Guideposts to growing holy...
Guideposts to Growing in Holiness
My Suggested Basics Primer About How To Practice Catholic/ Christian Faith!
We could use guideposts in the journey of our practice of our faith.
My First Guidepost. Paying heed to the Temptations of Christ:
Let us begin with the Temptations of Christ as our first guide post. We can stay faithful to our faith if we resolve not to stray away by avoiding to fail the very same temptations Jesus Christ fought against and overcome.
By the first temptation where the Devil prompts the tired and hungry Jesus to turn the stones into bread so he could relieve himself of hunger. In like manner we find ourselves in not a few instances when indeed after some great labor, and in-accessibility to food we tend to be pre-occupied with searching for food to relieve ourselves of feeling starved. Also in a more general fashion when face to face with daily drudgeries and struggles, including rejections and frustrations our normal tendency is to stubbornly solicit personal strokes of approval and validations from people we are enamored with, or even from anyone or anything whatsoever nearby that is accessible to seek comfort from notwithstanding if it is unlawful. The worst thing is our addiction to such strokes or satisfaction of pleasures they become our habit and normal quest & activity, whether we’re hungry or not. Eg. the habit of feasting here and there and at any time without moderation, simply to satisfy, albeit if it nourishes, our human bodies."Not by bread alone does man live but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Living a full life is not equal to eating to our complete satisfaction. On the contrary, it is most beneficial that we rather give up some degree of our eating pleasure. The Church encourages both fasting and abstinence as just as healthful both to our body and soul as the instinctive taking in of food. Thus, we invariably mention the value of balancing our diet and moderating our intake of food. Then the Church specifically requires and commends too of occasional denial of ourselves of the pleasure of meat-eating as a minimal act of spiritual mortification. The same spiritual purpose is served by the Church's rule/advice about fasting. This is derived from Christ's command about self-denial as a requisite to the belief and following of him.
But the other part of Jesus' response with respect to this first temptation account was his declaration that man as it were can not survive and meaningfully live without the parallel nourishing of ourselves with the word of God. Reading the Scriptures and reflections on the words of God as well as on Jesus, himself the Divine Word-become-audible, are the staple of our souls. Jesus said that he is the bread of life, and that unless we eat of his body and drink of his blood we shall never live the life of eternity. Christ gave us a wake-up call with his response to the temptation about another and a greater individual need we have within us: namely, the relieving and the nourishing of our spirit with its own appropriate food or nourishment, namely the words of God. In other words, unless the spirit within each individual man or woman is equally fed with its kind of food, the whole man or woman is not alive. The spirit, Jesus said, needs and clamors for the revealed words of God, namely the Good News of Scriptures & Traditions, and of the Church. Eg. every christian man and woman need the Bible, and the Catechism. A Christian has to have catechesis. Then only is his/her spirit going to have its sustenance and vitality as a spiritual man or woman. Hence, we are to be ever wary lest we succumb to this temptation of erroneously believing we are living enough if we have a filled belly, or satisfied physicalities while completely incognizant and in-attentive to the cravings of our human spirit for the enlightenment from the words of God.
One aspect of the main perspective on this first temptation is that in order to be able to live a full life or a genuine life man must not be attached to human and worldly pleasures as the path to fulfillment, or happiness. On the contrary an untempered delighting with sensual satisfaction is to tread a man's enslavement. Licentiousness in sensuality both blinds man's physical sensibilities, and rational faculties. Whether food or sex, or any of their equivalent attractions if these are unmoderated will reduce man to a mere animal, and therefore to a being that has no ability for freedom.
The other aspect of our main perspective on the alluded temptation is our opposite under-nourishment, if not actual starvation, of the enlightening words of God or of the liberating Divine Word in the person of Jesus Christ.
Our instruction on this matter is that Christ wants us to develop the virtue of self-continence, and the virtue of prayerful reading of the teachings of God and the accompanying non-stop reflections or meditations upon Jesus and his words of the gospel.
