christ would have had their full journey of Christian conversion with all the requisite faith life experiencing, understanding, learning, and accepting via self-denial & cross bearing and dying into birth of a new life of Christ’s grace by faith. More and more of each one of them would have had by then a living understanding of grace as signifying abundant life, and the consequential actual abundant living of spirituality by the power of grace. These would have realized what manner of life verifies or conforms to the truth of Jesus' words about living his life of grace and therefore of virtue. These individuals would have understood what he meant when Jesus says: "He who .... Loses his life will save it." They would have accepted the Cross significance when speaking of this life of spirituality. They would have embraced their exemplifying lifestyle that spells out true commitment and dedication to the faith, such that as individual believers/followers they manifest themselves delivered or freed by the power of grace from any semblance of attachment to the goods of this world. Also, because such was what they have attained to be the level of worldly detachment that it would horrify them to even conceive of ever betraying their total love for God with even a momentary turncoat affection and desiring for worldly pleasure, honor, power, or wealth in any manner which contradicts their fidelity to God. By the grace of their new-found mental lucidity, they have become once and for all convinced of the inadequacy of the worldly goods which works against the laws of God. By the grace of faith they have become infused with the spiritual vision and ardor to lovingly cherish and safeguard the privileged and gratuitous experience through grace of the divine indwelling within them. Again, their resolve is such   that they never ever would want relinquishing it in favor of the seductive promises of the worldly goods.

Thus, from a genuinely positive dimension this new vertical horizon of living in grace is spelled out in terms no higher than the actual fuller habitation within them by the Holy Spirit, and therefore by the Triune Divinity Itself. As Saint John wrote the very words of Jesus, "If anyone loves me (Jesus) he will obey me. Then my Father will love him, and we shall come to him, and live in him." John 14:23-24 how unimaginable the total scope of meaning of having God, the Divine Trinity within us! The plentiful days of the rest of our individual lives are not enough to unravel the divine unfolding of the Godhead within and around our lives. This is, within but beyond time, the incessant contemplation of the Infinite Being dwelling in us. This is, within but beyond time, the hosting accessibility of divine inspirations within our puny minds. In effect, this is, within but beyond time, some personal revelation from God how praying to the Almighty without ceasing, as prescribed to the believers by Saint Paul, become supernaturally do-able by humans notwithstanding their weak ‘flesh’. In the words of our brother fundamentalist evangelists, when the believers/followers of Christ have arrived at that moment when they have become born again; that is also the moment which they define to be the "security of salvation". Once saved, really saved from day to day! For indeed, Saint John writes, "God's children cannot keep on being sinful. His (Christ's) life-giving power lives in them and makes them his children; so that they cannot keep on sinning." 1John 3:9 this brings us to the conditionality whereby somebody has become a member of the Church of Christ. It is that conditionality of being committed in fidelity to Christ or to Christ's teachings and commandments. And as we have already discussed, the following of Christ's teachings and commandments coincide with what is called the life of holiness of the sanctified people of God, i.e., the multitude elects of God securely anointed by the Spirit as they totally accept the will of God as they bear fruits of graces in their individual lives. And per the graces from the reception of the sacraments, their spirituality grows and develops enabling their progressing and maturation in holiness: the metanoia conversion of their hearts & minds absolutely turned on only for God. Hence, they are, in each era, the believing faithful who have become the children of God, or the special elects of God, as confirmed for us by Saint Peter. From the verses in 1Peter 2:4-5, and 2:9 Saint Peter right away moved from the imagery of a mere structure of stone or edificial church into the notion and defining of what is the chosen people of God. 1Peter 2:9-10 continues with the following verses: "But you are God's chosen and special PEOPLE. You are a group of royal priests and A HOLY NATION. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things that he has done. The Scriptures say, 'Once you were nobody. Now you are God's PEOPLE. At one time no one had pity on you; indeed, now God has treated you with kindness." From the perspective of a church building Saint Peter immediately moved to the perspective of the people of God, a community of God. For this is what, within but beyond time, has become transformed as the Church of Christ which He founded, the united people of God which have completely identified with Christ on account of the Christ-like lives and personalities of these newborn children of God via the grace from the Holy Spirit. In Chapter 6: The Kingdom of God, we refer to the Kingdom of God founded by Christ, which he initiated from among his first true converts and believers/followers. These individuals, each bunch within its own era in time, which we called the first saints of God, have become the first bunch of the faithful who have professed total faith and discipleship in Christ via both their testimony of absolute embracing of His teachings and commandments, and their remarkable offering up of their lives in complete obedience to the will of God. These, within but beyond time, are God’s new chosen people, who professedly love the One and Only God, and who unashamedly reach out in love for others. They are the true people of God on account that they reflect the loving image of God, which is the true essence of God. This thus is the Kingdom of God, namely the united people of God, united with God and with one another. In other words, as a people called by Christ to follow him they are the Church of Christ. This Church is the same one Jesus called to belong to the Kingdom of God. Hence, this Kingdom of God is the Church of Christ, and vice-versa, the Church is the Kingdom of God.

