Often people share with us the joy of their spiritual experiences with God. It always sounds so wonderful. But little do we hear about how do you reach that level, because let's face it: spiritual life is hard. Today, I would like to share with you what is considered the ultimate key to a true spiritual life.
Welcome to answers from an apostolic faith.
In name of the Father and Son, the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.
Spiritual life is difficult, but it wasn't originally designed to be that way. When God created humanity, in their pre-fallen condition, humans were spiritual bodies, if you will, meaning we had a body, soul and spirit, but the three were led by the spirit. After the fall however, death and corruption took over and now humanity was led by the struggles of the body.
Today, this means that not praying is easier than praying. Being lazy is easier than being active. It is easier to sin than not to. However, this human condition has been redeemed by God through the... His salvific work and will entirely be recreated again in heaven when God brings us back to our former condition and more.
But let us not forget that this process of recreation has already started and God gave us the necessary tools to participate in that recreated condition while we are still on earth. And that is precisely what we are trying to accomplish here and now, but it is not easy! So, what is the ultimate key to spiritual life? Let me give you the answer through a biblical contemplation.
In Mark 9, our Lord Jesus told the people and the disciples:
'' 1 (...) Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.'' (Mark 9:1)
Then approximately a week later, He was transfigured on Mount Tabor in front of St. Peter, St. John and St. James. Notice the details of this transfiguration. First, Christ appears in His glory. St. Matthew says that the Lord's face shone like the sun and His clothes was white as light. St. Mark says His clothes became exceedingly white and shining like snow, such as no launderer can whiten them. St. Jerome says that Christ's body, at that point, became a spiritual body.
It is clear that these three disciples saw Christ, the God-man, in His glorified state. In addition, St. Matthew says that a bright cloud overshadowed them, which is an Old Testament reference
to the presence of God represented by a pillar of cloud on top of the ark. Also, the voice of the Father was heard, saying:
'' 17 (...) This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!'' (Matthew 17:5)
And suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared.
So, what is all this about? First, the disciples encountered the Christ in His glorified form and heard the voice of the Father. This is an allusion to the Trinitarian fellowship we will enjoy with God in heaven. Second, that fellowship is extended to the living saints, represented here by Elijah and Moses. So, although Elijah and Moses were dead in the body hundreds of years before, they are always alive in the spirit.
Also, the mountain represents the Church. There are many Old Testament references that depict the Church as a mountain. Isaiah chapter 2, verses 2 and 3 is one example. This is a message that within the Church, although on earth, the kingdom of God is accessible. Fellowship with the Holy Trinity and the heavenly Church is possible.
However, as Christ was being transfigured, at the same time at the bottom of the mountain, the other remaining disciples could not cast out a demon from a child. Although there was much glory and power on that mountain, there was weakness and lack of faith at its bottom.
So, the question becomes: How do we experience what the three disciples lived on top of the mountain? And the answer is: we need to climb that mountain with Christ as they did. And climbing requires real struggle. The ultimate key to spiritual life is perseverance. We cannot remain at the bottom of the mountain and expect to experience unity with God.
As we know, the kingdom of God is mainly about unity with God. To attain that fellowship and to enjoy its fruit, perseverance is required in two aspects of our spiritual lives. First in our spiritual canon, which includes our liturgies, prayers, etc. These are the positive aspects of our unity with God. And second, perseverance against what disconnects us from God, which is sin.
This could be also termed as consecration, not as monastics or clergy, but consecration of the soul, consecration of the senses. Let me give you a tangible example. This binary graph represents one month. So, we have ones and zeros. The ones mean that we achieved our day's purpose of whether completing our spiritual canon and/or not falling in sin. The zeros, of course, mean that we failed in our struggle that specific day.
The idea is simple. It is guaranteed that, on certain days, we will fail. We are humans after all. We are currently being led by the body. But when we fail one day, we ought to get back up and continue in our perseverance in prayer and consecration. However, when we fail to
get back up, our spiritual graph, if you will, looks like this. And that's a conservative one. More often than not, it's worse.
But imagine if we take the first graph, which, again, represents a month, and multiply it by twelve. And the same with the second one. Do you think that at the end of the year that person A, represented by the first graph, and person B, represented by the second graph, have the same unity with God? Of course not. Multiply that one year by five or ten... you get to the point.
Before someone starts experiencing the true spiritual joy of God, not just some earthly emotions, this person needs to persevere till he or she gets high up that spiritual mountain. So, the first point we ought to realize is that although we rightly aim not to fall, we will eventually fall. But we need to get back up. St. John Chrysostom says the following:
''When the arrogant falls, he feels surprised, regrets and loses hope, yet the humble person knows his weakness, is not surprised by an action or behaviour, but regrets with fresh hope in the mercy of the Infinite.'' (St. John Chrysostom)
So, when we fall and the devil creeps in to remind us of our unworthiness and incapability, we simply shut him down and with perseverance, hope in the mercy of God who is waiting with open arms. St. John Chrysostom also says:
''The fall of man is not a cause for sadness but rather, lingering long in the fall... to make a mistake is a human weakness, but to continue in sin, it is no longer a human matter, but diabolical.'' (St. John Chrysostom)
So, there is a huge difference between falling and persisting in the fall. The first is inevitable, the latter is deadly. In his famous Screwtape Letters novel, C.S. Lewis expounded on an important spiritual reality. The book is written as a series of fictional letters from a senior demon named Screwtape to his nephew, who is a junior tempter, and called Wormwood. Although the letters and characters are fictional, the novel describes true spiritual realities. In this book, Screwtape writes to Wormwood the following:
''The only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing (...) Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one ─ the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.'' (C.S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters, Letter XII, last paragraph)
Often people are so cautious when it comes to big sins, but lack awareness and perseverance when it comes to the smaller ones. Ultimately, that has disastrous effects on the person's
spiritual life. The safest road to hell is the gradual and comfortable one. Perseverance, therefore, is a must. Persevere and be patient and you will be transformed, guaranteed.
Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this video, please like and share it to spread God's word. Don't forget to subscribe and turn on your notification to not miss another video.
Remember: Know your faith, live your faith, and teach your faith.