"You shall not put the Lord your God to the test." By the second temptation of Christ, the Devil tempted the physically and mentally exhausted Jesus to leap from the Temple heights, its parapet, down into the stones at the ground as the Devil invoke a Scriptural verse about the Angels of God being sent by God to catch him lest he hit the stones of the ground. The Devil as it were was asking Jesus to toy around with the Heavenly Father, who will supposedly humor his Son, Jesus, in cahoots with the Devil’s whim of stupidity. In like manner, again, men and women would be tempted with casual habits of presumptions to break all sorts of laws and regulations, which originate from God, in the name of supposedly humane causes and pro-activist civic campaigns. Or, at the least, men would resort to the maxim the end justifies the means, no matter how unlawful, if perchance they recklessly presumed an objective to be materially or worldlily worthwhile. We repeat here many a leader’s unashamed championing of abortion, and assisted suicide/euthanasia under the guise of social and personal compassion. In general, however, we are here warned against easily trusting all kinds of personal judgments without testing the spirit behind them whether they are of God. Among supposed Christians it is unfortunate their having allowed themselves developing un-informed or erroneous consciences, where they easily invoke God’s sake whereas they commit all types of unlawful acts and habits. Christian prudence could teach us how to stop and avoid putting God to the test with our reckless presumptuous judgments if we always begin with the attitude of humility and poverty of self. Whether we’re very gifted or not does not matter. After all, it is written "..God gives and takes away". We never have any guarantee of result about our goodwill and good works. Who knows; in a moment they all are reduced to nil as we wit inexplicable turn of human/world events within God’s mysteries. But what matters alone is our being keyed to a God that wisely intervenes all the time within our lives and world. Thus only if we subject all our actions to his will wont we have to worry to tread the wrong ways of human erroneous judgments which could specifically put us at dangerous odds with our God. The second temptation account indicates to us to watch out never to severely grieve God, the Holy Spirit, as to invite him to abandon us away from his watchful care, guidance, and protection. God's infinite mercy and love is unfathomable and absolutely generous. And Christ's grace is ever sufficient to whatsoever human offense if man is repentant and contrite. Christ said he came not to cure the healthy but the spiritually sick, or the sinners. But one thing that can rebuff God's omnipotent providence, mercy, and love is man's free willing refusal of such God's unending advances of total care and concern for man. It is one thing that man sins, and keeps falling back to his sinfulness on account of his/her weaknesses. But it is another thing when man acts duplicitously in relation to the Almighty. In other words, when a man or men invokes/invoke God's providence, protection, and strength for the pursuance of both his/their trivial and lofty goals, and yet do so without qualms at determinately breaking God's commandments a man or such men is/are dangerously putting God to the test. Example. Continually ignoring aborting of unborn babies in the name of women's civic or political right for free choice is courting God's wrathful disfavor. Or individually, when a government official unscrupulously embezzles government funds while sanctimoniously posturing as the only worthy person for the position is testing to the Lord. In ordinary setting, individuals' frequent spontaneous and casual mention of God along with equally casual frequenting of places of lasciviousness are again tempting God. Jesus Christ in responding to this secnd temptation was in effect forewarning the people of the evil of the sin against the Holy Spirit, which is the unforgiveable sin.
The third temptation of Jesus was: "It is written God alone shall thou worship." Whereas the devil promises access and possession of all the worldly goods, which apparently are temporarily under the disposal of the devil, including the above already referred to sensual pleasures in the world; Jesus points categorically that these should never occupy the top preoccupation of man's mind and heart, or of his highest free personal pursuit or priority in life. Christ is as it were reminding man of the basic truth of God's being his Maker/Creator, who therefore has the primary and ultimate ownership and control over man in the manner he exists, even as a free being. Progress and success, whether individually or collectively for a nation or the world, should never be the last criterion and goal of a man or of men where in the process he or they shall end up opposing God's will or commandments. Such an abosolute chase of personal success or some social beneficiality if running contrary to the will of God can not but be a defiance of the Almighty and a human exercise in futility. For example, as regards the latter, the policy and the projects involving cloning of human beings are presumptuous social endeavours. They thus could end up making human monster- forms of some individuals. Quite a few individuals will be forced to live inhumanely who were formed deliberately with artificial monstrosities eg. uncontrolled body parts abnormalities. In ordinary scene, actual equivalents of people's worship of this world are a casual magnifying of one's own country over another country or nation in the name of patriotism or nationalism. Anything that exclusively benefits his/her country but which harms or deprives another or other country/countries would be false civic virtue. Its a form of worship being accorded to one's own country, and is therefore a denial of the due deference to the universal God of mankind, who naturally and supernaturally wills for the common benefits for all people or countries. Thus a nationalism which prevents the equitable sharing of the goods of the earth to the monopoly by one or a few countries is an idolatry against God. Thus protectionism whether in trades or in jobs is essentially wrong. For when protectionism is heralded to the absolute it prevents poorer countries and poorer peoples of the world of the opportunities to grow or even to subsist for their own physical survival. However, job protectionism which does not necessarily serve corporate greed but safeguards very basic job and commodity needs of a particular families or individuals is not bad but may even be commendable according to the circumstances of actual need.