And within history, we see this continuous realizing of the Church when, for example, a Saint Francis of Assisi has duplicated his individual loving and serving of God in terms of the thousand true Franciscans who have followed him for Christ and have imitated their founding Master in the manner of following Christ. Then, we have come to witness this happening repeated over again in the persons of other "men of God" as we see the same thing happening to for instance, Ignatius of Loyola, who like St. Francis totally dedicated his life the service of God; but which total personal life dedication, likewise, has been copied continually, or has multiplied in terms of the many similarly service dedicated-to-God Jesuits of different eras that have piously lived their lives like their leader predecessor, St. Ignatius. Thus, we see this same duplication of a life lived for God in the witnesses of many other Religious Founders-Saints, who converted from their previous worldly living into sanctified living for God. Like in the above, we have seen this in a former great sinner turned great saint, St Augustine and his many true missionary Friars of the Augustinian Order. We say, thus, this way the above have made the people of God multiply; and consequently, have made the Church grow. We see this continuing process of the re-‘creation’ of the Church, or the re-‘creation’ of the people of God in the same duplicated missionary life & work of St. Francis de Sales, egg. Per the many true Salesian Brothers in different places of the world propagating St. Francis de Sales’ spirit of Christian education. Moving on, moreover we are to recall and realize them other Saints of the Church that have done the very same thing: the living of individual and community and missionary Gospel lives, i.e. actual deeds of Christian love zealously observed and given testimony for in the name of Jesus. In the process, therefore, they have continually been promoting, edifying, and prospering the One People of God founded by our Lord Jesus Christ. Recall, again, thus the same proliferation of the Church/People of God under the names of the St. Theresa’s, or of Mother Theresa into subsequent ‘Theresian’ communities of followers for Christ, of St. Claire into similar communities of women/nuns living their lives after the Francis-like example and Congregational leadership of St. Claire , of a St. Dominic into a community of Dominican followers for Christ, of St. Don Bosco into a community of Don Bosco followers for Christ, of St. Fr. Jose Maria Escriva into the community of Opus Dei workers for Christ, etc.. .

Recall too and imagine the instant 3000 converts of the Apostles during the formal founding of the Church of Christ during the first Pentecost. But more so, realize and imagine the multiple communities of fellowship or of faith generated through the many devotions under the Patron ship of our very Mother Mary. Out of her many apparitional events realize the thousands of convert devotees under her for her Son, Jesus Christ through Fatima, Lourdes, etc...

Then realize even more how many thousands of more and more devotees under her care come to Christ per the widespread Rosaries prayed all over the world, and throughout these present generations; such are the live devotions care of the Legion of Mary, the Blue Army of Mary, and other devotional organizations in her name.

