As I taught last week, we are united to the Risen Christ in our Baptism and so he gives to us his Risen life–even NOW and yet in fullness only after we physically die. He further "reinforces" or "renews" this Risen life in us by giving himself to us in the Eucharist. This gift of both Baptism and Eucharist also gives us the Holy Spirit and the Spirit empowers us to live the Risen life now: a life of transforming, sacrificial love which lasts forever.
Yet when I look at the lives of so many Christians, including my own, there doesn’t seem to be much evidence that we are living the Risen life; our lives often seem to be like everyone else’s: like one priest observed, "Most people are just trying to make it to Friday." Why is this?
First we need to know that the transforming Risen life within us is not automatic in its effects. If that was the case, every time we received the Risen Christ in Holy Communion, we would be automatically transformed by the gifts of his love and be like saints. But I have observed some pretty unloving behavior in people right after Communion and in myself sometimes. A picture is worth a thousand words and here’s an illustration of what I mean:
The fact of the matter is that God designed it so that we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit in making the Risen Life real in our lives. The Risen life in us now is gift (grace) and it must be both received and lived. We have been given free will to cooperate with God’s work within or, sadly, to resist that same work.
Second, I recently attended a convocation for the priests of our Diocese. The topic was on the well-being of priests. We examined what sustains well-being and resilency in our lives as priests and what are some obstacles to this same well-being.
In the spiritual life in Christ there is a similarity to this matter of psychological well-being. There are certain actions which sustain or nourish the Risen life within us; and there are certain obstacles that work against the Risen life in us.
Also, the spiritual life of Christians includes our bodies and minds. If we neglect our bodies, our spirit suffers; if we neglect our psychological needs, our spirit also suffers. For example, if one doesn’t get enough sleep, prayer will probably be difficult in the morning and that affects one’s spiritual life.
Now, what are some of the actions which sustain and nourish the Risen life in us?
1. Put love first, i.e. the love of God and neighbor as Jesus taught. The Resurrection and love are synonymous.
"Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, Christians are ‘dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus’ and so participate in the life of the Risen Lord. Following Christ and united with him, Christians can strive to be ‘imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love’..." (Catechism#1694)
2. Learn about the meaning of the Eucharist, and attend faithfully the Sunday Mass, including receiving Holy Communion.
"The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ's Passover, that is, of the work of salvation accomplished by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, a work made present by the liturgical action." (Catechism#1409)
"What material food produces in our bodily life, Holy Communion wonderfully achieves in our spiritual life. Communion with the flesh of the risen Christ, a flesh "given life and giving life through the Holy Spirit," preserves, increases, and renews the life of grace received at Baptism." (Catechism#1392)
3. Read and reflect upon the Scriptures and supplement with other Catholic spiritual reading.
"‘And such is the force and power of the Word of God that it can serve the Church as her support and vigor, and the children of the Church as strength for their faith, food for the soul, and a pure and lasting fount of spiritual life.’ Hence ‘access to Sacred Scripture ought to be open wide to the Christian faithful.’" (Catechism#131)
"The Spirit manifests the risen Lord to [Christians], recalls his word to them and opens their minds to the understanding of his Death and Resurrection." (Catechism#737)
4. Pray. If our spiritual life centers upon our love for God first, then we will naturally want to communicate with the One whom we love. There are two "wings" of prayer, so to speak, the public prayer of the Church (such as at Mass) and our more private times of prayer, which must be daily.
"In prayer the Holy Spirit unites us to the person of the only Son, in his glorified [i.e., Risen] humanity..." (Catechism#2673)
5. Companionship in the Church. Fellowship with other Catholics is expected of us and helps nurture our spiritual life in the Risen Christ.
"Having become a member of the Church, the person baptized belongs no longer to himself, but to him who died and rose for us. From now on, he is called to be subject to others, to serve them in the communion of the Church...Just as Baptism is the source of responsibilities and duties, the baptized person also enjoys rights within the Church: to receive the sacraments, to be nourished with the Word of God and to be sustained by the other spiritual helps of the Church." (Catechism#1269)
The Obstacles to the Risen life within us
We merely need to do the opposite of what sustains and nourishes the Risen life of Christ within us as listed above.
1. Sin. Sin is the refusal to love as God created us to love and as Jesus has commanded us: "Love one another as I have loved you." Serious sin can lead to the death of soul and so is also called mortal sin.
2. Not attending the Sunday Mass can probably lead to spiritual anemia faster than anything else.
3. Ignorance of Scripture. We deprive ourselves of great spiritual nourishment when we don’t read the Scriptures regularly. St. Jerome said, "Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ."
4. Not praying daily and regularly. Any relationship that doesn’t involve regular communication does not grow and is in danger of becoming distance.
5. Not staying in contact with the Church. If we are not in good company, what influences are we exposing ourselves to instead? The Church fathers expressed a truth: "You can’t have Chrsit without his Body the Church."