By the third temptation the Devil dared Jesus’ weakened human self to cohort with the Devil’s pro-offered dalliance of occultic bonding with him. While Jesus was supposedly physically, and emotionally spent, he was tempted to turn to the Devil for worship. The Devil was offering Jesus, who had been alone and solitary in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights his company and cover as a willing Master to Jesus. In like manner, in many situations of living, we discover ourselves nil of and wanting in approval and commendation sanctions, specifically sensationalized worldly recognition, which is most sought after seal of sanction. The power of money, prestige, positions, and titles casually occupy man a man’s and woman’s passion for permanent leverage on their worldly standing and authoritativeness. Their absolute attachment to the above make them present day idolaters: atheistic in-denial of God. Eg. un-tempered belief in the philosophy of many a get-rich-quick schemes, where it is taught sheer ingenuity, stubbornness, and economic bullying to secure permanent financial future. Another example is the blind belief in either evolutionism or materialistic progressivism, where man is persuaded nothing is created, and where everything only comes about via a really long long process of non-stop evolution; or where technology and modern scientific systems slowly but surely solve the problems of a futuristic earthly new world.
Jesus was telling and demonstrating to us the truth and reality of the commanded priority of the worship of God above all things. Both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, the Scriptures prominently tell us of and about the First Commandment: Love God with our whole being, ie. with our whole heart, mind, body, and soul. In the Gospel, the evangelists narrated of Jesus being found in the Temple and being in his Father’s "house" even at his early age of 12. Then invariably before and after his day’s mission work he made sure he went to the Mountains or wilderness alone to spend the company of the heavenly Father in prayer. And he made it very clear how he deferred to the Father or the Father’s will no matter how painful and humiliating it was: his docile obediential crucifixion and death on the Cross all the way to his last moments of physical life. He obeyed; and trusted while he obeyed. The Father knew better. (Of course, he is God!) But the point is that Jesus did literally all it took to obediently embrace the death on the Cross because it pleased the heavenly Father. But in the process, Jesus the MAN, was/is glorified to sit at the right hand of the Father, and shall be shown most absolutely glorified in the End-Times over and above everyone particularly them that caused him pain and suffering, and divine insults and blasphemies.
After the example of Jesus, but primarily as commanded of us, we are to profess similar pursuit of the heavenly Father both in the personal worship of Him as well as in our individual and public professing of fidelity to His will in all of our living at all cost to us including through pains and painful death, if asked of us. We are to repeat here the warning we stated right at the beginning when we started this faith website: we are to declare of our witness for God or He will deny any personal knowing of us come judgment time. And for our own sakes, we are to dwell in house of the Lord/temple of the Lord if we want to be truly home and in peace. And whereas the Holy Spirit will prompt us always to draw close to the Father; on the other hand we are not to skip every opportunity to be with Him at all moments of our living. We are to seek and enjoy him first in prayers, then in His words of revelation, and teachings, then through and in the sacraments, particularly penance and the Eucharist, then in the through acts of virtues, particularly acts of self-denial and mortifications , and finally in and through our witnessing acts of love and mercy for our neighbors, particularly our needy neighbors. In process, and in the end, instead of being trapped into devilistic tragic life circumstances via initially thought to be harmless occultic pranks and fantasies, with our grace led-about-face from world to the Lord we will only discover how sweet it is to be with the Lord instead.