So, we have emphasized what we stated earlier how primarily the main ground and chief fellowship by which believers are banded and bonded together truly powerfully and universally and multitude-wise is per the repeated celebration of Christ commended Eucharistic Calvary Sacrifice of the Mass celebration daily by each Catholic Priest throughout the world, and throughout the Christian eras. For this is not only the fellowship and unity in the Lord gathering the local communities of each faith congregation from whichever place and at whichever time of the day or night. More magnificently and grandiosely this directly involves all the inhabitants of the heavens and of the purgatory, which includes the Angels and the Triune God. During every Mass especially right at the Consecration part of the Mass, when the Eucharist Jesus is adored as the Lord of All, along with local worshipers are adoring much more reverently all the Angels and Saints of Heaven. This is the Church, the People of God, and the Holy/Saints of God In-Unity before the Most Majestic Triune God. This is, Par Excellence, the assembly of the faithful of God. This is the Mystical Body of Christ.

Accordingly as commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ himself upon Sr. Faustina, on account of the great sins committed by the people of the present day, the Lord Jesus pitied the fate of the people – who are so ever in need of the forgiveness of God lest they go into perdition of hell. And so Jesus revealed to Sr. Faustina how infinitely vast the mercy of the Father is upon all sinners; if only they could be brought by grace and opportunities through an open heart into the overflowing mercy graces of God which is as vast as the ocean in un-limitedness for accessing and use by willing needy souls. And so as instituted and propagated by the late John Paul II, and as followed through by millions of volunteering praying devotees, the people of God is welcoming the return of many lukewarm souls or lost souls per the obediential praying of these millions of Divine Mercy Devotees. We could only surmise how this Divine mercy generosity of the Heavenly Father is replenishing the people of God with restored lost souls of the world.

Most pro-actively, however, there is one invariable means which the Heavenly Father uses time and again throughout time up to before eternity per the merit of Christ’s redemptive sacrificial work. This is the willing and cooperative individual or group ACTS of personal suffering whether per sickness, poverty, or hardships of whatever form by souls chosen by God and agreeing with God in their offering up their sacrificial suffering united with Christ’s total human suffering. These are the simple souls throughout the world and throughout generations, who willingly accept their many trials and tribulations whether physiological or mental, or as individuals or as a group. Christ’s obediential sacrificing was most pleasing to the Heavenly Father for which the Scriptures stated Christ was most gloriously rewarded. Similarly, the people’s obediential sacrificing, individually or as a group, is most pleasing to Almighty God; and thus should be most effective at bringing back to God many, many souls all needing the merciful graces of the Lord Jesus Christ. And whereas it is easy to imagine bunches of individuals or people saddled by even unwanted hardships and sufferings, including poverty, sicknesses, and painful dying/deaths; hence, this implies the equally numerous chances of individuals accepting God’s will for each one of them to be offering up their individual crosses or personal suffering. Realize how many people of poor countries get invited by the Lord for this type of sacrificial calling. Realize as well how many people all over are suffering from one sickness or another: i.e. another target group God invites to suffer up for Christ. Then, circumstantially, imagine all the more the endless situations when every individual human being is putting up with some ordeal or negative predicament of one type or another: i.e., some type of no-fault personal hardship and another. Again, a most well spread target area of endlessly enumerable individuals, who have become invited by Christ to offer up their individual suffering sacrificing united with Christ for Christ’s salvation intentions of needy souls or sinful souls.

This satisfaction of the universal needs of souls, everywhere and always wherever especially souls are in need, is essentially accounted for by the divine events and realities of God’s Incarnation and Salvation of the world through Jesus Christ. Specifically, this is understood and realized via the Mystery of the Communion of Saints within Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church or the People of God/the Holy of God. It is in this context how the Church applies and makes it understood the teaching of the use and beneficence of Church promulgated system of "indulgences". I.e., according to the intent, conditions, and formats that the Church has formulated, sacramentally certain acts of prayers have been and are taught and ordained by the full authority of the Church as tools or aids upon the believers’ use and convenience for purposes of some degree of Divine cancellation of souls’ requisite ‘punishments’ in Purgatory because other pious souls prayed for them. One constant Church condition, among others, is that the person seeking for the "indulgence" to be granted is that he or she has to be in the state of grace during the time he/she petitions for the specific indulgence. There are even some "indulgences", called Plenary Indulgence, by which the prayed for souls, by the divine mercy of God, gain complete or total dispensation of their supposed purification/sanctification Purgatory suffering. (In the future, for the understanding of and about the Church’s teachings on Purgatory, we shall provide a special discussion on this matter. e.g. Sub-Chapter on Divine Mercy, Purgatory).

