Transformed by grace
This is the fifth of five blogs intended to help you to DISCOVER YOURSELF IN GOD. Press this link if you wish to start reading from the first blog.
As ‘Mary first conceived Christ in her mind and then in her womb’ (see Lumen Gentium, n. 53), the same happens to the person seeking God’s will.
First, the Word of God is conceived in one’s mind through a process of meditation, prayer, and contemplation; and then is incarnated into one’s own words and deeds due to a gift of Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:3; Romans 8:9).
The dynamics of this transformation of one’s mind into that of Christ, can be explained well by a metaphor of Saint John of the Cross, where he compares this process of union with Christ with the transformation of a piece of wood into the fire. He explains,
“Fire, when applied to wood, first dehumidifies it, dispelling all moisture and making it give off any water it contains. Then it gradually turns the wood black, makes it dark and ugly, and even causes it to emit a bad odour. By drying out the wood, the fire brings to light and expels all those ugly and dark accidents that are contrary to fire. Finally, by heating and enkindling it from without, the fire transforms the wood into itself and makes it as beautiful as it is itself.”
John of the Cross, The Dark Night, Book II, Chapter 10, n. 1.
Elsewhere the Saint further explains,
“Before the divine fire is introduced into the substance of the soul and united with it through perfect and complete purgation and purity, its flame, which is the Holy Spirit, wounds the soul by destroying and consuming the imperfections of its bad habits. And this is the work of the Holy Spirit, in which he disposes it for divine union and transformation in God through love. The very fire of love that afterward is united with the soul, glorifying it, is what previously assailed it by purging it, just as the fire that penetrates a log of wood is the same that first makes an assault on the wood, wounding it with the flame, drying it out, and stripping it of its unsightly qualities until it is so disposed that it can be penetrated and transformed into the fire.”
John of the Cross, The Living flame of Love, Stanza 1, n. 19.
“Fire, when applied to wood, first dehumidifies it, dispelling all moisture and making it give off any water it contains. Then it gradually turns the wood black, makes it dark and ugly, and even causes it to emit a bad odour. By drying out the wood, the fire brings to light and expels all those ugly and dark accidents that are contrary to fire. Finally, by heating and enkindling it from without, the fire transforms the wood into itself and makes it as beautiful as it is itself.”
John of the Cross, The Dark Night, Book II, Chapter 10, n. 1.
The same happens to the conformation of the mind to that of Christ.
When the person opens his or her mind and heart to scriptures and Church Teachings, it is like the log which is put near the fire.
And as that log, on its own, can do nothing to be turned into a flame except to remain near the fire: the same the person seeking God’s will, he or she can’t do nothing to directly conform one’s mind with that of Christ.
In order that one’s mind is transformed into that of Christ, one has to persist in staying in his presence through the study of Scriptures and other means, especially in the Eucharist.
By staying in the presence of the fire, the wood is first prepared for the union through a purification from all those things that are contrary to the fire. The same happens to us, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and through Christ’s influence, one experiences a gradual transformation from that which is not Christ. During this process of preparation of the log the wood is turned “black, makes it dark and ugly, and even causes it to emit a bad odour.”
Even the discerning person, during this process of transformation one, starts to see the ugliness of one’s own mentality conformed to this world: a mentality including, “fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these” (Galatians 5:19-21) compared to that of Christ, founded on “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Conscious of this difference, prompted and sustained by the Holy Spirit, the person “put[s] on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation” (1 Thessalonians 5:8) and prepares oneself to “fight the good fight of the faith” (1 Timothy 6:12) in order not to escape from that momentary frustration (black, dark, ugly, bad odour) which that the process of purification endorse.
Finally, the mystic continues to explain,
“Once transformed, the wood no longer has any activity or passivity of its own, except for its weight and its quantity that is denser than the fire. It possesses the properties and performs the actions of fire: It is dry and it dries; it is hot and it gives off heat; it is brilliant and it illumines; it is also much lighter in weight than before. It is the fire that produces all these properties in the wood.”
John of the Cross, The Dark Night, Book II, Chapter 10, n. 1.
The same happens to the person involved in discernment, once one’s mind is totally conformed with that of Christ, one would have no initiative of one’s own, but will be completely immersed in Christ, and Christ in him. At this stage, the person will be able only to say with Saint Paul, “it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).
“Once transformed, the wood no longer has any activity or passivity of its own, except for its weight and its quantity that is denser than the fire. It possesses the properties and performs the actions of fire: It is dry and it dries; it is hot and it gives off heat; it is brilliant and it illumines; it is also much lighter in weight than before. It is the fire that produces all these properties in the wood.”
John of the Cross, The Dark Night, Book II, Chapter 10, n. 1.
This was the last of 5 blogs intended to help you to DISCOVER YOURSELF IN GOD. Follow the links below to continue discovering God’s Call for you, and your proper response
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- how to overcome one’s past, negative memories, dependencies and sins
- how to stay always in a growth process
- how to discern between the Human, Divine, and Diabolical Spirits
- how to overcome desolations
- how to consider every moment as an opportunity to glorify God
- how to maintain oneself always in a state of conversion
- how to develop one’s identity as a real child of God
- how to allow yourself to be guided by the Holy Spirit
- how to follow and imitate Christ
- how to discover and discern the Will of the Father
- how to live as a child of God in the Church and society amidst all difficulties.
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