As regards burntout-causing pursuit of individual successes Christ also exhorts the people not to be afraid or anxious about their necessities. He said the little sparrows will not go hungry, and the fields will not be without its decor of widespread growing beautiful orchids no matter if we do not see manifestly visible provider for the sparrows, or designer/farmer over the fields. For actually God is there doing the providing and the designing/farming. But whereas the Bible states man to be above all creations, and was made the chief steward over creations; mankind, therefore, is to receive much greater attention and care from God. Hence, Christ says not to worry. Besides if an individual thinks he can take on full force the duty of providing and looking out for himself all the way Christ reminds him even just counting the number of hair in his/her head is not an easy feat to do. Jesus warns man he is not self-sufficient. He says, "Apart from me you can do nothing." Absolute credit belongs to God alone. Absolute trust and dependence only belong to God. Man's assuming of the air and stance of absolute control over anything is an idolatrous worship of himself or of human powers. Thus making the pursuit of individual successes the "be-all" of human living is wrong and improper. The tendency for such relentless success pursuits is to ordain certain individuals for unwarranted false coronations, illicit human respects, and inevitable mental and emotional burntouts for most of these individuals, if not for everyone who treads the path. Christ says in lieu of special honors in society service for others is the rule for commendation. In fact, serving the smallest and the poorest is the really greatest feat for any man and woman to achieve in life. In the process, however, of effectively serving the needy, God allows circumstances to cooperate with leaders to enable them maximum provision and supervision of the needs of the needy or of the people. But it is only from God and by God, or his Divine configuration of events that man ultimately effectively or successfully carves out accomplishment as he serves fellow human beings. All other manners of cultivations and expressions of human fulfillment elevated to the pedestal of absolute sum-total dreams are not worshipful acts towards the Divine. But leaving it up to God to shape his/her distinct niche in the world as he/she commits to service of others without apparent recognitions while doing his/her best at times can be a downer experience. But, as initially referred to, it should not cause human unhappiness; or be equivocated with human failures.
Finally, think about the fact that Jesus was tempted by the devil. Christ came to earth not only to deal with liberating sinful human beings, but also to deal with a special enemy of God and of men: the devil. The Heavenly Father is so conscious of man's sinfulness and need for liberation from their sins. But Christ is particularly aware of the fact that men, weak as they are, have to battle hard not only against sin and evil, but against, as well, an enemy that is above them in cunning, strength, and resources. Christ is therefore irrevocably telling the people of the reality of the devil. In the modern setting, the devil achieves some edge in so far as he is able to convince a great many about his non-existence. Such men and women given to this lie have made themselves even much more vulnerable to their sins and shortcomings. Christ is, thus, telling us of the menacing presence and influence of the Prince of the World in the world. But on top of this, he assures and re-assures us unceasingly that his grace is sufficient against all man's adversities, including against these powers of Principalities.
To recapitulate, Christ allowed himself be tempted three ways to warn us to watch out for three dangers we, human beings, could easily fall trapped over. To repeat, in the temptations of Christ, he declared the following warnings in the following statements: One, man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Two, man shall not put God to test. And three, God alone shall man worship.
Our Next Guidepost: Stay A-tuned to God All Year
If you are taking this as your New Year, start on the right foot in the manner you begin your new year. Receiving inspirations from God out of the holy season, and pressing on towards a closer walk in life with Christ, I have the following recommendations. l.) Do not miss your minimum one-hour Sunday worship and fellowship service. 2.) Try to keep your Sabbath free from work. 3.) Always begin your day with a prayer the first moment you wake up; even just one second moment thought or greeting of the Lord. A "Good morning Lord!" said slowly or with attention might be good enough. But don't forget it to do it every day. 4.) Don't forget to say your grace each time you bite a food. 5.) Say your Angelus, or evening prayer before going to bed. A full minute Thank You Lord, while thinking of the single blessing you received from the day, even if its just your smooth drive home. 6.) Do not commit any deliberate sin, whether just one intentional and covetous staring at the opposite sex, or one prolonged telling of a lie. Avoid it at all cost. 7.) Avoid every single major occasion of sin. E.g. starting a sure bitter argument or fight, or deliberately going to a place of immorality. 8.) Do read the scriptures at least twice during the week for at least 30 minutes each time. 9.) And offer up your job, whether making money for the family or not, to God. Just say: "Lord, I do offer my job today, or this special task to you". Do not take this for granted. Do say your offering up. It will mean a lot.
