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Introduction:

Subject Matter: a study of the basic principles that govern the growth in holiness of
the Christian in the midst of the church in whatever calling.
Aim of Course: to help students in their own growth in holiness, taking their
particular callings in life into account and to enable them to offer helps to those who
will be in their care also and who will be called to other walks of life.
Method:
a. Overall plan – the descent of God to man in Christ and spirituality then as the
response of man in his effort to ascend to God in Christ.
b. Doctrinal - to study the basic principles of spiritual growth founded on
scripture and tradition.
c. Historical - to look at some of the writings of some of the spiritual masters
during the centuries, beginning with scripture and continuing up to Vatican II
to see how they exemplify the basic principles of spirituality.
d. Relevance in Practice -taking from what is old and proven in spirituality to
try to show its application in the present age, taking the different callings of
different people into account and the goal of the kingdom of God.

Sources: scripture and tradition and extracts from some of the great masters in
spirituality. Aumann J. Spiritual Theology, London, Sheed and Ward, 1980, will be
often referred to.

Reading: The Scriptures; The Documents of Vatican II, especially *Lumen Gentium
LG and later papal documents; The Didache; The Confessions of St Augustine; The
Rule of St Benedict; St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae; Thomas A Kempis, The
Imitation of Christ; St Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life; St Theresa of
Avila, The Interior Castle; St Theresa of Lisseux, The Story of a Soul; St John XXIII,
The Journal of a Soul. *Aumann J. Christian Spirituality in the Catholic Tradition:
London, Sheed and Ward, 2001; Garrigou-Legrange, The Three Ages of the Interior
Life, St Louis, Herder, 1947. Murray P. Prayer in St Thomas; Other sources will be
mentioned as we go along.

I Opening Context – confusion today and the search for meaning

Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life ? Mt 19:16

1“Influenced by such a variety of complexities, many of our contemporaries are kept

from accurately identifying permanent values and adjusting them properly to fresh
discoveries. As a result, buffeted between hope and anxiety and pressing one another
with questions about the present course of events, they are burdened down with
uneasiness. This same course of events leads men to look for answers; indeed, it
forces them to do so”. Gaudium et Spes #4

2 “Today's spiritual agitation and the changing conditions of life are part of a broader
and deeper revolution. As a result of the latter, intellectual formation is ever
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increasingly based on the mathematical and natural sciences and on those dealing with
man himself, while in the practical order the technology which stems from these
sciences takes on mounting importance”. Gaudium et Spes #5

3 “It is not an exaggeration to say that man’s relationship to God and the demand for
a religious ‘experience’ are the crux of a profound crisis affecting the human spirit.
While the secularization of many aspects of life continues, there is a new quest for
‘spirituality’ as evidenced in the appearance of many religious and healing
movements which look to respond to the crisis of values in Western society. This
stirring of homo religiousus produces some positive and constructive results, such as
the search for new meaning in life, a new ecological sensitivity and the desire to go
beyond a cold, rationalist religiosity. On the other hand, this religious reawakening
includes some very ambiguous elements which are incompatible with the Christian
faith.” St. John Paul II, Ad limina of US bishops 1993.

4 “The thirst for God and for an active meaningful relationship with Him is so strong
today that, where there is a lack of a genuine and full proclamation of the gospel of
Christ , there is a rising spread of forms of religiosity without God and the
proliferation of many sects”. St.Pope John Paul II, Pastores Dabo Vobis, #6.

5 “No one can escape from the fundamental questions: What must I do? How do I
distinguish good from evil? The answer is only possible thanks to the splendour of the
truth which shines forth deep within the human spirit, as the Psalmist bears witness:
"There are many who say: 'O that we might see some good! Let the light of your face
shine on us, O Lord' " (Ps 4:6). St. JPII, Veritatis Splendor #2

Other Factors adding to man’s confusion:

1 Secularism: The growing secularism of the Western world, a world that is post
reformation, post enlightenment, post communism in which there is a loss of the sense
of God, a rejection of institutionalized religion, of dogma and traditional morals, but
where there is a rise in interest in spirituality at the same time and a growth of faith in
developing countries.

2 Democractic Relativism: In the Western world monarchy is largely gone in the

sense of the monarch having the most power in a given state. The people, through
their elected representatives, now have great involvement in matters of state and so
also the laity have a greater role in the life of the church. Democracy gives each
person a vote on the grounds that all are equal. True. But this leads on to the idea that
all ideas are of the same truth value, which is false and inevitably a source of
confusion. The media then supply the answers which often times are secularist.

