What is a person’s “spiritual
life”? What does it mean to be
“spiritually alive,” or “awake in one’s lifetime?” I ask the question believing that spiritual
life is not only good, but ought to be one’s highest priority. And I ask it now because it is important for
each of us to understand a basic truth:
you are responsible for you.
Another human being can guide you towards the right path, the way of
life, but you yourself must make the effort, and you yourself must
reject false paths and steadily seek and do the truth. No other human being can live your life for
you, cleanse you, “save you.” Not even
God Almighty can “save” you, cleanse your inner person, renew your spirit,
unless you freely choose to share in what God freely offers from moment to
moment. You did not create yourself, but
you cannot be whole or happy or truly blessed, unless you develop habits of
rejecting evil and doing good, unless you truly seek to know and to do the will
of God. To better understand the dynamics
of the spiritual life of a human being, let’s suspend for a few moments “God
talk,” and examine the human reality in light of the truth of experience.
You say, “I am hungry,” so you feed
yourself. You say, “I have toothache,”
so you go to a dentist. Now, suppose one
feels confused, depressed, anxious? All
too often, one wants a quick cure, an immediate solution. Mental and spiritual problems—confusion,
sorrow, worry, hatred, ignorance—did not just happen at one time. By various situations, and by many choices,
many actions, one becomes what one is, and what one feels inside. A person who squanders much time in
entertainment or mindless activities or in drug abuse, who does not discipline
himself to rise early, to work hard, to do one’s proper tasks, to spend time in
quiet and meditation will, over time, becomes confused, dull of spirit,
listless, troubled, anxious, depressed. With the right concentration of one’s energies on such spiritual tasks
as doing one’s daily duties, working for the good of others, eating and
drinking healthy foods in moderation, getting proper exercise, sitting still in
the presence of God or of “no-god,” then one becomes sane, balanced, and more
alert. No one can keep eating junk food,
abusing alcohol or drugs, not exercising, not nourishing the inner person through
disciplined meditation and study and expect to be spiritually alive, awake, and
mentally healthy. You become what you
do.
Christians have often neglected to
develop a proper spiritual-mental life, because they thought it would just
happen, or the Church or Bible or God would do it for them. The Church is here to assist you on your path
into God; you yourself must make the effort, trusting in the supportive
presence of God (called “grace”). Not
even the Eucharist works automatically; if you do not truly desire oneness with
God even at the cost of dying to your own fleeting desires, how do you expect
to “grow in grace,” to “receive the Holy Spirit,” to become truly blessed and
happy? Good things in life nearly never
happen without much effort. Unless you
yourself strive to attune yourself to the all-good mind and will, to refresh
yourself in Beauty, why should you expect to be happy and in peace?
May we have the good sense and
discipline to listen to God and to obey regardless of the cost. “Through much suffering one enters the
Kingdom of God,” that is, lives in the peace and freedom of God. And Christ Jesus assures us: “Know that I AM with you always, even to
the end of the age.”