Regarding this Teaching and reality of the communion of all saints with God, here is where some evangelicals question the Catholics’ practice of praying to the saints, including to the Virgin Mother, Mary. The question, namely: how exactly do we, and can we ask prayer favors from this Saint or that Saint, or for that matter, from Mother Mary? They say they only pray to Jesus Christ because rightly so, Christ is God, who not only has the power to grant whatever needs or wishes addressed to him; but also that he indeed as God is omnipresent and can see everything and everyone in the whole universe and the heavens. Whereas the saints, including Mary, are human beings; and so can they literally "see" any particular person here or there, now or yesterday, or in the future, who would be addressing them in particular prayers for particular souls in need? (We certainly readily accept with ease the phenomenon and the magic of the world’s satellites enabling peoples all over the world to directly relate and interact between one another both by sight and by sound! How can we prevent God’s omnipotence, omniscience, and infinite love and mercifulness to grant similar ability for God’s "saints" to relate to God’s human creatures in the fashion of direct spiritual communing between them?)

And so at this point we wish to validate and re-confirm our message to all in the Balik Sa Panginoon site how that "grand and most glorious" living of grace to the full realistically begins N-O-W, and on this temporal life we live as we echo the Good News that our Lord Jesus Christ promised, the new life he said has already been given right now on earth. He has promised an abundant life; and it begins right now wherever we are, and in whatever shape and condition of circumstances we find ourselves. This abundant life is the Life of Grace, which characterizes the very life of Christ as a man, and which has been lived fruitfully by all saintly souls that have lived ahead of us or are living in our midst. This is the life of faith in and love of God, and of our neighbor. But this is the life characteristically marked by diligent compliance with the commandments of God, or with the will of God especially marked by Christ-like sacrificial offering up of their lives for God, and for others. We have described in what shapes and forms they are lived and manifested in Chapter 12 of the Mission Series; but they all come down to God realistically and unfailingly coming through for the believers as they genuinely live their distinct or unique lives spent in love for God and his people according to individual life trials and crosses by the fullness of God’s providential graces. These graces cover both the visible/tangible and invisible/intangible. According to what type of needs the individuals have does God pour out for them corresponding invisible/intangible or visible/tangible provisions. And we already discussed this issue in our article with reference to, and under the title phrase alluding to the "unseen Master" and the "unseen realities", which we had phrased so not without an important reason. The underlying essential reason or meaning consists in this referred-to desire of God that his believers get to authentically and totally live lives of true faith and reliance upon God, and upon God alone no matter how much God shows himself or hides his presence in man's life circumstances. Yet the proper time for God’s direct validation of himself, or of his glorious unending satisfying of man’s enjoyment of God, namely his face-to-face unveiling of his awesomeness to man will be here imminently in God’s own time. Nevertheless, by grace, both in each believer’s lifetime – during which man is already given periodic satisfaction of the goodness of God, and in God’s appointed Final Epiphany salvation has come nearer, and thither. It is here just waiting God’s final unfolding! Meanwhile, it is truly opportune and gratuitous by God’s grace that the believers among us are already given the privilege and the gift of in between moments of inspired union with God, (i.e. moments of being in the perfect state of grace, like after a very devout reception of the Eucharist or after a contrite sacramental confession, after a performed sincere work of mercy, etc..., notwithstanding those long and plenty moments of imperfect but human seeming distancing by God & likely actual doubting of and longing for God by man). Meanwhile, it characteristically will be the type of Godman interrelating, where – no matter how honestly and sincerely man wants to know, love and serve God in varying degrees and in different life circumstances – men of God invariably & consistently having to be tested through trials and ordeals a million times as they live through their individual lives throughout the world, and through all generations. After Jesus ascended for heaven, no man could ever see him ever while on earth until he comes again in Judgment times. So I repeat Jesus’ words to Thomas, "More blessed are those who have not seen; but have believed." More blessed were Jesus’ other followers who, unlike Thomas and the other Apostles/disciples who saw Jesus, did not get to see Jesus, but believed in him per testimony of these privileged Apostles/disciples. And along with them are bunched all the rest of us, from then to now and later, who have not seen & will not see Jesus but who believe in him, anyway, as Christians. In this manner will consist always and through time immemorial, thus, every believer’s totally unconditional believing. It is with this type of faith that will characterize Christian persevering, and therefore, Christian holy living.