3 Technological Advances leading to a world view which is dynamic and forward

looking with more goods being produced to be enjoyed. But this begets the illusion
that material things by themselves will provide meaning and fulfilment which is an
illusion and a disappointment. This is materialism and the, disillusion it causes often
leads to despair so that we have a rise in addictions, suicide and general loss of
meaning. In other words, a world in which technological advance is cloaking moral
regression.
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4 Globalization: the world is becoming a single field so that people in all parts can be
influenced by the same ideology. Nonetheless it is not a world united in one religious
belief because of religious division and atheism. That leads to much confusion and
religious soul searching.

5 Family Change: The breakdown of the traditional family and the re-defining of the
family in new ways. This makes it difficult to hand on spiritual beliefs or values. It
also leads to loneliness and insecurity and a search for the divine, but often in strange
ways.

II Sprituality – its nature

“You, therefore, must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”. Mt 5:48.
“To all.....who are called to be saints”. Rom 1:7.
“It is God's will that you grow in holiness”. 1Thess. 4:3.

Spirituality Definitions :

“In its widest sense, spirituality refers to any religious or ethical value that is
concretized as an attitude or spirit from which one's actions flow”. Jordan Aumann,
Spritual Theology, p16.

Comment:

So people in the other religious traditions, those of the East like Hinduism and
Buddism, can have a spirituality of some sort. But our interest is in Christian, Catholic
spirituality.

D1 “Therefore in the Church, everyone whether belonging to the hierarchy, or being

cared for by it, is called to holiness, according to the saying of the Apostle: "For this
is the will of God, your sanctification". Lument Gentium, (LG) #39.

D2 “ 'If we live by the Spirit let us also walk by the Spirit' (Gal 5:25). In these words
the Apostle Paul reminds us that a Christian life is a 'spiritual life', that is, a life
enlivened and led by the Spirit towards holiness or the perfection of charity.” Pastores
Dabo Vobis #19. Cf also Christifideles Laici #16.

D3 ‘Spirituality is “the life of man facing his God, participating in the life of God, the
spirit of man listening for the spirit of God”’. Aumann, Spritual Theology, p17,
(quoting P. Evdokimov).

D4 “Christian spirituality is therefore a participation in the mystery of Christ through

the interior life of grace, actuated by faith, charity and the other Christian virtues.”
Aumann, Spritual Theology, p18.

D5 Christian spirituality as “the living out in experience, through the whole course of
our lives, of the death -resurrection of Christ that we have been caught up into in
baptism.” Cussens D, Being a Priest Today p50.
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D6 “All Christian life, all holiness, is being by grace what Jesus is by nature: the Son
of God”. Marmion C. Christ in His Mysteries, Herder, 1924. p54-55.

D7 “Christian spirituality, even in its highest form, is the flowering in us of the divine
gifts which we received at baptism”. Marmion C. Christ the Ideal of the Priest. p142.

D8 “Holiness is more than a moral quality. It is the dwelling of God with men, of men
with God, the setting of 'God's tabernacle' with us and among us. Jn 1:14.” Mary is
the the great example. Ratzinger J. Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith, p 149ff.

D9 “Spiritual theology is that part of theology that, proceeding from the truths of
divine revelation and the religious experience of individual persons, defines the nature
of the supernatural life, formulates directives for its growth and development, and
explains the process by which souls advance from the beginning of the spiritual life to
its full perfection.” Aumann, Spritual Theology, p22.

Basis of Spirituality:

“Thus,on the one hand, as a creature he experiences his limitations in a multitude of

ways; on the other he feels himself to be boundless in his desires and summoned to a
higher life”. Vat II. Gaudium et Spes, (GS) #10.

“The thirst for God and for an active meaningful relationship with Him is so strong
today that, where there is a lack of a genuine and full proclamation of the gospel of
Christ , there is a rising spread of forms of religiosity without God and the
proliferation of many sects”. Pope John Paul II, Pastores Dabo Vobis, #6.

“...man is open to transcendence, to the absolute; he has a heart which is restless until
it rests in the Lord”. Pope John Paul II, Pastores Dabo Vobis, #45. (quoting
Augustine, Confessions).

“In Christ religion is no longer a 'blind search for God' (Acts 17:27) but the response
of faith to the God who reveals himself”. Tertio Millenio Adveniente #6.

