CHAPTER 10-B: “To Become Holy (Divinely Transformed Individuals), Is Not To Be Any Less Human", the Realistic Witnessing By the Saints

CHAPTER 10-B: “To Become Holy (Divinely Transformed Individuals), Is Not To Be Any Less Human", the Realistic Witnessing by the Saints

    Before thematically going into an elaborate talking about the above heading statement, we have to first of all make known and acknowledge the historical fact that God has never forgotten of his creation, man, whom he had banished from Eden after his having disobeyed the one rule God has placed upon man, rather upon Adam & his woman, Eve.  This was what is called the "Proto-evangelion".  It was God's eternal intention that He rescues man back even if man initially willed to disobey Him.  Adam, the first man lost God or his union with God.  Then, Eve, the first woman and his partner in offending God, who have become cut off along with Adam from God, had then received along with Adam the stain of this original offense against God for which she and other women off-springs had been cursed with the pain in giving birth.  This happened because they lost the glorious & painless supernatural life shared with them by God. But from God-the-Son, Jesus Christ, born of Mary, has in eternity been provided the plan of man's redemption with the coming of the new woman, new Eve: Mary, who was to give birth to the new Adam: her Son and the Son of God, Jesus Christ --- God made fully human.          

And so, Alleluia! Christ is raised! Christ is ascended in heaven, and seated at the right hand of the Father! Alleluia! Mary, a woman is assumed in heaven, and crowned Queen of Heaven! Alleluia! The Holy Twelve are honored in heaven! Alleluia, together with the Twelve, are enumerable Holy Martyrs, enumerable Holy Sufferers of Different Burdens, enumerable Holy Poor “while-on-earth-for Christ sake”, enumerable Holy Crippled & Disabled in life, enumerable Holy Retarded/Innocent on earth, enumerable Holy Gullible & Victims in life, enumerable Holy Oppressed in life, enumerable Holy Hermits, Monks, & Contemplatives of the Church, enumerable Holy Virgins, enumerable Holy Priests, and Consecrated Men and Women, enumerable Holy Confessors, enumerable Holy Disciples/Evangelizers, enumerable Holy Preachers/Teachers of the Faith, enumerable Holy Counselors, enumerable Holy Soldiers/Security Personnel, enumerable Holy Thinkers/Philosophers, enumerable Holy Consolers/Sympathizers, enumerable Holy Care-Givers, enumerable Holy Visitators of the Sick and of them imprisoned, enumerable Holy donors/Charity-Givers, enumerable Holy Leaders/Managers-Supervisors, enumerable Holy Family-Providers & Homemakers, enumerable Holy Medical Doctors, Nurses, and Medical Personnel, etc.. Count in also the enumerable holy “fathers-of-the-families & mothers-of-the-families”, including enumerable holy “husbands & wives”. And we could more and more blessings upon men and women of the world as effects of Christ’s victorious rising from death! Alleluia, indeed! All of these taking place for all of them who that have been saved, i.e. because they finally received of the fullness of grace of Christ. 

St. Paul implied no man could imagine the infinite manners of perfection awaiting men and women of faith in the after-life. “What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!” 2 Corr 2:9 Hence, our above listing is by no means a comprehensive attempt-categorization of the types of holy/perfect individuals that shall inhabit the heavens by the wonder of the graces of God. Yet God is supposed to have created in all eternity men and women each one individually unique according to the absolute design and scheme creativity of God and according as each one has been given his/her distinct personality and circumstances of life within time and space, in the world and within the Church. Thus with whatever publicly hidden and unseen human traits and experiences, men and women, who faithfully journeyed through their respective individual lifetimes, shall in the rewarded after-life manifest their types of sainthood or holiness or perfection in accord with the will of God. It will not be a wonder then when it shall come true and proclaimed that them that were the ‘lasts’ on earth shall be the ‘firsts’ in heaven! And probably just as there seem to be the widespread scattering of the ‘poor’ all over the place on earth; perchance it is meant that an almost the same abundance of unknown “heavens’ noveau rich” or them “FIRSTS-at-last in the heavens”? Is it perchance any wonder why indeed God had permitted so many of them to be born and to live poor? The Lord had said, “Blessed are the poor!” Perhaps, again, that is how the heavens are being populated ‘numerously’? (The Book of Revelations attests to these great aggregates of Holy Ones.) Of course, we are not univocally and literally equating holiness with being impoverished! But we are to understand however that the journey of poverty is the way most leaning forward towards the living and embracing of the opportunities of GRACE. I.e. mass of poor people patiently bearing the struggles of being poor in the Spirit of faith. (Although, we are neither particularly limiting the scope of perfections we are alluding to above to the fate of being poor. We have noted that the variety of unique lives lived for God is only left to the divine plots and divine providential schemes.) 

