Chapter 9: 1979 — A Year of Growth

We Christians are so fortunate; the possibility of stepping through the Door who is Jesus to come to know the Father exists for all of us. Our Lord’s coming into the world has offered us access to and attunement with the Father through His Son. Unfortunately, many situations prevent this from happening, the most important of which are sin, and holding on to the possessions of the world.

When we desire to meet the Lord in our innermost being and yet we are in sin, attunement will not occur because the sin acts as a barrier. In such a state of disorder brought about by sin, our conscience will prevent such attunement. We are then unable to intimately meet, mingle and fuse with Him who is All Good. Hence we learn that engagement in union with God demands the absence of sin and its accompanying guilt.

But what about those who selfishly hold on to the possessions of the world?

This too acts as a deterrent to attunement, to entering the Kingdom. A lesson addressing such a situation is presented to us in Mark 10:23: “Jesus looked round and said to His disciples, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God.’”

When we first read that passage, it appears as though the Lord is speaking only to those who possess great wealth. Yet His words are also intended for those who have few or no assets, because in reality it is individual character that is made manifest in our attitude toward holding on to riches. The man who, in a miserly fashion, holds on to his Earthly treasure amounting to ten dollars is just as guilty of the sin of selfish hoarding as is the millionaire. Each has allowed a possession of this world to take possess of them. They both allowed their wealth to become all important, to smother their innate desire to become attuned to God.

To rectify such a situation, our individual characters must be altered; they need to correspond to that of our Model, Jesus. As we have learned from Him, a charitable act must be rooted in the heart. Engaging in the act merely for the show of stacking up good works will not affect our characters to in turn contribute to the transformation of our souls. Ideally, this necessary metamorphose is set into motion when we enter into an act of charity because of the love and compassion we have for our fellow man. Love is to be seen as the basis for the act; its presence will affect our characters and change our hearts.

To help each of us discern our own character, it is necessary for us to stand back and objectively judge the motives, as well as the fruits, of our actions. After all, God knows the innermost secrets of our hearts; we can neither hide from ourselves or from God. Consequently, the fruits and motives of our actions will reveal our true characters to us, which are already known to God Our Creator.

Yes, salvation has been won for us by Jesus Christ, and yes, we need the symbols, sacraments, and particular devotions of our faith, which are intended to lead us into and help us remain in relationship with God. Certainly their purpose is to transmit the Lord’s blessings and graces upon us, so that we are strengthened to participate in our souls’ transformation. Consequently, in light of those truths, it is the responsibility of our Church leaders to discern and investigate each of these avenues so that they do not become an end in themselves, but instead fulfill their intended goal.

In instances where the means have become an end, these rituals are to be seen as dead works, which serve merely to placate our external being, because they fail to initiate internal action which will affect change and transformation. Engagement in these acts is nothing more than a show of religious piety.

Proper teaching is necessary for God’s People to be enlightened to the truth and purpose of the particular action or sacrament in which they are partaking. The faithful should not be led to believe that the sacrament is a miraculous blanket which works independently of the individual’s participation. Instead, the means is to be seen as a tool to pass along God’s grace as well as to initiate interaction with Him. In effect, we take advantage of God’s grace through the intercession of our priests, but only if we fully participate. When we are alerted to the truth, salvation is ours, because of and through the sacrifice of Jesus. God’s love is clearly expressed in the sacrifice of His Son on the cross.