Conclusions

1. Spirituality, as theory, is that branch of theology which studies the growth of

the soul in holiness, its progress to union with God. As practice it is applied
theology. It is theology lived by the individual Christian in accordance with the
supreme norm of morality: life in Christ with a view to the perfection of charity
in this life and the light of glory in the next..

2. From God’s side, which is prior, Christian spirituality sees God as thirsting for
man in His Son on the cross and calling for a response from man.

3. From man’s side spirituality is grounded in man’s awareness of his finitude so

that he desires the infinite, the transcendent. It is man as thirsting for the God.
Secularism denies a transcendent object and has man seek self transcendence
by his own powers. Eastern religions direct him to a transcendent goal which is
not a personal god. Indeed the goal is not truly transcendent if the religion is
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pantheistic, i.e., if the god or supreme being does not have a separate act of
existence from that of the world.

4. When man does respond to God spirituality is communion with the Blessed
Trinity through and in Christ. It is the mystery of Christian existence under the
influence of the Holy Spirit. It is man's participation in the mysteries of the
faith. It is friendship with God lived in daily life. It is the imitation of Christ in
the carrying of the cross that leads to the resurrection. So, it has to be
Trinitarian and Christocentric.

5. In its subdivisions spirituality is comprised of ascetical and mystical theology,

the former treating of man's ascent to God, the latter of his union with God,
both of which are to be seen as one continuous movement, possible to all.

6. In its practice it calls for a spirit of detachment, penance and prayer, progress in
the keeping of the commandments and in virtue, in doing God’s will in
carrying out the duties of one’s calling in life, a living of the beatitudes, a
living of the mysteries of the faith in one’s calling, all motivated by Christian
charity under the impulse of the Holy Spirit. In sum, it is a call to be Christ-
like.

7. Though all Christians are called to spiritual life, there can be different
spiritualities depending on the differences of gifts given by the Holy Spirit
(Rom 12:4-6); on the different aspects of Christ's life which are emphasized; on
the needs of the church at a given time; on the native characteristics of
individuals or peoples. (Cf Aumann, Spirtual Theology, p33).

8. The religions of the East have a very different doctrinal basis to Catholicism
so, while we might learn some things from them, their spirituality is very
different and it is not possible to mix them with ours.

Why be spiritual at all ? Is it not enough to be moral ? Spirituality grounds moral

living in love of God and neighbour so as to arrive at union with God is its ultimate
goal. Also God, though He can work through any instrument, or even without any
instrument, usually does His wonders through those who are holy. Further, if priests
or religious have the task of leading their people to God it makes sense that they
themselves be close to Him to begin with.

If we know the goal, the end, the final cause of spirituality we can know the road, the
means, the other causes. Let us look at that first now.

III The Goal of Spirituality 15.5.2019

O All ye works of the Lord O bless the Lord. To Him be highest glory and praise for
ever. Dan 3.

1 The glory of God. Ad magiorem Dei gloriam.

Intrinsic glory: God lacks nothing. He is perfectly self sufficient in Himself from all
eternity. He is His own goodness and that is infinite. Because He is supremely
intelligent He acts for an end. But that end is not something outside of Himself,
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otherwise He would somehow be subjecting Himself to that end. No. He is Himself

His own end in His own infinite goodness. He created the universe not out of any
need but rather to communicate His own goodness to creatures, to beings other than
Himself. This is because goodness tends to diffuse or communicate itself or give itself
away to others.

Extrinsic glory: when creatures respond to God by doing what He has laid down for
them to do according to their different natures then we can say that they glorify Him,
that they add to His extrinsic glory. Man, like the angels, is a being with intellect and
will and by God’s free gift he is called to union with God, that is, to have a share in
God’s own inner life and in His intrinsic glory. When he does so share in God’s inner
life that adds also to God’s extrinsic glory. If we were to posit something else other
than God’s glory as the ultimate goal of spirituality, for example, if we were to make
man’s own perfection to be that ultimate goal, spirituality would descend into being a
form of egoism, of selfishness.

But to give glory to God like that man needs first to be saved from sin – the result of
the Fall and for this he must be sanctified with healing grace. So, if God’s glory is the
ultimate aim of spirituality we can say that man’s salvation and sanctification are the
proximate goals leading to this.

2 Our salvation: we are saved by Christ’s death and resurrection when He merited
heaven for us, when He made a perfect act of atonement for us, when He offered a
perfect sacrifice of Himself to the Father for us and redeemed us from sin and the
power of Satan. Cf St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae III Q 48.

