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"Always be ready to make your defence to anyone who demands of you an accounting for the hope that is in you, yet do it-with gentleness and reverence."(Peter3:15)
After "falling off my perch", as a friend referred to my heart attack in March, there has been a delay in writing this issue of Credo. However, my mind being unaffected (I think), I have been thinking very much about the relationship between our baptismal calling/vocation and its purpose. It is amazing how a threat to one's life on earth strips away all those things that we think are important and our faith and beliefs are brought into sharper focus. It is not that we do not think about our Catholic faith during our hectic lives but the 'business' of modern life can tend to blur our vision of our Christian calling.
The question that keeps coming to my mind is of the most fundamental importance to our Christian vision and consequently for our Christian motivation: "What is it all for ?" This may sound strange for me to say but, if we really think about it, whatever we do as Catholic Christians is directed to the answer to that question. If our focus on what Our Lord is calling us to be is not clear at all, our motivation is weak and our actions can be misdirected. What is alarming, is that one of the consequences of this lack of clear Christian vision, of what it is all for, is the danger of becoming one of what the author of the Letter to the Hebrews calls the "parapesontas" i.e. those that have fallen away (6:6). The 'antidote' to this ever present danger is Our Lord's call for each one of us to become 'holy', to become one of the "saints" (ICor. 1:2). This is our Christian focus and vision, this is what it is all for. However, the meaning of what it means for us to become holy, to become "saints" has become obscured by the growth of the idea that only certain persons are called by God to become "saints". At the same time, the promotion of a certain life-style, personality and spirituality, as well as extraordinary powers, as being requisite for becoming a 'saint', has not been exactly helpful in acquiring a true vision of every Christian's baptismal vocation.
So, what does it mean for us to become "holy", to become "saints" ? Are we put off the idea by some of the stories we have read, or by the official process of what, erroneously, is called "making a saint" ? Do both of these contribute to the common opinion that we have to be a 'superman' or 'superwoman' to become a saint, making sainthood virtually unobtainable for the majority of the People of God?
In the many books on the lives of the saints, the stories can sometimes be off-putting because of the exaggerated expressions used, to the point of making their particular example of sainthood irrelevant to our own lives. In this issue I hope to be able to answer the above questions by keeping the focus of our baptismal calling on the restoration of the image of God in its true context of our human experience. The truth about the lives of those 'declared' saints, as wonderful examples of the effects of their communion with Our Lord, should be an inspiration for us to see that the same is possible for us.
In the New Testament, particularly in the letters to the churches, there are two Greek words which are used to signify the dramatic change in the relationship with God of those who have turned away from a sinful life to one of communion with Him. The first, the "hagioi", means 'the holy' and is often used to signify the members of the first Christian communities and is often translated into English as the "saints" i.e. those that have been sanctified, made 'holy' by their Christian baptism. Already, we can see that the use of the term "saints" in English, in this early context, is not the same as its later use in describing those who, because of their heroic faith and virtue, are declared to be among the "saints" in Heaven.
The second word, or rather two words, the "adelphoi hagioi" meaning "holy brethren", (e.g. Hebrews 3:1) are used to describe those who receive and live the Gospel. The words are much more expressive of their special relationship with God because they are "partakers of Christ" (Heb.3:14). There is no suggestion here that the "holy brethren" or "saints" are designated as such only when they enter Heaven. The teaching of the New Testament is quite clear - through our conversion (metanoia) and our baptism into Christ we become "partakers of Christ" and therefore his "holy" brothers and sisters. We are "holy" through that consecrated communion with the Son of God.
What about all those who have been declared "saints" by the Church ?
This is where a certain amount of confusion over terminology has entered into the experience of the Church in using the same word for two different but related New Testament teachings. Holiness and sanctity in the early Church meant more or less the same consecrated state of all baptised Christians because of their baptismal relationship with Our Lord. However, as the Church grew and developed its understanding of itself and its mission, drawing more and more light from the truths of the Gospel, it became clear that the Christian's path to Heaven was not an easy one, and we could easily lose our way through sin and human weakness. Our baptismal commitment could be lost or even given up. Those who persevered, whose lives were exemplary in following the Gospel, very often in heroic circumstances, were declared "saints" by the universal Church for the edification and the building-up of the Body of Christ. In other words, they became 'standard-bearers' of the Gospel for the lives of all Christians, to inspire them by their example. They were also 'signs' for the whole Church that it was indeed possible that everyone could follow Christ into Heaven through that "more excellent way" of love of God and love of neighbour.(lCor.12)
Have we ceased to be "saints", as in the New Testament, because of the same term being used for those whose lives have been held up as exemplars of Christian holiness ? The answer to this can only be explained if different terminology is used for each designated state. However, it is helpful to look at the New Testament again to see how the authors described the Christian's path to Heaven.