The question is: “Why are we vividly illustrating here holy men and women of the heavens?” To put this perspective another way, how does it make sense that finite and mortal men and women, or imperfect and actually men-sinners and women-sinners could ever be, and shall be habituating SAINTS of heavens? It seems more understandable or easily acceptable that holy angels co-inhabit the heavens with God. But it seems so far-fetched that wretched men and women belong to the heavens? FAR FROM IT! From the very beginning and through eternity and time this has always been the will of God. The Divine reality is or was that God had/has very special affection for mankind. God demonstrated and effected this reality and truth on two accounts: by Creation and by Salvation. From creation, it is said God created man UNTO his image, like himself. While from salvation history, God HIMSELF becomes MAN! First, there was the before-the-Fall Adam, who was so pleasing a creature to God in so far as He has made him like unto HIM. Then second, there is Christ - the Second Person of the Divine Triune God-head, the Son of God the Father, SENT DOWN to earth, who WAS MADE FLESH/HUMAN! The God-Man. Ultimately, moreover, in the manner of the salvation plan, after Christ, the Son of God, redeemed the sins of all men and women, he was to deliver and forever give himself or his BODY & BLOOD & SOUL & DIVINITY as men’s “Food” so they could have their New Life, i.e. their LIFE OF GRACE. Hence, by this are the sinner’s men and women restored their likeness with God, as well as become recipients of God within them which nourish them with the very BODY, BLOOD, SOUL, & DIVINITY of Christ, making them as “gods” with God. Not even the Angels ever had this privilege and fortune that is given to men and women who believe. Angels do not receive the Eucharist. You have to be a man to “eat” of the Eucharist, to be fed with Christ. 

Presto, this is why to become holy/perfect inhabitants of the heavens, saved human creatures MUST BE TRULY HUMAN; they must be genuinely true to God’s will to be true human “copies” of the Divine (according to their pre-Fall human nature), and be true human Christ “copycats & co-Cross-bearers participators-in-the-salvation work” by way of the powers of Christ’s grace. I.e. truly free individuals, and truly born-again-men and women in Christ. In both  Divine acts of God’s work of creation, and later, work of salvation, God made and retained man’s being man or being a human being that 

God intended him to be. This is why in the pursuit of heavens man is to remain human, but a truly human being that images God because the Son of God had chosen precisely to become fully human when He became Incarnate.  After all the Son of God is truly the God-made-man. 

We want to mark in this Chapter the place of ‘humility’ in salvation history. Like insinuated by our dual titles, God irrevocably and unmistakably planned and implemented this manner of realizing salvation of mankind. First, that he willed it that his Son became ‘flesh’, became a human being, became a person even lower than the Angels but who was all subservient to the dictate of the Divine Will. Also, that the Heavenly Father has willed mankind do like his Son did, namely man’s similar genuine embracing of his own poor human estate, and therefore, his humbly depending upon the mercy and care of God for all their human needs. For his own Son, Jesus, humbled himself becoming man thereby also embracing man’s poor estate.  By this humble accepting of natural limitations and insufficiency mankind is led to, by the grace of Christ, work to care, and sustain one another. On this basis do we explain the Church’s teaching about man’s need for faith and works by grace in order to be saved? We have discussed how proud and futile human beings were/are of any age and any race, whoever sought/seek or claimed/claim human self-sufficiency in their earthly Endeavour, or even at attempts in saving their souls. For man’s lesson in humility, it was not at all show that Jesus himself cried out in dependence upon and to the Father at the very end of his life, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”, and “Into thy hands I commend my Spirit.” (Of course, the first verse did not mean Jesus being despondent or actually lacking in trusting upon God. It only meant his last act of human acceptance of or resignation to his permitted and destined fate of being crucified to death. The second verse validates this actual trusting of Jesus that in the end the Father, absolutely in charge and in control, will take care of Jesus crucified and dead.) And so as far as we, human beings, and our salvation are concerned we must take heed of the Lord’s warning, “Unless  ...” we be “like little children” in trusting God the Father “...we cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” 

In Chapter 8: Christian Living and Grace we write, “There is a long list of Saints whose lives or biographies will edify and enlighten us on the living of the life of grace” particularly in so far as they entrusted to God their struggles and suffering in their journey on earth. Specially, “God willing, we shall also in the future more relevantly examine ordinary lives of the living saints, i.e. the present believers/followers of Christ living in the world, and unfold the many, many graces they are given and being given day-in and day-out, notwithstanding and on account of human ‘weaknesses’/limitations.” An appendix write-up at the end part of this article would sample us with the lives lived holy by many a man and woman, who were no different from all of us in terms of being beset with the same natural predicaments & struggles that befall all human beings but who equally benefited from the redeeming powers of the grace of God by which and with which they set straight their human ways and fulfillment. 

We cite aspects of human holiness/perfection right here and now in Chapter Four, On the Call to Holiness. When after the experience of a sacrament, especially the Eucharist, or some sacramental activity like Prayer Fellowship, or some works of Mercy or Charity, “...there is the Holy Spirit's working of grace, precisely so during this era of the reign of the Holy Spirit in the world after Christ’s departure for the heavens, enabling many moments of sacramental initiation of Heaven on earth upon individuals who are faithful believers. Examples of these are moments of peace, moments of deep spiritual enlightenment, moments of peaceful sufferings, moments of genuine peace between individuals, moments of temporal retribution for offenses against God and man, moments of pure acts of charity, pure acts of forgiveness, etc....” 