That salvation is channelled to us by means of the sacraments and the grace they give,
principally the mass, baptism, penance, anointing of the sick and indeed through all
the sacraments because they are all remedies for sin in one way or another. But we
have to do our part in avoiding sin, doing penance, forming good habits and living a
virtuous life.

3 Our sanctification: the grace of Christ takes away sin and heals us of its effects and
it also transforms us and elevates our nature to making us friends of God. Grace in
this life blossoms into glory in the next life when all imperfections have been purified
either in this life or in purgatory. That life of glory is a life of union with God in
Christ. It is the beatific vision when we see God “face to face”, immediately. That is
not possible in this life but some holy people do have mystical experiences which are
a foretaste on earth of this union with God in the next life. We, for our part, must co-
operate with grace and remove the obstacles to grace so that union with God, which is
a gift from God, can come to be.

This vision of God, the beatific vision, is a vision of the Trinity for the obvious reason
that God is one nature in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Christ is the
second person of the Trinity become man for our salvation.

It should also be clear from the above that the grace which heals us and lifts us up to
union with God comes from Christ and His paschal mystery. He is absolutely central
to Christian spirituality and to everything relating to our faith. Hence we must look
first at the Trinity and at Him and try to answer the question He Himself once put to
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His apostles as to who He was. If our Christology is not correct neither will our
spirituality or any in our faith.

Comment:

Man’s End: “Why did God make man ? God made man to know, love and
serve Him in this life and by this means to be happy with Him for ever in
heaven”. School Catechism of Trent.
All that came forth from God by creation has the one purpose of returning to
Him again according to its nature. Man, and the angels, by a union of
knowledge and love, which, as we saw, has the ultimate end of the glory of
God.

Lesson for Spirituality:

To make the glory of God our goal because otherwise we become our own false gods
living for ourselves, even trying to be holy for our own glory and the spiritual
consolations it may bring. To glorify God requires that, with the help of His grace, we
turn from sin and grow in holiness.

Reading:
Jordan Aumann, Spiritual Theology, Chs 1& 2.

The goal of spirituality is the vision of the Trinity in the next life and the life of grace which
prepares for it in this life. Absolutely central to this is the person of Christ who is one of the
persons of the Trinity who became one of us also. There is also Mary, His mother, in her role of
mediatrix of His grace to us and there is the church with its sacraments through which this
grace normally comes to us. We must now look at these in turn. We will begin on high with the
Trinity and see how the Son descended to become “a man like us in all things but sin” to
redeem us from sin. This we will call the “Descent” . Then we will look on spirituality as our
response to that and we will call it the “Ascent” of the soul to God.

The Descent 16.5.19

The Blessed Trinity

Go teach all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit. Mt 28.

Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one,
even as we are one ……even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may be
in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Jn 17:11,21.

“The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith
and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other
mysteries of the faith, the light that enlightens them.” CCC #234.

“God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one
substance with the Father……I believe in the Holy Spirit, Lord and giver of life who
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proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son is to be
adored and glorified”. Nicean Creed.

“It is within the church’s mystery, as a mystery of Trinitarian communion in

missionary tension, that every Christian identity is revealed….St John Paul II,
Pastores Dabo Vobis #12.

“May they have the vision of the Trinity for all eternity”. Old Irish prayer for the
dead.
Comment:

1 God is eternally self giving within Himself so that the Father gives Himself
to the Son and from the two, from their mutual love, there comes the Holy
Spirit. These are the two “processions”, the first resulting from God’s self
knowledge and the second from His love.

2 All things have their origin in the Trinity being created by the Father,
through the Son by the love of the Holy Spirit.

3 The koinonia, communio of love within the Trinity is reflected in the

community of love between Christians also here on earth because the second
person of the Trinity became one of us in Christ.

4 The end goal for us is to have a share in the inner life and love of the Trinity
in the next life.

Lesson for Spirituality:

Christians should pray to the Trinity, to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit
and love each other in a way that their communion with each other on earth will be a
true reflection of that of the Trinity in heaven for all men to see.

Reading:
Catechism of the Catholic Church CCC #232ff.

The Centrality of Christ

Who do men say that I am? You are the Christ the Son of the living God. Mt 16.

He who sees me sees the Father. I and the Father are one.
“Though he was in the form of God Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to
be grasped but he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave and became as men are,
and being as all men are was humbler yet, even to accepting death on a cross”.
Phil.2:6-9.

