MY SIX STEPS TO ETERNITY

As in Scientific thought, there are two basic approaches I can take when looking at a systematic way to view reality. My tools are The six questions and answers of The Divine Equation, The Church as a mother who guides and nourishes me with the grace of the Holy Spirit (Seven Sacraments), plus, in my particular case, being a Professed Lay Cistercian. http://www.trappist.net

1. THEORETICAL SPIRITUAL INQUIRY: This is the pure investigation of reality using the tools of my life experiences and also the results of my choices. This, theoretical spiritual inquiry, characterized using The Divine Equation and its accompanying six questions with their authenticity is knowledge for the sake of knowledge, much like theoretical mathematics and physics. I use this first type of spiritual inquiry in my Lectio Divina sessions where I just sit back and listen to what the universe (through the power of the Holy Spirit) tells me. I don’t care about what others think about my ideas, nor if they agree with the core principles of my Catholic experience (but they always do). This approach is between me and the Holy Spirit and the results are all interconnected together. I place myself in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Liturgy of the Hours, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Lection Divina, Spiritual Reading, and just private time with Christ, so that I can activate that part of me that is my inheritance as an adopted son (daughter) of the Father. I ask the questions of what the purpose of life is, what is my purpose in that life, and particularly what reality looks like and then how it all fits together, then wait. The result of all this seemingly anecdotal thinking is love, in particular fierce love. What is really happening is my interaction with divinity and its pure knowledge, pure love, and pure service (energy). Christ is the transformer that allows me to take into myself divine energy as I can accommodate it with the totality of who I am. As a Lay Cistercian, I am constantly trying to increase my capacity (capacitas dei) to hold more of Christ and to eliminate those elements in me that impede my becoming more human as nature intended. This is called conversio morae, or constantly becoming more and more complex (deeper or higher) in what it means to be human.
2. APPLIED SPIRITUALITY — Like applied mathematics or physics, everything in this theoretical approach (within me) is designed to move forward in my evolution and to help others develop their own potential to become more and more human. Each human, be they Catholic, Lay Cistercian, or not, be they believers or not, move together with me in the dance of life towards a future that is unclear but compelling in its magnetic pull. St. Augustine puts it this way, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.” The applied spirituality is “doing” spirituality talked about in Matthew 25. It is the sixth of the questions that God gives humans to answer so that they might discover not who God is, but who they are. Each of us knows we are going to die. The question becomes, now what? Depending on what each individual discovers about the three questions facing each of us, we either move according to what nature intended or not. Moving forward is called heaven; not moving is called hell.
3. When God called us adopted sons (daughters), like any Father worth their name, God gave us everything we need to move forward. God even gave Jesus, both divinity and humanity, to tell us and show us how to move beyond the martyrdom of ordinary living to share (as each of us is capable) the way, the truth, and the life. To be sure, we must still make that walk individually, but we are not orphans, but heirs to the kingdom and God wants us to fulfill what creation itself was designed to do, to shepherd each of us to our destiny in heaven. The Real Presence of Christ is the test of Faith to which each Catholic must believe with their whole mind, their whole heart, and all their strength, each day, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

uiodg