From Chapter 2: What is the Life of Grace, we illustrate the possibilities and realities of being good natured, as displayed even by them so-pitied to be very much less humanly capable, the handicapped. “...we can rely upon the magic and power of grace to let it transform our human acts or even life happenings that ultimately are glorifying to God and spiritually beneficial to us! Hence, the submitting of our acts not to our mere human good sense but to the grace of God! Not on account of themselves per se are individual lives to be seen and examined as regards their meaningfulness or real value! Anything comes to be good in the eyes of God, or comes to be an occurrence of grace if it is an affirmation of what God had deigned in His wisdom and eternity to any person at any particular circumstance of his/her life no matter how lowly in stature before the eyes of people. We are to posit here all kinds of human realities without excluding those which do not manifest apparent, albeit hide very covertly genuine human meaningfulness and value. E.g. Charlie and Sammy are giant species of teenagers, both very pleasant and hardworking except don't expect from them entertaining conversation. They happen to be mute. Jessie and Paul is a pair of youths who do not tire at playing with and telling each other jokes. But don't expect them to be telling you joke as you jog around the field. Jessie and Paul cannot walk. Juan and Antoine will beat you to the line; they are always on time. And they will not pass up opportunities for action. They are never without energy and enthusiasm for their kind of athleticism even if they are forced to do it on wheelchairs. Mark and Janie love to sing; they are prepared to pander to any volunteering audience with the endurance of their vocal chords with their own rendition of songs after songs. Just accommodate them air their physically impaired versions of musical sounds. 

As regards these physically challenged individuals their being less functional about many regular human abilities does not make their interpersonal relating with others any less human. And they are not as well any less pleasing to the One Maker of man. Actions, thoughts, and feelings identify them being no different. And when you come down to their sincerity to just live their lives or be let be makes them a little above their normal peers. In fact, ironically and wondrously this is how their striving for normal life is every bit an act of grace.” 

From the same Chapter we also make an earlier reference to them other underprivileged though not necessarily physically handicapped. “In a very similar setting, other individuals not necessarily handicapped of abilities found themselves ever chasing their nick of the woods not to mention their dreamed rainbow. These are the majority of people who neither had full control of their circumstances, which very much like the handicapped persons, have been either held up or pushed aside because of geographical, race, cultural, or socio-economic situations. Examples of these are they that did not finish school, those that are confined by geography of water or distant villages, those who get discriminated for color or race, those whose families are broken up because of divorces, family separation, disabilities, or deaths in the families, those whose lives have been disrupted by calamities, accidents, or family setbacks, those unsettled by underemployment or unemployment, or the majority of dwellers whose social environment and real estate residential classification happen to be below the affluently advantaged residential communities who are easy beneficiaries of much more advantaged accessibility to services of modern living. Easily imaginable are dramatizations of the effects of these disadvantages to these instances of social inequities. But despite the cliché life is not fair, to these demographic communities of people life moves on notwithstanding the hold-up or their getting pushed aside. How? It has to be by the grace of God! It’s a miracle by grace how these people roll through their bumps!” 

All the above are testimonies and witnessing to humility, which only pleases God and glorifies God, the Lord of all provisions and sustenance in living. 

Yet we expect this same realm and opportunity for hope, which we believe these more helpless and unfortunate members of the human race and society capable of having and realizing notwithstanding their natural barriers, for the mainstream human populace as being attained and realized by them not so much by their normal talent and skills application of human excellence but precisely, like their less endowed fellow human beings, only by humble dependence upon God’s providence and care. This is the commonality reality that belongs to the entire human race: the experience of in-depth need for God as well as the opportunity for the absolute beneficence and grace of God if man believes. Within the context of this mystery of living the life of Christian humility, many a man will experience the dumbfounding awareness of his utter helplessness before God's inscrutable plan and destinies for individual human beings. Ultimately, being confronted with inescapable human angst and bottom-line life insecurities, mainly, vis-a-vis incomprehensible life fates and 'predestination', which are supposedly congruent with inalienable divine gift of human freedom and are not in contradiction to God's infinite and absolute love and justice, man is to be the true servile creature of the Divine ever submissive and faithful, and unfailingly trusting and obeying God's majestic and par excellent plan, design, and good will for his human creatures. To him is most proper the hope that despite such utter human helplessness, his servitude of faith will only in the end crown him with the final Divine filial adoption of him/her: his/her total turn-around fate/destiny of union with the awesome Divine Reality. 