Christian Readiness and Spiritual Ease Towards the Unseen Realities of Life

To recap here our special article discussing the unseen realities of God, as regards the characteristic ways of believing the unseen Jesus, the unseen God, literally these are the manners of living up to his precepts and commands precisely amid this God-denying and God-hating world. Believers so testify as true believers as they profess belief in Jesus alongside or amid non-believers who deny and hate Jesus. Amidst these situations, where non-believers loudly profess and exhibit their ways of unbelief, or their literally atheistic and agnostic lifestyles or sinful lifestyles, Christians survive and bear witness to a living God as they proclaim of him exactly in their lives, and within this sinning world. Being strong or steadfast in their testimony, believers demonstrate their consequential non-adherence to the world’s opposite cult of the seen or visible, & tangible goods in the world. Thus, whereas the ‘people of the world’ assiduously chase after every such visible &tangible good of the world every chance they could, the "people of God within the world" only seek after such good if it is truly beneficial to them and is glorifying to God. In concrete, whereas the people of the world shamelessly engage in tangible pleasures of gluttony, promiscuity & sexual depravities, physical violence & abuse, aggression & enslavements, murder & homicides, deceits & fraud, greed & monopoly, robbery & stealing, etc....; the people of God shy away from them and do away with them. The people of the world are slaves of sins; the people of God are repelled by sin. And so believers withstand the seductive allurements of sins, and they do not fall to the attractions of temptations because believers are wisely wary and detached from ‘the world’. They are scripturally reminded they are in the world but they, like their Master Jesus, are not of this world. Up front are Christians forewarned how as a matter of fact or as the predicament of the fallen creation, the world will not welcome ‘them’ who refuse to love the world. Like already stated, the people of God will be hated by the world like it hated God, Jesus. Aware thus, Christians, again up front, accept the dilemma of living in the world without necessarily embracing the world or all worldliness. And so as they learn and train themselves to deal prudently with the seductions and allurements of the world, they necessarily learn and train themselves to be above all the world’s obsession with the tangible, e.g. absolute materialism, consumerism, or sensuality. Early on as young Christians, they are warned to watch of roving eyes, of inappropriate touches, immodesty in dressing & physical-sexual manners, intemperance both with food & liquor, excesses in leisure, and the waste of time & money, etc... Summarily, the orientation for Christians is that to live in the world is not to seek after the world so seriously and so literally, as much as to obediently and generously offer up whatever of life according as God best sees it fit for men to spend their lives for what best serves God and the elect people of God. Beauty, health & physical well-being, comforts, conveniences, money, career & work, properties, & wealth, personality & skills, social stature & rank, honor & prestige, power & authority, and every other identifiable good in the world is not the be-all of life, i.e. neither one them can completely satisfy man and make man happy. In the first place nothing of this world is perfectly available or obtainable to all men; and in the second place nothing of this world can absolutely liberate man from boredom & angst. Ultimately, many a man specially elected by God are them completely devoid of worldly goods but whose hearts only pine for virtues, wisdom, and the mercy of God. This alone is their option for living. To deviate away from this, thus is for them a straying into an erred direction of living and is a straying away from the safe ways of God’s Fatherly protective guard and care. From whence springs this child-like faith assurance of these believers. How did they get to see and look up to a God they see and look up to as their heavenly Father? In all eternity for God’s predestined love of mankind, the Son of this heavenly Father, has by Divine Plan procured God’s beneficence and providence, and has procured guardianship and care of his beloved creatures, the humankind.  Then with an ultimately Christ-Shepherded gathered together & consolidated one flock of God, the Body of Christ, finally will this One People of God return to him their Maker and Lover.