There is one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ who gave Himself
as a ransom for us all. I Tim 2:5-6.
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God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever possesses the Son
possesses life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not possess life. I Jn
5:11-12.

Christ: the Light of the World

“Jesus Christ, the "light of the nations", shines upon the face of his Church, which he
sends forth to the whole world to proclaim the Gospel to every creature (cf. Mk
16:15).2 Hence the Church, as the People of God among the nations,3 while attentive
to the new challenges of history and to mankind's efforts to discover the meaning of
life, offers to everyone the answer which comes from the truth about Jesus Christ and
his Gospel”. St. JPII, Veritatis Splendor #2.

Christ: One Person in two Natures

“The unique and altogether singular event of the Incarnation of the Son of God does
not mean that Jesus Christ is part God and part man, nor does it imply that He is the
result of a confused mixture of the divine and the human. He became truly man while
remaining truly God. Jesus Christ is true God and true man. During the first centuries,
the church had to defend this truth of faith against the heresies that falsified it”.
Catechism of the Catholic Church #464

“All Christian life, all holiness, is being by grace what Jesus is by nature: the Son of
God”. Marmion C. Christ in His Mysteries,

Comment:
1 When we speak of Christ we speak of one who is truly God and truly man,
two natures in one person. His human nature is the instrument of His divine
nature in saving us. He took on a human body and soul so that He could suffer
and die for us on the cross.

2 Christ is the Son of the Father by nature. We become so by adoption when

we receive His grace.

3 The early heresies denied that Christ was one person in two natures in
various ways to which the church responded in her councils.

4 Christ, by His paschal mystery, is the meritorius and efficient cause of our
salvation and sanctification.

Lesson for Spirituality

If Christians truly live by the life of grace they will be seen to be children of the
Father, other Christs. With Christ they can then truly say “Our Father” even though
Christ was Son by nature and they are so by grace.

Christ: the Way, the Truth and the Life

I am the way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by me.

“He is the way in His human nature to the truth and the life in His divine nature.” St
Thomas.
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He is the truth because it is through Him that all things were made and they are
truthful to the degree that they conform to the ideas of them in the Word.

He is the life because He is the fullness of being and it is by His life that we live when
we live by grace. Grace is a sharing, a participation, by us in the divine life.
Comment:

1 The way: in Christian spirituality, people, no matter to what heights of

mysticism some may rise, cannot bypass the humanity of Christ.

2 The truth: truth is the adequation of the mind with reality, with things as the
exist in creation. But those things are “true” to begin with in as much as they
adequate with their original ideas in the Logos. Christ is truth also in the sense
that He lived out His own teaching perfectly.

3 The life: life for the Christian is not just the biological life (bios) he shares
with the animals but the higher life (zóē) he has from God by grace. Christ is
the fount, the well, of that grace as God and as head of the church.

Lesson for Spirituality

1 The way: In practice this means that meditating on the passion of Christ and gazing
on the crucifix will always be central devotions of Christian spirituality.

2 The truth: a love of truth and therefore a hatred of falsehood and hypocrisy are
hallmarks of the true Christian.

3 The life: While our biological life is good because natural and God-given its desires
often go to access because of the weakness we have inherited due to original sin.
Accordingly we need to curb it, to deny it somewhat so that the supernatural life of
grace can shine forth in our lives. This will be seen perfectly in the glorified lives of
those who rise in God’s favour on judgement day and live in His kingdom but
glimpses of it can be seen at times in this life in the lives of some of the saints.

Christ: Priest, Prophet and King. 17.05.19

– Priest

You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedek”. Ps 109(110):4.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,
Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess”. Heb 4:14.

“Without father, mother, or ancestry, without beginning of days or end of life, thus
made to resemble the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. Heb 7:2-3. (cf S. Th. III,
q22,a6).

“Christ, as God, is in all things equal to the Father. But even in the human nature He
is above all men. Therefore, as man, He can be Mediator, but not as God”. St.
Thomas, S.Th III, 26, 2 ad 2
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“The shadow of Calvary projects itself continuously over His thoughts. He lived in
advance all the variety of incidents of the great drama ... 'He shall be delivered to the
gentiles and shall be mocked and spat upon.'..”.Lk 18:32. Marmion C. Christ the Ideal
of the Priest, p24.