My revised recommendations for fellow Catholics. 1.) Do not miss your Sunday Mass. 2.) Prepare your Sunday Mass with a visit to the Confessional box, scheduled usually on Saturdays, at least once a month or every other Saturday, or when you feel you need to confess a sin before receiving the Holy Eucharist during the Sunday Mass. 3.) Do receive the Eucharist during the Sunday Mass. 4.) Try to listen to the Scripture readings, and to the Priest's Sermon, no matter how hard to understand. At the very least, just focus on the main topic, or main point of the Priest. 5.) Yes, try your best to avoid Sunday work. 6.) Like the above, say your morning hello to God upon waking up; evenif just a minute, but an attentive saying of "Hi, Lord!" 7.) Likewise, offer up your beginning of your day's work, whether as a homemaker or family bread earner. 8.) I repeat ther tip about not forgetting to say your grace every before any meal or snack! 9.) Likewise, do not commit a deliberate sin; like explained above. 10.) Likewise, avoid a serious occasion of sin; like explained above. 11.) Spend at least 30 minutes of Bible reading at least twice a week. 12.) Say your Rosary everyday, anywhere where you are doing nothing; and where you have some private moments while taking a break from work. But do say it anytime during the day so you don't miss it. Remembering to ask for Mary's help every day will work for you surely. 13.) And say your evening prayer; even just a minute of "Good Night, Lord!", but attentively.Just follow these recommendations, my friends, and I assure you some amount of internal peace, and even external peace will be yours. Moreover, this is a key to staying the path of God, and again of peace within your selves every each time you go to bed, and especially when troubles are besetting you. Troubles will be there; but they will be kind of bearable, solvable, and your hope will always be there. Extra tip: also for my fellow Christians, if you believe this; ask your individual guardian Angel for help when tempted. For my fellow Catholics, I recommend this guardian Angel thing, and a prayer to all the Saints for their praying for you. As all believers and followers of Christ, we are in the business of saving our souls together; so they should be very willing to pray for you, for us all. Their remembering us in our behalf "all through the power of Jesus Christ's salvation act".
My Next Guidepost, re:"That's not enough praying you're recommending!", some might say?
Regarding my recommended dosage of praying, both in terms of time and content, I repeat, some might criticize it to be a watered down giving of homage to God? My suggested prayers are the minimum. Once the habit to pray is formed the individual could later on his own discretion amplify or intensify his/her prayer time and content. Besides, a whole day's work or drudgeries if offered to God is already prayer itself. Then add to these everyone's inevitable cross bearing of his/her total circumstancial life toils, disappointments, and hurting, which if accepted with resignation and obedience, are again the individual's totality of prayer to God. In reality prayer is not to be reduced to some formula or intervals of God consciousness but to a 24-hour non-stop uniting to God and with God all of our life, and life's activities and personal situations. For as Saint Paul said, we are actually to pray without ceasing. Thus, our living should be itself our praying or prayer.
My Next Guidepost: Become SPIRITUAL before its too late!
During the celebration of the Feast of the Coming Down of the Holy Spirit, it is most beneficial to call on the Holy Spirit to come upon us! If have received Him, let us pray for a greater growing in His Spirit so we may ever be a closer image of the Lord Jesus. But if we do not yet receive Him in our life this is the day once and for all to open up our heart and mind, and submit our body to the rule of the Spirit. Only this way can we really know, love, and follow Jesus and His ways. Without the Spirit we can not have Jesus! And without Jesus, our lives are in vain; our lives are without salvation. Yet judgment day can come any time, and without Jesus if that judgment day comes, we are condemned to eternal unhappiness. Come to the Church, pray with some believer, or simply beg the Spirit to open your hearts. And begin your new life of peace and conversion to God.
My Next Guidepost. Re:Conversion or the Working of Holiness per the Holy Spirit:
(The following is an excerpt from this site's Mission Sequel about the Kingdom of the Holy Spirit.) The Holy Spirit, the "Source of Holiness:Maker of Saints. Then, the fundamental paradox of holiness: he who loses his life shall save it; but he who saves his life shall lose it. Only by the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit can the believer appreciate, and embrace in faith this condition of salvation which Jesus spelled out for every one who truly wants to follow Him. Complete self-denial, and total carrying of the cross is necessary if we want to be saved. And de facto it is indeed only by the unconditional surrender to the working of the Holy Spirit that any human being who wants to believe and follow Christ can really uncover the depths and heights of the wisdom in total emptying of oneself in order to be filled by the genuine life and most truly satisfying union with the Divine Incarnate, the Lord Jesus Christ. In all counts, the Saints in Heaven, the near Saints in Purgatory, and the persevering living saints on earth are miraculous positive proofs of the reality of living divinely. As we said in our previous explanations, the Saints of the Kingdom of God are or have become Saints or saintly because they receive the Divine Life of Grace. They have been initiated in grace on earth; and they have blossomed in grace in Heaven. All the time as it has been dispensed by the Holy Spirit."