Throughout the Scriptures there are references to the "perfection" of our human lives. This concept moves from the idea of 'blamelessness' and 'righteousness' in the Old Testament to the notion of 'perfection' in the sense of human fulfillment in the New Testament. For example, in the sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48) The Greek word used by the author of Matthew is "teleios" which conveys the idea of being brought to completion, fulfilment and full development. In the context of Jesus teachings, it is the fruit and the full flowering of the virtues of faith, hope and love.
It is perfection understood as this human completeness and fulfilment, exemplified in the person of Jesus, which is the goal for all Christians. Those whose lives are Christ-like through human effort and the gracious help of God, persevering unto death, are described today as "saints", having reached that human fulfilment for which we were all destined.
So, in order to steer clear of the confusion, it is better to use the scriptural term "holy brethren" which designates all Christians who remain 'baptised into Christ', and the term "saints" be applied to those exemplars of human fulfillment in Christ, as has been the tradition of the Church. However, there are many whose lives are one with Christ but are not officially declared as "saints" as example and ^inspiration for all, yet they are "saints" in the sense of their life of discipleship.
One of the reasons why the idea of each of us becoming a "saint" is very often regarded as a Fanciful notion is that it appears to have been portrayed as a state over and above our human nature. It is as though we have to be more than mere human beings, to somehow be in a certain 'divine' state whereby our humanity is de-humanised in the process.
In different degrees, this idea is not only the result of the way some of the stories of saints has been passed down to us, but has also a link with an early heresy called Manichaeism. This very influential movement of the 3rd century was founded on a radical dualism in which there were two great forces, of Good (God, truth and light) and Evil identified with all matter. This meant that matter, which included the body, was intrinsically evil and we need to withdraw from its contamination by a life of asceticism. Elements of this heresy have survived in Christian thought even until today.
The Fathers of the Church, through the teachings of the Scriptures, resisted this idea that the physical side of our human nature was essentially evil. Our humanity was created in the "image of God", not just in our soul but in the integrity of the whole human person. Yes, that "image" was tarnished by the pride of the first sin of our original parents, but Our Lord has restored that image in his own humanity by his death and resurrection. This means that through our union, our solidarity, with Our Lord we also have the opportunity for our own human nature, body and soul, to be restored to its fullness of that image. Our human nature was created for that intimate union with God. To be perfectly 'human' means to be able to find perfect human happiness and fulfilment only in and because o/that created relationship.
There are three particular concepts which the Fathers of the Church used to describe what happens when we give ourselves totally to Our Lord. These have come down to us through the centuries in the many teachings of the Church and they tell us how the grace of God (charis) in the gift of his Holy Spirit empowers our human nature to be truly free to reach that fullness of that "image of God". We become what the Church calls "saints".
The first two concepts "incorporation" and "communion" are closely related and intertwined. It is in our communion, our union with Our Lord, in the integrity of body, mind and soul, that we are incorporated into his own body, mind and soul. We are brought into such a close union with him that we become one with him and there is an interchange of heart and mind, of love and truth. This is not a passive union on our part, as though Our Lord's loving actions do not require a response from us. A loving union is a two-way relationship whereby we also show our love for Our Lord by our love for our neighbour. In this way, by being close to Our Lord in mind, heart and body, we become more like him, and therefore more fully human. In that communion we are responding to our Lord's loving gift of his Holy Spirit who in that indwelling empowers our spirit.
How do we know that we are in this union with Our Lord ? We know from our belief and faith in the person of Our Lord, "Lord, to whom shall we go ? 'You Have the words of eternal life. 'We Have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."(John 6:68).
We know from Our Lord's teachings that as "the bread of life" he is the food for that eternal life, in his word and in his body and blood of the Eucharist. (John 6). We know we are in union with him through the whole sacramental life of the Church. We know also that we are in union with him when we do God's will in our lives.
"Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in Heaven." (Matthew 7:21). We know because that is our faith, the faith of the Church, the Body of Christ.