Last Word, an Exhortation: Re - Factual Assurance That Christ Has Definitely Enabled Believers the New Living by Grace

Ex opere operato, is now the Church's battle-cry the words of Jesus, "Fear not; I have overcome the world, (Christ has now saved the world!)"  Ex opere operato", a doctrinal maxim phrase of the Church, assures the believers in Christ that because he is already ascended in heaven, i.e. Jesus has come down from heaven to earth, has lived & finished his earthly mission, and has died & risen from death & is back in heaven seated at the right hand of God the Father, and finally has sent the Holy Spirit down to mankind & thus has completed the mission with the establishment of the Church; thus God’s promised salvation of man is done and accomplished. Christ has conquered the world, i.e. Christ has become victorious over the sin of mankind. Therefore, every man born in the past, living in the present, and to be born & to live throughout the future until the judgment time is delivered from the power and enslavement by sin. The fullness of supernatural believing and supernatural life by grace by man is now on active dispensation by the Spirit through Christ’s Church per all the sacraments and sacramental of God. Because man chooses God and his goodness, God will dispose his weak natural person – body & spirit – to receive and to be empowered with the graces of the new life in Christ, and man will have become the new man that God had willed him to be from since Adam’s fall-away from God. Thus, "ex opere operato", (literally – from the work already finished), man by this faith in and grace from Christ can now freely choose God & his goodness and can now do all the good the Lord Jesus has destined for man to receive, possess, and enjoy. Now, thus, by the grace of God, man could go straight to heaven or detour to heaven via purgatory. In addition, also by the grace of God, man could do all the individual good he will be inspired and asked to do if he chooses to completely use up all of God’s graces of living the abundant life Christ has promised for them who totally embrace the new life in him. It goes without saying this is true for each man in the world who is a victim of sin in one way or another, including in poverty and sickness. Yet precisely in so far as Christ’s believers/followers have become his true faithful by grace and in truth have such faithful become temples of the Holy Spirit sent down by Christ, and by grace and in truth have thus become gifted with faith in the Real Presence of Christ in his Eucharist, and in his presence in the Mystical Body, the People of God/the Holy of God. Meanwhile, thus, they already are witnessing the Kingdom of God, i.e. in Jesus’ Eucharistic nourishing of souls with his Bread of Life, and in Christ’s People of God’s indwelling already in time as it endures into the final times. And so, it is now at this juncture when we could and shall have to focus our attention and preoccupation or primary concern upon the promised ultimate conclusion and reward for our journey of faith in the Triune God through our Lord Jesus Christ. For indeed, ultimately it will be this final End-Time scenario, alluded to up top, i.e., the future Eschatological event, which will define and fulfill the promised shared glory of the resurrected Christ along with then also resurrected believers/followers of Christ. For upon this returning of the Lord Jesus Christ, all his faithful believers-followers shall take back or ‘incorporate’ with their resurrected new bodies. An awesome scene! An un-imaginably truly glorious day! Indeed, that will be the day: the day of the “New Earth, and the New Heaven”. That will also be the day of final reckoning for all that have lived on earth, the Day of Judgment! A most tragic and irreversible fate for the condemned it shall be! They are condemned along with all the bad spirits into hell! But more importantly, it will begin the day of the blissful uniting with God by all the blessed of heaven, the saints and the angels, eternally and altogether resting in the embrace of God.