“Though they differ from one another in essence and not only in degree, the common
priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood are nonetheless
interrelated. Each of them in its own special way is a participation in the one
priesthood of Christ. The ministerial priest, by the sacred powers he enjoys, moulds
and rules the priestly people. Acting in the person of Christ, he brings about
the eucharistic sacrifice and offers it to God in the name of all the people. For their
part, the faithful join in the offering of the Eucharist by virtue of their royal
priesthood. They likewise exercise that priesthood by receiving the sacraments, by
prayer and thanksgiving, by the witness of a holy life, and by self denial and active
charity.” LG #10.

“The laity derive the right and duty to the apostolate from their union with Christ the
head; incorporated into Christ's Mystical Body through Baptism and strengthened by
the power of the Holy Spirit through Confirmation, they are assigned to the apostolate
by the Lord Himself. They are consecrated for the royal priesthood and the holy
people (cf. 1 Peter 2:4-10) not only that they may offer spiritual sacrifices in
everything they do but also that they may witness to Christ throughout the world”.
Aposolicam Actuisitatem #3; cf also Christifideles Laici JPII.
Comment:

1 Amongst all ancient peoples the priest was a cultic figure offering sacrifice
to God (or to the gods) on behalf of his family or people to show his
submission to God, or to placate his anger or win his favour for his crops, or
victory in battle or various other needs.

2 Christ was a priest from the first moment of his earthly existence, but He did
not refer to himself explicitly as a priest while on earth. However, in time, the
writer of Hebrews came to see Him in such terms, referring back to Psalm 109
quoted above.

3 It was in His human nature, not in His divine nature, that Christ was a priest
but what He suffered in His human nature had infinite value because it was the
instrument of His divine nature.

Lesson for Spirituality:

Not just the priest but religious and laity have the obligation to be priestly, to share in
the priestly role of Christ by reason of their baptism and more so by reason of their
confirmation. They do this by receiving the sacraments, “by prayer and thanksgiving,
by the witness of a holy life, and by self denial and active charity.” They do so at
Sunday mass when they bring forward the gifts of bread and wine – symbols of their
achievements and their sufferings during the past week – and give them to the priest
soon to be changed into the body and blood of Christ at the consecration and offered
with His sacrifice to the Father.

– Prophet
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"Thy God will raise up to thee a prophet of thy nation and of thy brethren." (Dt.
18:15).
"A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country." (Mat. 13:57; Jn. 4:44).

“You have heard it said from of old......but I say to you...”(Mt 5:21).

“They exercise a genuine apostolate by their activity on behalf of bringing the gospel
and holiness to men, and on behalf of penetrating and perfecting the temporal sphere
of things through the spirit of the gospel. In this way their temporal activity can
openly bear witness to Christ and promote the salvation of men. Since it is proper to
the layman’s state in life for him to spend his days in the midst of the world and of
secular transactions, he is called by God to burn with the spirit of Christ and to
exercise his apostolate in the world as a kind of leaven”., Aposolicam Actuisitatem,
Document on the Laity,#2 Vat II, cf also LG ch 4.
Comment:

1 The prophet is one who literally speaks before others, on behalf of God and
delivers a divine revelation to them. He can also be called the conscience of
the people.

2 Christ referred to himself as a prophet when he was rejected in his home

town. (Mt 13:57).

3 He was a prophet indeed but He spoke with a new authority, an authority

that put Him in a relationship of equality with God, especially evident when
He forgave sins.

Lesson for Spirituality:

Not just the priest but religious and laity also have the obligation to be prophet, to
share in the prophet role of Christ by reason of their baptism and more so by reason of
their confirmation. They do so by bearing witness by their words to the gospel in a
secularist world where Christ and His teaching is so often set aside.

– King/Shepherd

“Above his head they placed the written charge against him: This is Jesus, the king of
the Jews.” Mt 27:37.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep”. Jn
10:11.

“Being a shepherd is clearly part of Christ’s work, for just as a shepherd takes care of
and feeds his flock, so Christ nourishes the spiritual life of the faithful by His body
and blood.” St Thomas, Commentary on Gospel of Jn ch. 10, lect. 3.

Comment:

1 Christ admitted to being a king when brought before Pilate (Mk 15:2). Yet he
had rejected the attempt the people made when they wanted to make Him king
by force upon seeing His miraculous powers. He was a king indeed but, not of
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this world. The shepherd of Ezekiel and Jeremiah becomes the Good
Shepherd in John, the leader who knows his sheep, washes their feet and is
willing to lay down his life for them (Jn 10).