My Next Guidepost: Being Catholic nominally or ritually is not enough Catholicity!
To become true Catholics, Catholics must imitate the evangelicals' spontaneity and daring at their public confession of their faith in Jesus Christ, and in His grace. Like the evangelicals more Catholics must be easy to credit Jesus for each of their achievements. How easy they acclaim, "Thank you Jesus!" And how easy they are aware of the working of grace,"But by the grace of God!" To become a true Catholic, Catholics must not be content at mere regular physical presence on weekly Sunday masses. Catholics must interiorize the Liturgy of each Sunday Mass with immagination, with dynamic but prepared music liturgy, with mind understanding of the gospel and epistle readings as well as of the sermon, and with heart disposition to constantly rectify with a view towards improvement each aspect of personal weakness on any moral behaviour. Catholics must make a resolute practice of examination of conscience each night, and during before the mass to devoutly confess of actual personal sinfulness in order to worthily be disposed to the Eucharistic union with the Lord Jesus during adoration of the Lord at consecration and at communion time. A true Catholic must not be content at mere ritual mouthing of liturgical prayers during Sunday masses. They must have a rigorous schedule of communing with the Lord during before meals, before going to bed, at the first moments of waking up in the morning, before driving, before starting work, during repeated moments while working while on breaks, and by regular attendance to public prayers like the block Rosary praying, regular praise-the-Lord fellowships, etc.... But most fundamentally individuals and people must pray when and before or as they embark on special projects or activities which are either urgent, or crucially of perpetual import.
A true Catholic must visibly be identified with the very poor as a testifying of genuine orientation for love of neighbor. We are not talking of ostentatious display of charitable acts but of fervent dedication towards seeking to be of help to the real needy of our society.A true Catholic must not be wimpy at the least onset of obstacles and difficulties. He must embrace the faith of the Cross of Jesus Christ. He must profess acceptance of the gospel of self denial, and taking of the cross when necessary as an expression of his/her following of our Lord Jesus Christ. Afterall, the fact of life is that every man and woman during the course life has some form of cross in store for him/her. We might as well choose to make meaningful of these crosses; and make us the wiser in the end, instead of staying in the immaturity of ignoring the reality of human suffering. A true Catholic must ultimately realize and acknowledge no endeavour whether individual or communal can and will finalize to its smooth finish unless it is done in the Spirit that God is the one making it happen; or that God is primarily sought for help.
My Next Guidepost: Jesus' basic template for living the life of grace as against living only in the flesh!
Here's the template for authentic existence. We live and follow the life Jesus Christ lived and showed for us. Jesus came down from Heaven to a life in this world in trusting obedience to the Heavenly Father to be born and to grow up under God-given human stewards, Mary and Joseph. Then Jesus essentially lived the new "human" life of grace as He submitted giving away to the world powers His body and whatever worldly thing the world wants to take away from Him. But while totally embracing death in the hands of the world's evil men, He was also telling the world the Truth of God's Divine precedence, prominence, & authority. Never for a moment did He distrust God He was losing to the world, even and precisely as He was made to die. In the end, as the world powers took away Jesus's physical body, or whatever is apparently of this world, beforehand nevertheless, and through it all Jesus fulfilled His mission of gathering souls for Heaven, and teaching them about the Heavenly Kingdom of God. Likewise, we believing human beings, are not to be concerned if and when world powers rob us of our physical life, and everything in the world that belongs to us while at the same time we courageously defend the truth, whether just personally or socially. Along the way of dying to self while fighting for the truth at all cost, despite the world's not seeming to listen or care, we are to focus like Jesus did upon winning souls for Him, and testifying to His teachings of salvation in His Name. His fundamental teaching was to live at all time absolutely trusting God in everything. This is all that matters in the task of living our lives. Trust God in all manners and circumstances of our lives; and all else will follow to the ultimate realization and fruition of God's divine plan for each and every believing new human individual. This in essence is the living of the new life in grace, which is in contrast to the stubborn attachment to the old life of the flesh, and which we must completely throw aside.
My Next Guidepost, re: pure grace, manifestation of grace versus plain display of talent!
