THIS is a task we have to do,
obviously with God’s grace.
But I wonder if many people are aware of it, and if they are, if they
are really dead serious in carrying out that duty.
Restoring our divine image, of course, presumes that we
have been made in the image and likeness of God, a fact that was
distorted and corrupted by our sin. It’s a truth of faith that somehow
expresses itself in our innate desire for what is true, good, simple
and beautiful.
In spite of our wretchedness, we are at bottom a religious
being. We are always looking for a god, if not explicitly, then
implicitly. The history of man bears witness to this fact irrespective
of the complicated twists and turns.
The restoration work, for sure, is a joint effort between
God and us. On God’s part, everything has been done to make it
possible. In a sense, he has supplied us with the plans, the
materials, the strength, and the other resources we need.
In fact, he gives himself to us. If we only realize the
power and effectiveness of God’s word, the sacraments and the Church
herself, then we would have no doubt that God is constantly with us
and intervening in our life. The meaning of Easter and Pentecost
highlight this truth.
Things now depend on us, on whether, first of all, we are
aware of this duty, and then on whether we decide to pick up the task.
That’s why, for those who already know and are convinced, there’s
always a need for apostolic work, for catechesis and evangelization.
Let’s hope that all this gets going all the time.
The task of restoring our divine image is a matter, first
of all, of faith. Without it, then we would not know what to do next.
But with it, we would soon realize that the task involves constant
docility to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, prayer, and the love
for sacrifice.
We need to be docile to the Holy Spirit who is actually
guiding and leading us all the time to our real end. He never
withdraws from us. But we have to realize also that to be more able to
discern his promptings, we should be familiar with the teachings of
Christ and now the Church.
Constant study of the doctrine of our faith is a must. We
should never take this for granted, thinking that with our common
sense and with our occasional reading and reflection of God’s word, we
already would be properly enlightened. God’s doctrine contains a lot
of mysteries that require us to probe them always.
This study of the doctrine will help us build a sense of
beginning and end of our life. It will show us the pattern and
itinerary of our life as given to us by Christ himself. It will
reassure us that whatever happen in life, there is always a means to
bring us back to God.
That’s why we also need to pray. Prayer is our continuing
conversation with God. And while it usually touches on our daily
affairs and concerns, it is also the best occasion to plumb deep into
the God’s mysteries that are unavoidably entwined with our life.
We should really find time for it. That time will never be
a waste. Rather, prayer would be the best way to spend our time, since
it will give us a sense of direction, and fill us with the warm
presence of God. Whatever happens, we can manage to remain at peace,
with joy to boot.
But we should neither forget that restoring our divine
image necessarily involves the cross. It cannot be helped, because
that’s how the ball bounces, given our nature and dignity as free and
intelligent beings whose choices and decision have consequences that
we cannot avoid.
Yet we know that Christ took away the poison of sin and
death through the cross, showing us that we can only conquer sin and
death, and thus restore our divine image, if we too choose to be with
Christ on the cross.
That’s what he said clearly. “Anyone who wishes to come
after me must deny himself, carry the cross and follow me.” We need to
overcome, with God’s grace, our natural fear for the cross, so that we
can escape from the bondage of sin and death.
The cross also trains our human nature to be open to our
supernatural goal of being with God. It does not destroy our nature.
It simply enables us restore our divine image.
But I wonder if many people are aware of it, and if they are, if they
are really dead serious in carrying out that duty.
Restoring our divine image, of course, presumes that we
have been made in the image and likeness of God, a fact that was
distorted and corrupted by our sin. It’s a truth of faith that somehow
expresses itself in our innate desire for what is true, good, simple
and beautiful.
In spite of our wretchedness, we are at bottom a religious
being. We are always looking for a god, if not explicitly, then
implicitly. The history of man bears witness to this fact irrespective
of the complicated twists and turns.
The restoration work, for sure, is a joint effort between
God and us. On God’s part, everything has been done to make it
possible. In a sense, he has supplied us with the plans, the
materials, the strength, and the other resources we need.
In fact, he gives himself to us. If we only realize the
power and effectiveness of God’s word, the sacraments and the Church
herself, then we would have no doubt that God is constantly with us
and intervening in our life. The meaning of Easter and Pentecost
highlight this truth.
Things now depend on us, on whether, first of all, we are
aware of this duty, and then on whether we decide to pick up the task.
That’s why, for those who already know and are convinced, there’s
always a need for apostolic work, for catechesis and evangelization.
Let’s hope that all this gets going all the time.
The task of restoring our divine image is a matter, first
of all, of faith. Without it, then we would not know what to do next.
But with it, we would soon realize that the task involves constant
docility to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, prayer, and the love
for sacrifice.
We need to be docile to the Holy Spirit who is actually
guiding and leading us all the time to our real end. He never
withdraws from us. But we have to realize also that to be more able to
discern his promptings, we should be familiar with the teachings of
Christ and now the Church.
Constant study of the doctrine of our faith is a must. We
should never take this for granted, thinking that with our common
sense and with our occasional reading and reflection of God’s word, we
already would be properly enlightened. God’s doctrine contains a lot
of mysteries that require us to probe them always.
This study of the doctrine will help us build a sense of
beginning and end of our life. It will show us the pattern and
itinerary of our life as given to us by Christ himself. It will
reassure us that whatever happen in life, there is always a means to
bring us back to God.
That’s why we also need to pray. Prayer is our continuing
conversation with God. And while it usually touches on our daily
affairs and concerns, it is also the best occasion to plumb deep into
the God’s mysteries that are unavoidably entwined with our life.
We should really find time for it. That time will never be
a waste. Rather, prayer would be the best way to spend our time, since
it will give us a sense of direction, and fill us with the warm
presence of God. Whatever happens, we can manage to remain at peace,
with joy to boot.
But we should neither forget that restoring our divine
image necessarily involves the cross. It cannot be helped, because
that’s how the ball bounces, given our nature and dignity as free and
intelligent beings whose choices and decision have consequences that
we cannot avoid.
Yet we know that Christ took away the poison of sin and
death through the cross, showing us that we can only conquer sin and
death, and thus restore our divine image, if we too choose to be with
Christ on the cross.
That’s what he said clearly. “Anyone who wishes to come
after me must deny himself, carry the cross and follow me.” We need to
overcome, with God’s grace, our natural fear for the cross, so that we
can escape from the bondage of sin and death.
The cross also trains our human nature to be open to our
supernatural goal of being with God. It does not destroy our nature.
It simply enables us restore our divine image.
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