Thus, intrinsically, or within the depth of himself/herself, the human ‘jewel’ of humble trust that man has or that man has been given him/her by God, notwithstanding his/her varying life circumstance or personal traits or lack of, necessarily comes to the fore however only under the assumption that such a man or woman has been re-born in the new life of grace of Christ. That we are treating this dimension of the OUR MISSION SERIES: CHRIST, THE COMING OF THE GOOD NEWS at this latter part of the series implies we are now dealing with human nature as it has become restored to grace, or as it has been liberated from its predicament of having been a fallen nature. We are returning to a recollection of the original human nature that God had made man, just as we are marveling at the ever more magnificent remaking of man by God by the WAY of no less than his Son, Jesus Christ. And so like we imply above we need not forget what we are, and from what conditions we are in when we examine and reckon how God wants us to fulfill our call to holiness or salvation. We begin right from being human beings; but human beings reborn in grace by the Spirit. 

Our model however for humanity is always the Lord Jesus, the God made man. In terms of the diversity of human virtues which are all perfected in Jesus, and which therefore are to be copied by different individuals according to the differing gifts from the Spirit, and according to the unique and diverse human conditions worked out by Divine Providence. We shall attempt to concretize these unending exemplifications of blossomed virtues, all from and by the Spirit, as testified and lived for us by many individual Saints, whom we shall try to call to mind later. At such time shall we further elaborate at the wondrous expressions and epiphany of Spirit and Grace that God has deigned the human persons to become and to be. 

Fundamentally, however, Christ’s highest manifestation of the best human action and accomplishment he wants to teach and challenge all of us humans is the manner he subjects his human nature to his Divine nature, or the manner he submits all of himself to the Divine. Christ’s highest glory is attributable to his absolute obedience or surrender of his human will to the will of the Father such that he willed the carrying of his Cross and the abandonment of himself /life to the providential design and destiny of God’s salvation of mankind. From the Letter to the Philippians it is written, “Christ was humble. He obeyed God and even died on a cross. Then God gave Christ the highest place and honored his name above all others.” For his doing, so the Letter to the Philippians continues to say, “...So at the name of Jesus everyone will bow down, those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. And to the glory of God the Father everyone will openly agree, ‘JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!’ “ 

After this example, teaching, and challenge of Christ should we, thus, direct and shape our living of our human life. First thing, thus, humanly we are both always to have to link with the Divine Christ, and always to have to soak & characterize our every human action and activity unto whatever is divinely or spiritual. In this manner we can be sure our human actuation and human selves are guaranteed ever pure and holy or elevated, noble, and truly virtuous, and surely genuinely human. Then second we must be willing, no less than the way Christ himself willed, to submit our will to God. We repeat here how many times Jesus did submit his human self to the Divine. The following verses from Mark definitively confirm this submission of Jesus to God when he during his moment of agony surrendered it all, "Father, you have the power to do all things. Take this cup (sacrifice of death at Calvary to the Father for the sins of men) away from me. But let it be as you would have it, not as I." Mark 14:36 from our Chapter 11: On Suffering, we describe Christ’s reason for obedience to the Father thus: “Jesus' experience of suffering was real. It was, as an aspect of His Passion and Death, a hardest human experience even for our Lord. But He embraced it because in suffering He embraced the dying part of His mission of Salvation of mankind whereby He served as the Lamb Sacrifice to the Father for human sinfulness. As we already explained, His suffering was a central part of Jesus' Incarnation, death, and resurrection. And He fulfilled this earthly 'act' literally and completely.” This was supremely how concretely he submitted to the Father himself or his human life 

As for us Saint Peter says that, "We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God's own power when we learned that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness. God made great and marvelous promises so that his nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world." 2 Peter 1:3-4 notwithstanding our positive treatment and tone here in this present chapter, we invariably have to go back to what we have repeatedly marked, namely, the reality of suffering or of the negative in our living. Genuinely tackling the positive about the new human nature inevitably involves both the positive and a negative. Like they say, we do not completely separate the light and the dark; and this is the world’s state of affairs at least till before the End-Times. This is just very true as referred to by Jesus in the parable of wheat and the weeds: they stay together until harvest time. And so we write in Chapter 10: What is the Life of Grace, how the suffering “... is really the positive element of the paradox. When suffering under this context of sacrificial atonement we're not really losing something or just breaking our heart. In so far as the act is for God it is a positive thing. In the words of John the Baptist as ‘... we decrease’ God is ‘... increasing....’ in us. And nothing whatsoever in life could 'out-best' this manner of gain. Besides, those, in whom God has increased so much, eventually testify with the more successful self denial or emptying of themselves; and are finally rewarded with the most genuine human fulfillment of blissful unity with God. From the same Chapter Eight we say that, “We are to live according to the natural functions of our nature as a human being with the fullest use of all our physical senses and faculties, except we are not to negate our other human nature part, which is spiritual living and behaving. Body and soul man was created, body and soul we are to be integrally as a human being”. It is precisely on account of and by virtue of this reality about man why and how God’s love and union remains open to him despite man’s fallen nature: that within man resides the core freedom of will, to which and by which, touched by Grace, God is able to offer up one more time his love or New Covenant of reconciliation. This is thus, that human nature of being enabled by grace to WILL for God or the freedom to embrace back God’s pro-offered of salvation. Weakened by sin but strengthened by grace, the human will retained this capacity to want, albeit yearn for his lost God. 

Hence, because such acts are human acts in grace, like we have said in the beginning Chapter, “... liberated men by the grace of Jesus Christ are enabled to pursue and effect change and good will under the power of Christian love, and within the unconditionality of divine love.” 

And it will not matter how humanly unbearable or impossible the acts. Even if we stipulate an essential and inescapable negativity about it, namely “... the invariable negative characteristic of true living of a mandated following of Jesus Christ, which we have already explained in that chapter. The idea being that we shall have attained the unity with God only in so far as we are united with Christ by way of our carrying of our individual cross or by way of our total self denial, and total surrender to God's occupying of, or filling up of our heart with His Divine life. I.e. our choosing over living our 'fallen human nature' in favor of letting God fill our heart with His Divine life of grace . . .” Nonetheless, “In the process, it will afford us to hear the Spirit's blessing our measuring up to the Lord's Beatitude. ‘Blessed are you who are poor’ the Lord would say, "... in your heart you already possess the Kingdom of God!" A paraphrasing of the first Beatitude, and, as matter of fact, of all the eight beatitudes. In other words, those whose degree of faith and discipleship for God has reached the level of the Beatitudes and who have more than a head-start in the road to sacrificial purification and sanctification are well along the way of perfection this side of Heaven. They are most likely already experiencing many moments of heaven-like bliss of peace and unity with the Divine.” 

And so, in recapitulation of the salient point above expressed, where Jesus is glorified by his total subjecting of his human life to the Father, in the same way are we to expect a share of his glory where we realize the same submitting of our human lives to the will of God. And when we do so we shall find us experiencing these shades of glory even now, and the all-around spiritual blossoming in the graces of God. In the end, humanly speaking, (humanly by the power of grace), we repeat the following highlight from Chapter 6, What is the Life of Grace, describing the destined perfections realizable even right here on earth, and in this life. As Saint Augustine disclosed, "...our hearts have "remained restless... until they rest in Thee (in God)!" This stage of practical living in grace is the high point of the fullness of grace. This is that level so beautifully summarized in the Lord's Beatitudes. This is that level when individuals have achieved the virtue of purity where as promised they see God in everything around them, not metaphorically but really kingdom-wise. This is that level when individuals who have become truly meek shall have very clear visions of how so much of the new earth they shall be given bounty of. This is that level when individuals who have really been through incessant tearful life misfortunes shall be overwhelmed by nothing else but overpowering spiritual consolations. (If there were indeed such things as becoming "high" on drugs,)... this is as it were the real "high" experiencing of God. This is that level when as individuals persevere seeking for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom they are made to also experience mystic visions of God's justice and goodness. When those that have lived martyrdom of life's oppression and persecutions shall forget all their life's tortures and torments as they assuredly contemplate how far more elevating and secure an equivalent "face-to-face" contemplation of God and God's Kingdom it will be even right here on earth. These are scenarios of pious individuals finally rewarded for their believing and following of God as pilgrims on earth. They are scenarios where they have been allowed by God heavenly privileges of great spiritual heights. The Church teaches of instances and occasions of inexplicable marvels gifted to many "Saints" of God. More specific examples of these are: "talking-in-tongues" (hearing them sound out foreign languages as they preach), "slaying-by-the-Spirit" (physical collapsing over a complete taking over by the Spirit, good Spirit, along with consequent disappearance of some ailments), "bi-location" (pious individuals being seen in two or more places at almost the same time), "locution" (speaking past or future events or information related to the Saint), "apparitions" (like the countless appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary all over the world throughout these last centuries), and actual physical levitation in space while in deep prayer. (Father Pio was seen rising to elevation while in prayers a few times.) Saint Stephen actually saw ".... heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God" during his ecstatic dying and uniting with the Saints of Heaven. The Blessed Mother is assumed to the Heaven, body and soul. Jesus Himself demonstrated some terrestrial but supernatural human feats like "walking in water", "penetrating through closed doors", "multiplying loaves of bread and fishes", and healing of many sick even dead people. He even promised the ability to move mountains if our faith bears such degree of approval by God, i.e. (degree of holiness). After the apostles received the Holy Spirit, they all spoke in tongues, and henceforth while preaching were healing many sick individuals, and performing miracles. Like it has been given to the Saints such privilege of performing miracle because they have become holy like God, which enabled them to become united with God. This is the ultimate criterion by which the Church officially confers the title of a "Saint of God" upon a pious believer and follower of Christ: proof positive that the saint performed a miraculous healing of someone very ill. On top of all these, the most glorious human experience on earth of the splendor of the Divine were the three Apostles' witnessing of the "transfigured Jesus", along with Moses, and Elias appearing in a state of glory. They saw the three men in the most unimaginable state of heavenly blessedness. But they experienced all of these not as visualizations by the human eyes or senses, or mental faculties but as human participating with the divine life of God via the abundant living in the grace of God!” 

(Now at this juncture, it is appropriate to remark everything is not bleak, and is not at all doom and gloom, or humanly cynical like what readers may seem to read and complain about from Chapters Three & Four, and from the Chapters on Suffering.) 

Now our brief narrative references to our individual men and women who demonstrated sample accomplishments of God’s holiness mandate by obedience to God’s will while fully true to their human conditions and situations. (To be continued)

PANGLABING APAT NA KABANATA, 14-A Upang Maging Banal ,Banal na Pagbabago ng mga Tao, Hindi Kailangan Maging Kulang Sa Pagka-Tao, Isang Makatotohanang Pagsaksi sa Pagiging Banal

    Bago pormal na pasukin natin itong masalimuot na usapan tulad ng nakahayag sa itaas, kailangan muna nating ipakilala at kilalanin ang makasaysayang katotohanan na hindi kinalimutan ng Diyos ang nilikha Niyang tao pagkatapos Niyang pinalayas sila mula sa Eden nang sumuway sila sa isa Niyang utos. Inilagay ng Diyos sa lalaki, sa halip kay Adan at sa kanyang babae, si Eva. Ito ang tinatawag na "Proto-evangelion". Ito ay walang hanggang hangarin ng Diyos na iligtas Niya ang tao kahit na ang tao ay agad nagnais na sumuway sa Kanya. Kay Adan, ang unang tao ay nawala ang Diyos o ang kanyang pagkakaisa sa Diyos. Kung kayat nangyari na si Eva, ang unang babae at ang kanyang kapareha sa pagsuway sa Diyos, na  kasama ni Adang napawalay mula sa Diyos, ay kapwa o kasama ni Adan na tumanggap nang mantsa ng orihinal na pagkakasala nila laban sa Diyos kung papaanong siya at ang iba pang mga inanak na kababaihan ay isinumpa sa masakit sa panganganak. Kabilang na epekto ito ng pagkawala nila ng dati nilang buhay sobrenatural na maluwalhati at di-pagkakasakit na buhay na bigay ng Diyos. Ngunit sa pamamagitan ng Diyos-Anak, na si Hesukristo, na ipapanganak ni Maria, ay inilaan nang mula walang hanggan ang plano ng pagtubos sa tao sa pagdating ng bagong babae, bagong Eva: Si Maria, na magpapanganak nga ng “Bagong Adan”: ang kanyang Anak at ang Anak ng Diyos, si Hesukristo --- ang Diyos na Naging Buong-buong Tao.

Kung gayon, Aleluya! Si Cristo ay nabuhay! Si Kristo ay umakyat sa langit, at nakaupo sa kanang kamay ng Ama! Aleluya! Si Maria, isang babae ay ipinapalagay sa langit, at nakoronahan ang Reyna ng Langit! Aleluya! Ang Banal na Labindalawa ay pinarangalan sa langit! Si Alleluia, kasama ang Labindalawa, ay maraming bilang ng mga Banal na Martir, mabibilang na Holy Sufferers ng Iba't ibang Burdens, mabilang na Banal na Mahina "habang nasa lupa-para sa kay Cristo", mabilang Holy Crippled & Disabled sa buhay, mabilang Holy Retarded / Innocent sa mundo, mabilang na Holy Gullible at Biktima sa buhay, mabilang na Holy Oppressed sa buhay, mabilang na Holy Hermits, Monks, at Contemplatives ng Simbahan, napakaraming Banal na Pari, mabilang Banal na Pari, at mga Banal na Lalaki at Babae, napakaraming Banal na Confess, sa maraming Banal na Disipulo / Ebanghelisador, mabilang Banal na Mangangaral / Guro ng Pananampalataya, mabilang Banal na Tagapayo, mabilang Banal na Kawal / Mga Tauhan sa Seguridad, mabilang na Holy Thinkers / Philosophers, mabilang Holy Consolers / Sympathizer, mabilang Banal na Pag-aalaga, nagbibilang Banal na Mga Pariwalang Sakit at sa kanila ay nabilanggo, mabilang Mga Banal na donor / Charity-Giver, maraming Banal na Pinuno / Tagapangasiwa-Superbisor, mabilang Holy Family-Provider at Homemaker, napakabilang Holy Medic al Doktor, Nars, at Medikal na Tauhan, atbp. at napakaraming Banal na "mga ama-ng-mga-pamilya at mga ina-ng-pamilya", kasama ang napakaraming Banal na "asawa at asawa". At higit pa, at higit pa, at higit pa ..........! Aleluya, talaga! Lahat dahil sila ay nai-save; lahat sapagkat ang mga ito ay sa wakas natanggap ng kapunuan ng biyaya ni Cristo.

Ipinahiwatig ni San Pablo na walang sinumang maisip ang walang hanggan na kaugalian ng pagiging perpekto na naghihintay sa mga kalalakihan at kababaihan ng pananampalataya sa buhay pagkatapos. "Ang plano ng Diyos para sa mga taong nagmamahal sa kanya ay higit pa sa nakita ng mga mata o narinig ng mga tainga. Hindi pa ito nakapasok sa ating isipan! "2 Corr 2: 9 Samakatuwid, ang ating listahan sa itaas ay hindi nangangahulugang isang komprehensibong pagtatangka-pagkategorya ng mga uri ng mga banal / perpektong indibidwal na mananahan sa kalangitan sa pamamagitan ng pagkamangha ng mga biyaya ng Diyos. Gayunpaman, dapat na nilikha ng Diyos sa lahat ng kawalang-hanggan ang mga kalalakihan at kababaihan bawat isa ay natatangi ayon sa ganap na disenyo at pagkamalikhain ng pamamaraan ng Diyos at ayon sa bawat isa ay binigyan ang kanyang natatanging pagkatao at mga kalagayan ng buhay sa loob ng oras at puwang, sa ang mundo at sa loob ng Simbahan. Sa gayon, sa anumang nakatago sa publiko at hindi nakikitang mga ugali at karanasan ng tao, mga kalalakihan at kababaihan, na matapat na naglakbay sa kani-kanilang mga indibidwal na buhay, ay sa gantimpala pagkatapos ng buhay na ipapakita ang kanilang mga uri ng taglamig o kabanalan o pagiging perpekto alinsunod sa kalooban ng Diyos. Hindi ito magiging isang kataka-taka kung kailan matupad at ipinahayag na ang mga yaong 'mga nasa huli' sa mundo ay magiging ang mga 'mau-una' sa langit! At marahil tulad ng tila ang laganap na pagkalat ng 'mahirap' sa buong lugar sa mundo; kalagayan ito ay nangangahulugang isang halos magkaparehong kasaganaan ng hindi kilalang "langit 'noveau na mayaman" o ang mga ito ay "UNANG-huli-sa-langit"? May posibilidad ba na magtaka kung bakit talaga pinahintulutan ng Diyos na marami sa kanila ang ipanganak at mabuhay ng mahirap? Sinabi ng Panginoon, "Mapapalad ang mga mahihirap!" Marahil, muli, ganyan ang bilang ng langit na napakaraming 'dami'? (Ang Book of Revelations ay nagpapatunay sa mga mahusay na pinagsama-samang mga Banal na Ones.) Siyempre, hindi tayo univocal-ly at literal na tumutukoy sa kabanalan sa pagiging mahirap! Ngunit dapat nating unawain na ang paglalakbay ng kahirapan ay ang paraan na higit na nakasandal sa pamumuhay at pagyakap sa mga pagkakataon ng GRACE. Ie. misa ng mahihirap na tao na matiyagang nagdadala ng mga pakikibaka ng pagiging mahirap sa Espiritu ng pananampalataya. (Bagaman, hindi natin partikular na nililimitahan ang saklaw ng pagiging perpekto na tinutukoy natin sa itaas patungo sa kapalaran ng pagiging mahirap. Napansin namin na ang iba't ibang mga natatanging buhay na nabuhay para sa Diyos ay naiwan lamang sa mga banal na plano at banal na mga plano ng providential.)

Ang tanong ay: "Bakit namin malinaw na inilalarawan dito ang mga banal na kalalakihan at kababaihan ng kalangitan?" Upang mailagay ang pananaw na ito sa ibang paraan, kung paano naiintindihan na may hangganan at may-kamatayan na kalalakihan at kababaihan, o di-sakdal at tunay na mga lalaki-makasalanan at kababaihan- ang mga makasalanan ay maaaring maging, at dapat na pag-asa sa mga PANGINOON ng kalangitan? Tila mas nauunawaan o madaling tanggapin na ang mga banal na anghel ay muling nakatira sa langit sa Diyos. Ngunit tila napakahusay na nahuhumaling ang mga kalalakihan at kababaihan ay kabilang sa langit? LABAN MULA SA ITO! Mula sa pasimula at hanggang sa kawalang-hanggan at oras na ito ay palaging kalooban ng Diyos. Ang Banal na katotohanan ay o na ang Diyos ay nagkaroon / may napaka-espesyal na pagmamahal sa sangkatauhan. Ipinakita at ipinatupad ng Diyos ang katotohanan at katotohanan na ito sa dalawang mga account: sa pamamagitan ng Paglikha at ng Kaligtasan. Mula sa paglikha, sinasabing nilikha ng Diyos ang tao sa UNTO ng kanyang imahe, tulad ng kanyang sarili. Habang mula sa kasaysayan ng kaligtasan, ang Diyos HIMSELF ay naging MAN! Una, nauna ang Ad-before-the-Fall Adan, na labis na nakalulugod na isang nilalang sa Diyos hanggang sa ginawa Niya siyang katulad sa KANYA. Pagkatapos ay pangalawa, nariyan si Cristo - ang Pangalawang Tao ng Divine Triune God-head, ang Anak ng Diyos na Ama, SENTADO sa lupa, na GINAWA NG LALAKI / HUMAN! Ang Diyos-Tao. Sa huli, bukod pa, sa paraan ng plano ng kaligtasan, pagkatapos na si Kristo, ang Anak ng Diyos, ay tinubos ang mga kasalanan ng lahat ng kalalakihan at kababaihan, dapat niyang iligtas at magpakailanman ibigay ang kanyang sarili o ang kanyang BODY & DUGO & SOUL & DIVINITY bilang kalalakihan na "Pagkain "Upang magkaroon sila ng kanilang Bagong Buhay, ibig sabihin. ang kanilang BUHAY NG GRACE. Samakatuwid, sa pamamagitan nito ay naibalik ng mga makasalanang kalalakihan at kababaihan ang kanilang pagkakahawig sa Diyos, pati na rin ang naging mga tatanggap ng Diyos sa loob nila na nagpapalusog sa kanila ng mismong KAPANGYARIHAN, ARAW, DULONG, at DIVINIDAD ni Cristo, na ginagawa silang mga "diyos" kasama ng Diyos . Kahit na ang mga Anghel ay hindi kailanman nagkaroon ng pribilehiyo at kapalaran na ito na ibinibigay sa mga kalalakihan at kababaihan. Ang mga anghel ay hindi tumatanggap ng Eukaristiya. Kailangan kang maging isang tao upang "kumain" ng Eukaristiya, upang pakainin kasama ni Kristo.

