Final Part in Relationship with God: Union

Published by Published on

The last phase and goal of conversion is union. This phase is one in which our enemies lose their power over us. In the prior phases [1][2], and most viciously in the previous one, our enemies fight with great strength to prevent our coming to this state. As we reflect on the battle that is the Christian life, it is not like our enemies stop trying but it is that they begin losing effect, potency, control over us. At this moment in our relationship with God, our longing finds its path toward infinity, our love for others becomes boundless, God becomes our spouse, and we become living landmarks of the kingdom.

If you have ever been attached to something, you understand the unsatisfiable desire for more. When falling in love with God and beginning to live out of our spiritual marriage, we do not find our longing for God quenched but exponentially increased. Marriage is a physical sign of spiritual grace. However, this spiritual marriage lacks a physical dimension without the sacraments. Just as in human marriage, we long for that physical dimension and we do find it in the sacraments. Still, we truly desire to spend all our time with Him physically. Our relationship with others and constant attention in our hearts to God accomplish this. Of this, we cannot get enough for love moves us to be one with Him.

One's relationship with God (the Creator) is the template for all our relationships (with creation) (cf. 1 John 4). If we deny God's dignity then we not only deny it to others but also ourselves. Once we recognize the transformation Jesus brought to humanity in assuming it, we realize how literal the words he said were, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me."(Matthew 25:40). Sin destroyed the man; even the One who knew no sin. At this stage, we become greatly troubled by the conflict of interest between our corrupt "flesh" and our desire to be holy. If we sin, we damage our relationship with the Creator, and thereby not only with others but also with ourselves. It is the place of the saint to instantly seek healing from God and neighbor and to never fail in this effort. The saintly believe that we are prone to sin and even when we have the best intentions, we are not struck with surprise when we find our corruption expressing itself(cf. Matthew 15:11). Our interpersonal relationships do not always perfectly reflect that with our creator but how we act in them precipitates from our relationship with God. Thus, those relationships of faith in which all parties are vulnerable become very closely related to that we have with our Creator. In them, we see most clearly the life and love of God in His Creation. The closer we come to sainthood the greater our respect for that which He has created.

Growing in holiness, we become transformed as we will notice in our relationships with others and within ourselves. Virtue becomes an expression of the healing we experience within. This kind of transformation brings unity to the kingdom of God and the more we grow in this the more Christian we become i.e. Christ-like(cf. Colossians 2:6-19)[CCC, 460]. It is thus that calling ourselves Christian really means something. It is not just an affiliation but a transformation. As this transformation works in our lives, others begin to experience Christ in us something totally apart from this world (cf. John 14:27). Uniting divinity in our humanity we become one flesh with i.e. married to God; for such constitutes the mystical Body of Christ, the Church[CCC, 459]. "As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you" (Isaiah 62:5).

In conclusion, if we really wish to call ourselves Christian, our struggle against corruption should never cease. Through the consummation of conversion, we are joined in mind and heart to Christ, and He is made flesh, made present, and thus lives through us. What shall disturb our peace? What shall keep us from God? Who shall we love more? What is our priority? No aspect of life is left unchanged or called into question in marriage. How much more is it with the Spouse of Benevolence par excellence. In all things, Christ is with us and in us, everything we do becomes an act of love for Him. In Him, chastity is the greatest consummation, poverty the greatest wealth, and obedience the most joyous freedom. Not feeling happy? Why do we restrain ourselves from living His love, or rather what restrains us?

I longed all night, (when I was visible) for dawn my death:
When I would marry day, my Holy Spirit:
And die by transsubstantiation into light.

For light, my lover, steals my life in secret.
I vanish into day, and leave no shadow
But the geometry of my cross,
Whose frame and structure are the strength
By which I die, but only to the earth,
And am uplifted to the sky my life.

When I became the substance of my lover,
(Being obedient, sinless glass)
I love all things that need my lover's life,
I am a Theology major attending Holy Apostles College and Seminary. I am a Knight of Columbus and a Newman Ambassador for Pius XII Newman Center.

Most Viewed Posts

Psychological Therapies and Catholic Anthropology: A Comparative Analysis

Published by Published on
Image
Psychological therapy often faces stigma, to the point are some people are skeptical about its value or concerned it contradicts their faith. However, therapy is a powerful tool for addressing mental and emotional struggles, offering healing that goes beyond just the mind. While secular therapies, such as Freud's psychoanalysis, Adlerian therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy, can provide practical solutions, they often do not fully align with the Christian understanding of the human person. Catholic anthropology, which views humanity as a unified being of body, soul, and spirit in relationship with God, provides a more complete framework for healing. Secular therapies may help with emotional pain, but they typically overlook the spiritual and redemptive dimensions of human life. True healing, from a Catholic perspective, involves recognizing both our current struggles and our ultimate destination in communion with God. As Scripture teaches, authentic freedom is intertwined with...
Click Here to Continue Reading This Post

Law & Virtue: Freedom Refined for True Goodness

Published by Published on
Image
The Seven Virtues, Piero and Antonio Pollaiuolo and Botticelli Depicted from left-to-right: Fortitude ~ Temperance ~ Faith ~ Charity ~ Hope ~ Justice ~ Prudence If you have ever observed a significant amount of rhetoric on any contentious issue, then you would have observed an attempt to frame an objective reality subjectively, some ad hominem attacks, and even some conclusions/premises posed without evidence. This comes largely from the cultural inability to either form arguments or a disbelief in objective reality. However, more fundamentally, there is hardly ever a common definition of freedom. What is freedom, and do we have it? True freedom is the aspect of rational man to choose the good (according to the nature of a thing, in that it is some way desirable and that it has its essence in completeness or in that an action contributes or derives from the completeness of an act, thus an act not completely good is evil and it correspond to an imperfection in the actor and lacks being ...
Click Here to Continue Reading This Post

The Deeply Biblical Celebration: Part 1-The Start of Mass

Published by Published on
Image
The Mass is as old as the Eucharist itself. Extending back arguably to the feeding of the thousands, but definitely and sacramentally, to the Last Supper which is intimately united with Our Lord's Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Therefore/Thereby, the Mass is not only Biblical but is a living and perpetual extenuating of the essential/substantial nature of what scripture is and does. The next few posts will discuss not only the significance of the parts of the Mass and the words they use but also their intensely Biblical roots. In this post, let us look specifically at the first parts of the Mass. The Introductory Rites, as we call them, draw us to be one i.e the One Church, but most importantly one with God, and this movement is deeply scriptural. NOTE: the point of posts like this is to give you a guide to enter in Biblically into this mystery not so much to reveal a mystery but point toward it in a way that will allow the reader to be able to intentionally enter into it in a n...
Click Here to Continue Reading This Post