The third concept used by the Fathers of the Church and part of the Church's understanding ever since, is one that we have to be very careful about. This is the notion of our 'divinisation'. It is important to be clear about this otherwise this concept of becoming like Our Lord, the Son of God, can descend into a pagan notion of us becoming 'gods'!
One of the early Fathers, St. Irenaeus (2nd C) wrote in his work "Against the Heresies" that it is vitally important to see that this 'divinising' action is in the sense of God dwelling in man so that man can dwell in God. He sets the concept of 'divinisation' firmly in the scriptural teachings on communion and incorporation. In this sense, divinisation is not the Hellenistic notion of man becoming a 'god' but is about man becoming more truly human by being filled with the life of God. This 'divinisation' of our present human nature is absolutely necessary and vital to restore its "image" of God, that perfect human state whereby we are truly free to have true human happiness and fulfilment.
That perfect human image of God is in the person of the resurrected Jesus Christ. His imperfect and unfulfilled humanity was brought to that perfection in the mystery of his death, resurrection and ascension into heaven. This is the reality of God's 'grace', his dynamic love in the gift of his Son and their Holy Spirit. It is not something which is given from an external source i.e. God-out-there, but is the presence of the divine in the very heart of our humanity, perfectly realised in the person Our Lord, "the 'Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did, through his transcendent love, become what we are, that he might bring us to be what he is himself." (St. Irenaeus "Against the Heresies" III 19).
Through this 'indwelling' of the divine life we become "partakers of Christ", to become like him. In this way only do we have access to Heaven, to that fulfilled life of true happiness and peace. But, this 'divinisation' is not fully realised until our own resurrection. Like Our Lord, whose resurrection could only be possible after he freely laid down his life, we also have to be subject to death in order for our new life, body and soul, be created in the mystery of our own resurrection.
If, as above, we do not reach that human fulfillment, that perfection (teleosis) until our own resurrection into new life, how can we be "saints" during our life-time ? We have seen that the essence of sanctity is being Christ-like, of being one of his true followers, true disciples. This is our free response to his call to holiness, that closest union in body, mind and soul that we can possibly have in our life on earth. This is the key to understanding how through and despite our imperfect and weakened human nature we can still live-out that call, but only with the help of Our Lord's indwelling in each one of us in the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Our 'sainthood', our sanctity, is nothing other than a life of loving obedience to Our Lord's commandment to love one another, "I give you a new commandment: love one another; you must love one another as I have loved you. It is by your love for one another that everyone will recognise you as my disciples."(John 13:34-35). It is not until we appreciate the implications of this commandment that we see how hard this is for our weakened human nature. The whole of Our Lord's teaching in the Scriptures stands on this "love" (agape), in our relationship with God and with each other. (e.g. Luke 6 &10)
In following Our Lord's example and word we are putting that love into action as best as we can, but knowing that we cannot do our best without Our Lord's help. We constantly fall short of the ideal disciple because of our present human weakness and tendency to put our own will before the will of God. But, it is in that weakness that we reach out for God and find Him in the indwelling of his Holy Spirit. We are then able to move on, to experience growth in becoming more Christ-like, yet still experiencing the difficulties of our present human nature. Our life grows into a life of 'sanctity', not yet perfect, but a life permeated with love of God and neighbour.
As the "Body of Christ" the Church on earth is the cradle and the cauldron of our sanctification. It is here that our Our Lord continues his mission through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Through baptism we are made his "holy brethren" and as such are called to a life of holiness. As members of his Body, as "branches of the true vine" we draw spiritual nourishment from the whole sacramental life, the life-blood of our sanctity. Whatever are our faults and weaknesses, our humanity is empowered to overcome them, even if it takes a lifetime of defeats and victories. What is important is that we persevere in our faith and in doing the will of God, "'You will need perseverance if you are to do God's will and gain what he has promised." (Hebrews 10:36) In this way, we become "saints" on earth in order to find fulfillment in Heaven.
*******************Quote of the month
"Since Christians an re-clothed in Christ Jesus and refreshed by his Spirit, they are "holy". They therefore have the ability to manifest this holiness and the responsibility to bear witness to it in all they do." (Pope John Paul II "Christifideles Laici" 16. 1988.)Brian Pointer BA(Div) MA(Theo)
Adult Christian Formation
St.Richard's Church
Chichester.