An Abundant Life in Christ

An Abundant Life in Christ

So often today, we are conditioned by the world to be very attentive to our health, our work, our appearance, our recreational pursuits, our plans for retirement, our status in the community and our influence with others.  These dimensions of our life are not necessarily bad in themselves.  However, to focus only on them provides for a very shallow existence.  There is another indispensable reality of our being that should inform and define every other dimension of who we are.  This is our spiritual life.
           
Sometimes when people hear of the spiritual life, they question its veracity and its existence. They take the “If I can’t see it, I don’t believe it” attitude. Or, if they do think it exists, they don’t see the spiritual life as important as other dimensions of life.
           
Rather, the opposite is true. The spiritual life is of prime importance. As a matter of fact, if it is not attended to, all other dimensions of a person’s life will eventually lack meaning and purpose.
           
We live in a time when people often identify themselves as “spiritual, but not religious.”  This false manner of approaching existence usually manifests a “me-centered” attitude regarding realities beyond oneself (i.e. I decide what is real and true) and an eventual rejection of objective truth and defined religious creed.  This often contributes to a crisis of faith individually and socially that weakens a person’s ability to impact the culture in a positive way and to promote the common good.
           
As we begin to explore with the spiritual life is all about, let’s presume some measure of faith and an openness to the basic teachings of the Catholic Church.  This will lead us to a fundamental understanding of who we are.
           
There is a wonderful quote in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in part three entitled “Life in Christ”.  It is taken from a sermon of Pope St. Leo the Great:

Christian, recognize your dignity, and now that you share God’s own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning.  Remember who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of the Kingdom of God.  (Sermo 21 in nat. Dom., PL 54, 192C.).

St. Leo teaches us that our dignity as men and women does not come from what we have accomplished in life.  It is not all about us!  Instead, our dignity springs forth from what God has done for us.  St. Leo’s sermon was one for Christmas Day. Assuredly, he has the Incarnation of Jesus Christ in his mind.  He is reminding his flock that our dignity is found in the mystery of God’s taking on our human flesh in the Person of Jesus Christ. This same Christ went to the wood of the Cross to undergo His Passion and Death, thereby saving us from our sins.  He is our Head and we are the members of His Body, the Church. He came so that we could have eternal life in His Kingdom.  Our life during this pilgrim journey on earth does not find ultimate meaning and purpose in earthly accomplishments.  They are important insofar as they lead us to the Kingdom of God. This is not to say that the good we do on earth lacks merit or that we should not strive to improve the human condition of others. Everything we do must be done first, for the love of God, and then, for the love of our brothers and sisters.
           
What St. Leo teaches us in his Christmas sermon, and what countless other saints and holy people have witnessed to through their lives, manifests for us that the spiritual life is real and founded in the truth of the Father’s sending His Son to save us by shedding His Blood and bringing us into His Kingdom. The spiritual life is not an evolving, amorphous, and directionless spiritual quest that we invent. It is, rather, a dynamic journey wherein we participate in the life of God.   He has a plan for each one of us!  By living this life of grace won for us by the Savior, we enter more and more deeply into the Mystery of His Passion Death and Resurrection. There we find our identity and the purpose of our life.  There we find the path He has traced for us to follow. On that path we find that we encounter Him who accompanies us each step of the way!
           
As we begin to reflect on the spiritual life and its importance for us, we must keep in mind that for us it is lived within the Church.  For, it is there where we encounter Christ in the celebration of the sacraments, where we hear the Word of God proclaimed, and where we find union with Christ the Head, and where we are bound together with all the members of His Mystical Body.  The spiritual lie is an amazing adventure of faith, hope and love that God lays out for us.  So, what are we waiting for?  For Jesus has come that we might life and have it abundantly!  (cf. Jn 10:10)

Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh