Having considered thus far what divinization is and by using an earthly example of marriage to help us understand it more simply, now would be an opportune time to ask an important question. In fact, it is the question. Do you believe this, namely God’s immense desire for you that is revealed so profoundly in this reality of divinization? Do you believe personally that God wants to share his life totally and completely with you? Do you really believe this in the depths of your heart, or do you believe that this is true for others, but not you?
I have noticed throughout my religious life that many good and sincere people can be very concerned and even preoccupied with evangelization and ministry, which of course is a necessity. All baptized Christians are called to evangelize (Mt 28:19-20) and minister to others in some form that is unique to one’s own vocation by using their personal gifts and talents. However, what I have noticed from certain people in ministry is that they sometimes forget that they too, regardless of how long they have been disciples and regardless of how “important” they believe their ministry is, need to be evangelized and ministered to daily as well, by the Lord himself! The busier one is, especially in ministry, the more that person needs to sit at the feet of Jesus every day and allow the presence of Jesus and his word to evangelize them. Why must they do this? Not simply so that they can acquire more information about God or receive inspiration and strength for apostolic endeavors, or so that they are more able to do good things for others in the name of the Gospel. Rather, I must be evangelized and ministered to each day for my own divinization, since this is the desire and the will of God, and since this is the purpose of my life. St. Paul affirms this so succinctly: “This is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
The busier one is, especially in ministry, the more that person needs to sit at the feet of Jesus every day and allow the presence of Jesus and his word to evangelize them.
Despite how good and attractive all of this might sound, it is very possible, and I would add probable, that each one of us can face a grave temptation here. It is the temptation to think that “I can’t do this…I have too much of a past…I’m too selfish…I’m too broken…I’m too distracted…I’m too busy, etc.” The first part of this temptation is true. You and I can’t do this. However, since divinization is the will of God for us it must be possible, since God doesn’t will for us something that is impossible. Because of the Incarnation various excuses like “I’m too broken, I’m too much of a sinner, I’m too selfish, etc.,” are no longer valid. None of these realities keep God away from us. The only thing that keeps God away from us is our excuses and our lack of faith, which is essentially our resistance to the grace, love, and the mercy of God.
St. Paul was at one time a zealous enemy of Christianity and was described in the Acts of the Apostles as “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord” (Acts 9:1). Several years later after St. Paul’s conversion to Christ, he writes in his letter to the Galatians “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). What happened to St. Paul? What brought about such an extraordinary change? It is simple: he allowed, with God’s grace, the presence of Jesus and the word of God first to evangelize him and then to divinize him.
St. Peter was a sincere and well-intentioned man, but also a weak and fearful man who ended up denying Christ (Matthew 26:74). Yet, this weak and fearful man is the one who conveys to us biblically this reality of divinization, as he writes in his second letter: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness…that through these you may escape the corruption that is in the world…and become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:3:4). This “becoming partakers of the divine nature” is nothing else but divinization. St. Peter, like St. Paul, allowed the presence of Jesus and the word of God to first evangelize him and then divinize him. What was the result for both? A transformed humanity, i.e. a divinized life!
St. Paul’s and St. Peter’s brokenness, weakness, and sinfulness did not prevent God from divinizing them and neither should ours prevent God from divinizing us. It is possible then for each one of us, no excuses! However, we must also mention that our own divinization is not meant simply just for us. Catholicism never advocates a “Jesus and me” spirituality. Rather, authentic Catholic spirituality includes, “Jesus, me, and the whole world and everybody in it.” This is because every grace and gift of God given to us is for us; however it is also meant to be shared with and for others, specifically for whomever I’m sharing life with or whomever I may be sharing the present moment with. The more divinized I become, the more I become the healing presence of Christ to others. The more I become divinized the more Christ is made visibly present in the world, through me.
There is then an absolute necessity to not only understand the purpose of the spiritual life but to seek its fulfillment in one’s own being. Robert Cardinal Sarah once said that “Divinization is the ultimate meaning of human existence.”[1] If I don’t become who I’m called to be, if I don’t live out the meaning of my existence, which is essentially to become another Christ, not only do I suffer but so does the rest of the world. If a person really wants to help the world and really minister to God’s people, the most important thing a person can do is allow God’s grace to transform them. This can only occur when we share the entirety of our life with God and become divinized. If we do that, we will set the world on fire. The Church has plenty of volunteers, good religious, and intelligent people, all of whom we are grateful for. What the Church does not have much of, and what she desperately needs most, are saints, and divinization is a pre-requisite for sanctity.
Our world today, as always, is in desperate need of God. Yes, all our apostolic endeavors are important, but to the person who has become “deified,” Christ is “all, and in all” (Colossians 3:11). For a divinized soul there is no distinction in that person between prayer and activity, between rest and service, because it is no longer we who are doing those things, but Christ who is doing those things in us. When Jesus Christ is fully alive in a person everything and everyone around that person will be affected. Such is the power of his presence and love, a power that only a divinized soul can communicate most effectively.
[1] Robert Cardinal Sarah, Catechism of the Spiritual Life, EWTN Publishing, Inc. 2022, 23.
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