2 Authority in the church is vested in the ordained, coming down to them from
Christ through the apostles and their successors by valid ordination. But the
laity have a kingly role by helping their priests in church organization and
more so and more properly by “penetrating and perfecting the temporal sphere
of things through the spirit of the gospel”.

Lessons for Spirituality:

“They exercise a genuine apostolate by their activity on behalf of bringing the gospel
and holiness to men, and on behalf of penetrating and perfecting the temporal sphere
of things through the spirit of the gospel. In this way their temporal activity can
openly bear witness to Christ and promote the salvation of men. Since it is proper to
the layman’s state in life for him to spend his days in the midst of the world and of
secular transactions, he is called by God to burn with the spirit of Christ and to
exercise his apostolate in the world as a kind of leaven”., Aposolicam Actuisitatem,
Document on the Laity,#2 Vat II, cf also LG ch 4.
Reading:
CCC Part One, Section Two, Ch Two, art 2ff.

Mary

Hail full of grace….Lk

Do whatever He tells you…..Jn

Mother behold they Son…Jn

A woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet…Rev

431. Council of Ephesus: Theotokos – Mary is the mother of God.

1854. Pius IX: Mary is the immaculate conception. (Lourdes 1858).

1950. Pius XII: Mary is assumed body and soul into heaven.

Vatican II: “In the words of the apostle there is but one mediator: "for there is but one
God and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a
redemption for all" (1 Tim. 2:5-6). But Mary's function as mother of men in no way
obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power.
But the Blessed Virgin's salutary influence on men originates not in any inner
necessity but in the disposition of God. It flows forth from the superabundance of the
merits of Christ, rests on his mediation, depends entirely on it and draws all its power
from it. It does not hinder in any way the immediate union of the faithful with Christ
but on the contrary fosters it”. Lument Gentium #60

61.”The predestination of the Blessed Virgin as Mother of God was associated with
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the incarnation of the divine word: in the designs of divine Providence she was the
gracious mother of the divine Redeemer here on earth, and above all others and in a
singular way the generous associate and humble handmaid of the Lord. She
conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ, she presented him to the Father in the
temple, shared her Son's sufferings as he died on the cross. Thus, in a wholly singular
way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of
the Saviour in restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us
in the order of grace”.

62. “This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from
the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained
without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfilment of all the elect. Taken
up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession
continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation.[15] By her maternal charity, she
cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers
and difficulties, until they are led into their blessed home. Therefore the Blessed
Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress,
and Mediatrix.[16] This, however, is so understood that it neither takes away anything
from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficacy of Christ the one Mediator”.[17]

No creature could ever be counted along with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer; but
just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways both by his ministers and the
faithful, and as the one goodness of God is radiated in different ways among his
creatures, so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but rather
gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a sharing in this one source.

The Church does not hesitate to profess this subordinate role of Mary, which it
constantly experiences and recommends to the heartfelt attention of the faithful, so
that encouraged by this maternal help they may the more closely adhere to the
Mediator and Redeemer”.

63.”By reason of the gift and role of her divine motherhood, by which she is united
with her Son, the Redeemer, and with her unique graces and functions, the Blessed
Virgin is also intimately united to the Church. As St. Ambrose taught, the Mother of
God is a type of the Church in the order of faith, charity, and perfect union with
Christ.[18] For in the mystery of the Church, which is itself rightly called mother and
virgin, the Blessed Virgin stands out in eminent and singular fashion as exemplar both
of virgin and mother.[19] Through her faith and obedience she gave birth on earth to
the very Son of the Father, not through the knowledge of man but by the
overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, in the manner of a new Eve who placed her faith,
not in the serpent of old but in God's messenger without wavering in doubt. The Son
whom she brought forth is he whom God placed as the first born among many
brethren (Rom. 8:29), that is, the faithful, in whose generation and formation she
cooperates with a mother's love”.

Comment:

1 From the gospels we can see the close co-operation of Mary in the
redeeming work of her Son. That role continues still in heaven where she
constantly intercedes for us for the graces we need here on earth.
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2 She is in heaven with her glorified body. So she is our model at the
beginning and end of our spiritual journey.

3. Mary intercedes for us and has a role in the dispensing of the graces of her
Son. Hence we speak of her as mediatrix. But this does not add to or take from
the role of Christ as the one mediator between God and men. Mary is
subordinate to Him in the work of our salvation.