(Chapter Nine: Living the Life of Grace dealt with the topic of grace, and Chapters 6 & 4 on the Spirit, and on Holiness also dealt a good deal with related topics on graces.) Nonetheless on this section of our forum we make a point of reiterating and emphasizing salient topic statements pertaining to certain subject matter.Here,we wish to repeat distinguishing aspects about grace.
One aspect we would like to highlight is the difference between mere natural act or mere display of a gift of talent and an actual manifestation of an act of grace from God.
One substantial difference between the two is that an act of grace is ultimately bound to be a good thing for an individual involved. Whereas its opposite, evenif it might show some seeming good doesn't really end up a good thing for the individual involved.
Another major difference between a working of grace and a mere natural or talent application is the "unction" characteristic or effect of grace in contrast to the mere natural act's self-serving and vain characteristic and effect. The former is humbly touching and edifying, while the latter is a pompously (at times, irritantly)show-off action.
Saint Paul's definition of charity describe activities and events of grace; whereas acts and behaving that do not fit his definition of charity most often aptly fit many a wasted natural actions, no matter how astounding performances they actually are!
Delightful enjoyment of pure art, however, has to be an effect of grace as in appreciation for real music. In so far as music leads someone to the admiration of the ultimate source of inspiration for great masterpieces, namely THE CREATOR, this manner of spiritual indulgence has to be an indulgence with grace. This is, however, diametrically opposed to the worldly sensuality and material consumerism, where the indulgence leads nowhere but to selfish narcissistic seeking of pleasure for itself.
Our Chapter on God's blessings also touched on the legitimate gifts of grace.
My Next Guidepost: The Blessings when celebrating Christ the King:
And when we’re celebrating the Feast of Christ, the King, all the heavens and the earth rejoice. How resounding the songs of praises and alleluia above and on the earth! Christ, the King! Christ, the Lord of Glory! He promises to share the glory to all who now believe! And so we could all join the Angels and the Saints and shout in joy, "Hail, Christ! Our King!"
My Next Guidepost: Invoking Christ’s Spirit of Sacrifice by the faithful:
With, and in the Spirit of Christ's sacrifice people in time have been sacrificial!
Through the history of the Church, or of the world people have become part and parcel of the one LAMB sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ for the edification of the Body of Christ, its Church members/believers of justice & love, and ultimately on behalf of the people's individual salvation. In those events we have been blessed with leaders who were expediently instrumental heading the people at turning things around precisely in the name of justice and sacrifice. But the magnitude of the people sacrifices can not but manifest to us the working of the Holy Spirit at making the people carry themselves through at such demanding and scary moments of individual and collective offering of themselves for the cause of justice for themselves and for the world. Recall the sacrifices of the very first christian believers who in testimony for the faith resigned themselves to being fed to the lions on account of the persecutions by the Roman Empire. Recall the holocaust of the Jews who were special victims singled out by Hitler. Recall further the toll of World War II both in Europe and in Asia. Then in the present milieu, let us call to mind the victims of abortion, and of terrorism worldwide.
In compassion for the above, and in sacrificial wreckoning of the value of christian suffering, self-denial, and opting for the new life in Christ individually and personally we are not to be perplexed and be too scared when ordeals and misfortune finally come our way. In the first place it is God who bears us through them, and in the second place they are only a rite of passage to the ultimate peace and refuge with God in the heavens.
My Next Guidepost of holy suffering: Unsollicited suffering, even persecution, being not a disgrace but an unseen moment of glory!
Christ is not the world, and the world is not Christ! Jesus has declared this fact. Christ said the world shall hate us because it already hated him. We have discussed this under the chapter Kingdom of the World. We also touched on this aspect in the chapter on the Call to the Kingdom, the Call to Holiness. The chapter on Suffering also adds some explanation on this issue. And essentially the issue is this: that the world per se, or all people of the world or the whole human race for that matter is condemned. Sin characterizes worldly or human living. But Christ is the opposite of sin: he is total virtue or HOLINESS HIMSELF. People could take side with Christ. Hence they must disavow the natural attachments and the total concupiscence of the human flesh or human nature, and must radically turn upside down towards a following of the God-man Jesus with an unambiguous commitment and fidelity to His teachings. But unless they do they remain "of the world". But those that do cease identity with the world they get incorporated with the God-man Jesus. Together with Jesus this 'body' of 'radicals' form what is called the Kingdom of God on earth. They contrast with what we have referred to as the Kingdom of the World. Our thematic treatments of each kingdom elaborate what characterize belonging to either of the kingdoms.