This, thus, is the answer to our previous question about what or which will be our last earthly and physical gift right before that start of the everlasting glory of the heavenly face-to-face vision of and union with God in the New Heaven. It consists in the day when we shall get to experience something akin to the experience of our first parents, that we never knew, about living with an incorruptible body; and when once and for all our bodies shall no longer give us nuisances, irritation, dismay, disgust, pains, aches, and all types of unhappiness that have pest men of all ages and generations. And the most awesome of all: a permanent life without sickness and without death! An eternal life of glorious union with God! In the final situation Jesus refers to those fortunate people who really “... hear and welcome the message" of the truth. And in so doing they produce a hundredfold out of the message they hear and accept. These are the sheep that know their "Shepherd “that they cannot but walk and follow His leading them to the true pasture of eternal life and living water. As members of the flock of God, by the grace of God, they live out and reflect the very WORD the "Master" who speaks to them, and nurtures them, i.e. Himself, the Word of God, teaching them the truth, and Himself, the Life come down from God, giving eternal life to them.

 And so to everyone, including my friends, my brothers and sisters in the flock of God, I commend to pray and make sure that they be like the last kind of seeds Jesus is making reference to. May they be the good ground upon which the seed of His Good News of salvation is cast on, and from which grow the hundredfold of harvest. May theirs’ be the increase in faith and the growth in the grace of God manifested by a lifestyle of love for neighbors? Let everyone rest assured that the seed of God's salvation has an eternal promise and security. Let everyone remember to truly "... hear" the words of God and "... welcome" them,

The Popes, including them of recent memories, have been proclaiming, and keeping in absolute certainty, and through all generations the one and the same body of faith, which Jesus proclaimed, taught, and were passed on by His Apostles under the leadership of Peter. Thus, per the element of time and space, by which the Gospel and the Gospel followers were bound and have complied with the commission of Jesus that his Gospel and his people reach out to all the people in all places of the world and for all time, the Kingdom of God established by Christ necessitated to be rooted upon historical ground. The Kingdom of God needed to be a Church identifiable with concrete and individual persons of faith whom the Lord Jesus has entrusted his Church and his mission of salvation. In the outset, thus, Christ himself intended that, as we have discussed previously, his Church be founded on the rock, Peter. Then also, part of this identifying of the Church of Christ with Peter includes identification with Peter’s fellow Apostles and co-disciples within the requisite structural Church and within the Church. As a matter of fact, the two terms for practical purposes are going to be semantically synonymous with each other. But ultimately, however, the understanding is that the Church is not to be reduced to the more historically bound conception and signification. Rather, surely the Church must identify with its un-circumscribable and Mystical scope of being the sanctified Body of Christ. To this end, therefore, negative deprecating, or detracting of the Church must be prevented by the Church, i.e. it will not allow, and therefore the "... heavens" too will not allow whatever manner of denial, or cutting down, or modifying of the "One Body" of Christ. That is why there is only one Church against which "all gates of hell" and any "power of death" will not prevail. With respect to the truth, and with respect to the Church’s stewardship, there will not by any denying, changing, reducing or essential increasing of the total teachings Jesus Christ has taught the Church that He has established. With the power of the Holy Spirit, all the time the Pope, as Peter's Successor, confronts and is to be on top of any dangerous opposition and renunciation of any doctrine of the Church, defends all Church teaching, and defines a less understood statement of the faith, as the Pope does so ex-cathedra and with power of infallibility. Ex-cathedra means papal declarations are being pronounced from his seat of succession to Peter and in leadership over the Church. Infallibility means that the Pope's declarations at that moment carries the magisterial authority of belief, obedience & compliance by the faithful, and the weight of being without error as in that seat he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit. This is the security of the Church. And by this is how the Church of Christ is inclusively identified in time and space, namely one that has withstood time and historical hurdles, attacks, or plots from people or from any supra human powers on earth, over the earth, and under the earth.

The Imminence of the Future Because of Christ's Immanence in the World 

It is stated in Scriptures, with the Lord... a thousand years is a day, and a day is a thousand years. Just like St. Paul felt the End Times so imminent, we, thus, on this last Chapter of our Mission Series presentation of the Coming of Christ, the Good News of Salvation, similarly echo our own looking-forwardness for the Final Coming of Christ as we once and for all express our honest joy and confidence we are indeed very imminently most expecting of the fulfillment of all Christ’s promises as we testify to the nearness of God and of his Kingdom right now and right here in our present living.