Lessons for Spirituality:

1 “ But while in the most Blessed Virgin the Church has already reached that
perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle (cf. Eph. 5:27), the faithful still
strive to conquer sin and increase in holiness. And so they turn their eyes to Mary
who shines forth to the whole community of the elect as the model of virtues.
Devoutly meditating on her and contemplating her in the light of the Word made man,
the Church reverently penetrates more deeply into the great mystery of the Incarnation
and becomes more and more like her spouse”. Lumen Gentium #65

2 Traditionally the rosary has been a special prayer to Mary given to us by Mary
herself. In it we ask her many times to intercede for us in the present moment and at
the hour of our death.
Catholic spirituality does not take place in a vacuum but in the context of the church which has
Mary as model. So let us look briefly at the church.

The Church

I am the vine you are the branches…..

Christ is the head of His body the church…..

“ The Church indeed contemplating her hidden sanctity, imitating her charity and
faithfully fulfilling the Father's will, by receiving the word of God in faith becomes
herself a mother. By preaching and baptism she brings forth sons, who are conceived
of the Holy Spirit and born of God, to a new and immortal life. She herself is a virgin,
who keeps in its entirety and purity the faith she pledged to her spouse. Imitating the
mother of her Lord, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, she keeps intact faith, firm
hope and sincere charity”.[20] Lumen Gentium #64.

“This holy Council first of all turns its attention to the Catholic faithful. Basing itself
on scripture and tradition, it teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is
necessary for salvation: the one Christ is mediator and the way of salvation; he is
present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the
necessity of faith and baptism (cf. Mk. 16:16; Jn. 3:5), and thereby affirmed at the
same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through baptism as through a
door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was
founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it, or to
remain in it”. LG #14
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“Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his
Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try
in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience--
those too many achieve eternal salvation.[19] Nor shall divine providence deny the
assistance necessary for salvation to those who, without any fault of theirs, have not
yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God, and who, not without grace, strive to lead
a good life”. LG #16.

“To accomplish so great a work Christ is always present in his Church, especially in
her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass not only in the
person of his minister, "the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who
formerly offered himself on the cross, "[20] but especially in the eucharistic species.
by his power he is present in the sacraments so that when anybody baptizes it is really
Christ himself who baptizes.[21] He is present in his word since it is he himself who
speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church. Lastly, he is present when the
Church prays and sings, for he has promised "where two or three are gathered
together in my name there am I in the midst of them" (Mt. 18:20). Sacrosanctum
Consilium #7.

Comment:

1 The church is the normal context of the spiritual life because she is the
sacrament of Christ who, to begin with, is the Word of the Father made flesh
so that we could have His life and have it more abundantly. Also the spiritual
life of the individual is a social thing as well because in being children of the
Father we are brothers and sisters of each other. To see clearly that the church
is the means to salvation and wilfully to refuse to enter it or to leave it is to
lose salvation.

2 In the liturgy Christ is the high priest acting though the sacraments which
He Himself instituted so as to give us His grace.

3 Those who are formally outside the church, through no fault of their own,
can also be saved because the grace of Christ can reach them in ways known
only to God.

Conclusions:

1. The vision of the Trinity is our goal in the next life and we live its koinonia in this
life by the help of grace. Christ, God and man, priest, prophet and king, is
absolutely central to reaching that vision and to having that grace. Vatican II
teaches that people in non Christian religions and even those with no religion can
be saved if they seek God and follow their conscience as best they know how. But
even so, such people are saved only by the grace of Christ, even if they do not
know Him explicitly.

2. Accordingly Christian spirituality is not just a matter of having a set of Christian

beliefs; it is a living out of the mysteries of the faith, a following of Christ, being
led by the Holy Spirit, so that one comes home to the Father at life’s end.
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3. The grace of Christ normally flows to people in or through the church that He
founded because it is His mystical body, even if, again, some people do not know
this. Formal membership of the church by baptism is then the proper and normal
way to this grace. Those who are not members due to no fault of their own may
still have this grace because God is not limited to the sacraments.

4. Our Lady, being the mother of God, is the mediatrix of the graces of Christ her
Son. This does not add to or take from the unique mediation of Christ.

Reading:
Jordan Aumann, Spiritual Theology, Ch 3. LG and the other texts referred to above

Because grace is essential to the spiritual life and because grace builds on nature we will look
next at the nature of man, the natural organism, and then at the spiritual organism, man
influenced by grace.