However, our emphatic point here is the obvious and irreconcilable difference between the world and Christ or what Christ stands for. We have discussed the many, fundamental, and profound differences between the two. On this occasion we want to single out one very specific and disturbing difference between Christ and the world regarding an aspect of living in the world. And it is this. In the eyes of the world all suffering and abjectness, albeit poverty, ugliness, vulnerableness, pain, losses, sicknesses, death, unfair treatment, persecution, and oppression are bad, dishonorable, and despicable. But to Christ the above are not necessarily evil, and undesirable. On the contrary, all of the above when brought unto man unsollicited, or when thrown him/her unjustly and maliciously are meritorious salvific participations with Christ's redemptive and holy act of love sacrifice. In plain language, suffering under the above context, not self caused or sought, is not a disgrace. On the contrary, to borrow a contemporary language, they are defining moments of grace. These are the stuff that make the saints. Christ's justice consists in his passion, and death, and then in his resurrection, ascencion into.., and sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Similarly, Christ's followers' justice consist in their kind of self-denial and taking up of the cross, and later reward of a heavenly mansion in heaven. It is the Holy Spirit that reveals Christ's glorious eternal or time-less justice. It is the same Holy Spirit that assures and manifests the Saint's temporal but eternal destiny of an ontological vindication of justice fulfilled in the heavens but already initiated on earth through the lifestyle of grace. A classic example is St Stephen. He was being stoned/murdered yet simultaneously he was already seeing and experiencing the glory of heaven. The saints point us to their dark nights of the soul experience out of which they emerged ever spiritually and physically refreshed. And for ordinary believers it is that unflailing feeling of assurance in the midst of "life's valleys of death" of being in the hands of God. A good deed now, by an act of grace, is in eternity already an un-erasable heavenly recompense. We just have to see not with our human eyes but with our eyes of faith!
My Next Guidepost, The Promise of Human Resurrection through Christ: The "citizens" of the Kingdom of God, including those in the world, shall live forever!
Empires have been there, and have gone away. Countries and governments have lorded it over, and then have crumbled. Generals, Kings, and Dictators have risen and have faded. Even civilization had been through different forms and varieties only to suffer through cycles of glory and decay.
But the faith and the Kingdom, the Church, begun by the Son of God Jesus Christ has stayed, survived, and shall continue to flourish in the midst of non-stop attacks and rejection by forces of the world and of the underworld. Let believers and followers do not dismay, and be disheartened! Their destiny is certain: the promise of the heavenly mansions; but not for the worldly people. Their's shall be in vain! Their one-time generation of glory or success is only that, a one time thing, and then gone and no more! Unless they convert away from their denial of the Sovereign Lordship of God their destiny fate is only short-lived, temporal, and albeit only materialistic. Onward, thus, christian soldiers!
My Last Guidepost: "Fundamental Option: orientation to the Divine, not to the worldly!"
We perform on our jobs. We assume responsibility for our families. We maintain an equilibrium for our physical and social needs, eg. enough hobbies & sufficient civic involvement. And we stay within the bounds of the natural and the rational. But basic as these demands are on us, our fundamental option is to be primarily oriented towards our Creator and Father consciousness. Ie. Within the limits of our condition as created human beings we try to always pay attention to the Divine mandates and exhortations. Whether concerning our needs or aspirations, our guideline criterion for planning and action should always be what God requires of us more than what we or others expect of us. As active, involved, clever, and prudent citizens of the world we must be ardent and indefatigable as children of God, more than as subjects of this world. Inclusively, however, when we are faithful to the injunctions of the Lord, we ultimately and practically fulfill our fidelity to our social and earthly obligations. But if we start looking first "horizontally" than "vertically" that's when our priorities get screwed up, when compromises get to surface often, and when we end up into more problems and troubles. When we try to be all things to all people by our natural abilities and means, that's also when we find ourselves in more pressures and in more upsetting situations and consequences. Then we inevitably realize our finiteness and awkwardness. But with the fundamental option, God first over everything, because of grace, we discover life's little miracles and wonders of modest accomplishments.
My above suggested primers do not constitute a maximum admonition about how to live the Christian life. Like indicated throughout, the above only aim to guide a serious believer. But surely and truly God himself by the Holy Spirit will unfold to the believers unfathomable riches in the ways of following of Christ in our journey of salvation with him.