Conformity to the Image of Christ as spiritual perfection

In the Office of Readings for today, there is a wonderful reflection by St Gregory of Nyssa on Christian Perfection. He uses 3 images to help illustrate his point - a pearl, pure stream and stamp. 

It is important to note that in patristic terminology the word “passions” refers to disordered desires, and so has a negative meaning. This is different from our modern understanding of being “passionate” as something that is positive. 

All of us by virtue of our baptism are conformed to Christ. We are recreated in His Image, and sealed by the Holy Spirit in Confirmation. This is the foundation of our entire spiritual life as Christians, and it gives us the grace needed in our life as we follow Christ. St Gregory reminds us that our following Christ must be in our thoughts, words and deeds. All 3 are necessary. 

The more that we confirm our thoughts, words and deeds/actions to Christ then as we progress spiritually Christ will be made manifest in our life. We will begin to reflect Him to others, the light of Christ shining through us helping other people to encounter Him through the beauty of our holiness. This beauty of God that shines through us attracts others to God and draws them into relationship to the most Holy Trinity.  This is not our own doing, but instead it is the work of the Trinity in us through our identity in Christ and our continual conformity to His Image that we bear through the life of grace.

The Spirituality of a solitary bird

I was reading through the Maxims of St John of the Cross today, and out of the different quotes that spoke to me - this particular one stood out. Partially because of the detail it has compared to his other maxims, but also for recognising the importance of understanding it correctly in context. 

It can be easy to read this, and then have some pious romantic and idealistic ideas of what it means to be “contemplative” and to try to act aloof to the world and people around us. But this would be to misinterpret him. 

The analogy of a bird is one he uses more than once. It symbolising rising up to God and being free, without being weighed down or constrained by attachments. So the emphasis in this quote below would be to start with the premise of the foundation of the spiritual life singing sweetly in the presence of the Beloved. Only from this starting point do the other points make sense and can be understood correctly from a theological viewpoint without misunderstanding. 

The focus for St John of the Cross is always only for God in all things, and so by always being attentive to God and focused on His loving presence - that is how you are able to remain in your ordinary day to day life, fulfilling your duties and being charitable to all those around you. But without heing held captive to people or things, and so there is never a moment or situation in which you cannot contemplate God or sing sweetly of his loving presence when that is your primary focus. Authentic Catholic spirituality is not escapism, but rather love of God and neighbour are always interchangeable and never mutually exclusive.

The life giving Mystery of Faith in the Eucharist

Today we celebrate the wonderful, awe inspiring and incredible Solemnity of Corpus Christ! This is the feast day where we liturgically celebrate and focus on the mystery of the Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. 

In honour of today, I have been reading through the not very well known Encyclical Mysterium Fidei of Pope St Paul VI. He wrote this in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council when people were trying to distort the liturgical reforms of the Council, as an excuse to promote error and heresy regarding the Church’s fundamental belief of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. 

Without getting into discussions on the failure or distortion of the liturgical reforms, and steering clear of the liturgical wars - we can take time to appreciate the beauty of doctrine explained in this Encyclical by Pope Paul VI. He focuses on the following : 

• The Liturgy is the lived expression of the faith of the Church, handed on by the Apostles who received it directly from Christ, where the Mystery of the Faith is re-presented throughout time 
• The Sacrifice of the Mass is the offering of the entire People of God in the Church, through the hands of Priests 
• The Mass as the one Sacrifice of Christ when celebrated and offered continues the salvation of the world, because it is the work of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross applied anew everyday
• No matter when or where Priests offer the Sacrifice of the Mass, it is always a public liturgical act of the entire Church and contributes to the redemption and sanctification of all the members of the Church - and the entire world
• In the Eucharist, there is a union between Sacrifice and Sacrament that is unique from all other forms of symbolism and sacramentality. The Sacrifice of Christ and the Sacrifice of the Eucharist are inseparable, because they are one and the same mystery 
• The wonderful mystery of the Presence of Christ is a mystery of love, and also a mystery of faith that continues throughout the history of the Church
• The fullest and most real expression of the Presence of Christ as Emmanuel (God with us) is fulfilled and perpetually present in the Church in the Blessed Sacrament - the sacred species consecrated in the Sacrifice of the Eucharist
• The Church’s perennial understanding and explanation of this mystery uses the term “transubstantiation” which was defined by the Council of Trent. As the dogmatic and historical expression of the faith of the Church, the term transubstantiation cannot be changed or redefined
• The miraculously and mysterious reality of the Real Presence of Christ in the bread and wine in the Sacrifice of the Mass, is a unique and wonderful new reality that mysteriously changes thee bread and wine through substantiation into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ who himself instituted the Eucharist as a perpetual memorial of his very self