Presto, ito ang dahilan kung bakit maging banal / perpektong mga naninirahan sa kalangitan, nailigtas ng mga nilalang na DAPAT DAPAT MAGING TUNAY NA tao; dapat silang tunay na totoo sa kalooban ng Diyos na maging tunay na "kopya" ng Banal (ayon sa kanilang pre-Fall na kalikasan ng tao), at maging tunay na tao na si Cristo "mga kopya at co-Cross-bearers na mga kalahok-in-the-kaligtasan na gawa "Sa pamamagitan ng mga kapangyarihan ng biyaya ni Cristo. I.e. tunay na malayang mga indibidwal, at tunay na ipinanganak-ulit-kalalakihan at kababaihan kay Cristo. Sa parehong bilang, tunay na bagong tao ng Diyos. Ito ang dahilan kung bakit ang daan patungo sa langit ay maging isang tunay na lalaki o babae ng Diyos hanggang sa ang Anak ng Diyos ay naging isang tunay na gawa ng Diyos.

Nais naming markahan sa Kabanatang ito ang lugar ng 'pagpapakumbaba' sa kasaysayan ng kaligtasan. Tulad ng pinapahiwatig ng aming dalawahang pamagat, ang Diyos na hindi maikakaila at walang humpay na binalak at ipinatupad ang paraang ito sa pagsasakatuparan ng kaligtasan ng sangkatauhan. Una, na gusto niya ito na ang kanyang Anak ay naging 'laman', naging isang tao, naging isang tao kahit na mas mababa kaysa sa mga Anghel ngunit na ang lahat ay masunurin sa dikta ng Banal na Walo. At pagkatapos, Pangalawa, na gumawa siya ng sangkatauhan ay gumawa / gumawa ng isang katulad na pagkilos na tunay na yumakap sa mahirap na pag-aari ng tao ng tao, at sa gayon, nakasalalay sa awa at pangangalaga ng Diyos para sa kanilang mga pangangailangan at kapalaran ng tao. Sa gayon ay nagpakumbaba si Jesus na naging tao; at ang sangkatauhan ay dapat na mapagpakumbabang tanggapin ang mga limitasyon ng tao at kakulangan upang mai-save ang sarili o sapat na pangangalaga, at mapanatili ang sarili. Sa batayan na ito ay ipinapaliwanag natin ang turo ng Simbahan tungkol sa pangangailangan ng tao para sa pananampalataya at gawa ng biyaya upang mai-save. Napag-usapan namin kung gaano ang mapagmataas at walang saysay na mga tao / sa anumang edad at anumang lahi, na hinahangad / humanap o pag-angkin / pag-angkin ng pagiging sapat sa sarili ng tao sa kanilang mga pagsusumikap, o sa pag-save ng kanilang mga kaluluwa. Para sa aral ng tao sa pagiging mapagpakumbaba, hindi talaga ipinakita na si Hesus mismo ay sumigaw nang umaasa sa at sa Ama sa wakas ng kanyang buhay, "Diyos ko, Diyos ko, bakit mo ako pinabayaan?", At "Sa ang iyong mga kamay ay pinupuri ko ang aking Espiritu. "(Siyempre, ang unang taludtod ay hindi nangangahulugan na si Jesus ay nanghihinayang o talagang kulang sa pagtitiwala sa Diyos. Ito ay nangangahulugan lamang ng kanyang huling gawa ng pagtanggap ng tao o pagbibitiw sa kanyang pinahihintulutang at nakatakdang kapalaran ng pagpapako sa krus hanggang sa kamatayan. Ang ikalawang taludtod ay nagpapatunay sa totoong pagtitiwala ni Jesus na sa wakas ang Ama, na talagang namamahala at kontrol, ay aalagaan si Jesus na ipinako sa krus at patay.) At hanggang sa tayo, mga tao, at ating kaligtasan ay nababahala dapat nating sundin ang babala ng Panginoon, "Maliban kung .." tayo ay "tulad ng mga maliliit na bata" sa pagtitiwala sa Diyos na Ama ".. hindi tayo makakapasok sa Kaharian ng Langit."