FIVE LEVELS OF DEPTHS IN MEDITATION.

I have often read the phrase, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” In my twenties, full of vim, vigor, and myself, I read and promptly sloughed off this passage from John 14 as “read and just as quickly forgotten.” Like almost all Scriptures I read then, I was more preoccupied with reading the Bible than thinking and even being what that passage meant. Sixty years later, I find myself reading that same passage, now in its entirety (not just to memorize or justify Jesus), so I might become what I read. I offer you the entire passage below for your pondering and reflection. Read it three times, each time thinking of how you can become better because of it and increase God’s presence within you. (capacitas dei)

I assure you that I do not have the capacity or capability to conjure up all these thoughts in my limited lifetime of human experiences. What I have learned about contemplative practice and its effects on me is what I share with you. Don’t do as I do; do as you can in God’s presence.

Last Supper Discourses.

1^* “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith^* in God; have faith also in me.

2In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?

3^* And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.^a

4Where [I] am going you know the way.”^*

5Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?”

6Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth^* and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.^b

7If you know me, then you will also know my Father.^* From now on you do know him and have seen him.”^c

8Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father,^* and that will be enough for us.”^d

9Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?^e

10Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.^f

11Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves.^g

12Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.^h

13And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.ⁱ

14If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.

MINING MY LIFE FOR DEEPER PARTS OF MY BEING HUMAN

You have just read a phrase about Christ being the Way, the Truth, and the Life. At this stage of my life, I usually look at what is more profound in ideas and concepts and what might be the assumption that requires me to believe this or that. I share five levels of depths (capacitas dei), which I use to delve beneath the surface of a phrase or idea. They are:

COSMIC– This is the universal level of all reality (physical, mental, and spiritual), the macro view of the concept “I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE.” As I view it, the idea makes more sense when I apply the Teilhard de Chardin map of Existence to this phrase and use its milestones (the three principles below) plus my own use of reason and free will choice to lift up this pathway as the cosmic way all reality flows with purpose and yet diversity. When you look at this map, it is the way I look at my humanity, and within it, there is movement of consciousness and ongoing complexity that has a beginning and a conclusion or fulfillment.

THE GENESIS PRINCIPLE — Creation (Alpha) to Omega is how reality flows on this Teilhard map, picking up more and more consciousness (conversion morae) and ever-expanding complexity (capacitas dei), as all matter and time fulfill their role in this movement of intelligent progression. This macro pathway is what Christ mentioned in (John 14:6-7), except this way is the flow of all matter, time, energy, and life from what was to what will be picking up the fragments of thought and authentic truth as matriculates in each age.

THE CHRIST PRINCIPLE-– A milestone (and a paradigm shift) is humanity struggling with mere human energies (physical and mental) to strain to that next level of our humanity, one intended since God put his fingerprints on each atom. God had to become human to give us the truth, one which is increasingly difficult for almost all humans to accept with simply human or secular reasoning. The key to moving to the next level of human evolution rests with each individual, not the species or human nature. Reason and choice are provided to humans so that they can make the choice to abandon all that the world seeks to place as the next level of evolution in favor of what is true in the spiritual universe–the opposite of what the world says makes humans fulfilled. Humans could never reason with this approach, nor would they have the energy to raise our nature to that next level of fulfillment, being an adopted son or daughter of the Father and heir to the Kingdom of Heaven. Christ became human (Philippians 2:5-12) to tell us and show us how to become more human. Notice that The Christ Principle, like the nature of God, is a person, one with whom we can identify and use human examples to grasp the grandeur of the way crudely, leading to the truth, and so to lead a life that is the next step in our human involvement.

THE PRINCIPLE OF ABSOLUTE TRUTH– This third way to look at the way, the truth, and life has to do with the key to making all of it make sense. I have already mentioned that the kingdom of heaven does not make sense with the senses. Humans always seek the truth without error and without human contamination. Because of Original Sin, that is impossible, each person is their own center of truth and reality and values revolve around each person according to what they choose at their center. What is true for humanity must be absolute truth, which only exists in the divine nature, not human. Do you see why Jesus had to become human in nature? It was to be a Magister Noster (Our Teacher and Master) on how to get to heaven, beginning with this world. But how to do that in this world steeped in the fog of original sin? With Baptism, original sin’s penalty of death is removed, but we still live with the effects of our human imperfections and bad choices. Accepting The Christ Principle as the way, the truth, and the only way to live a spiritual life that is the fulfillment of our next step in the evolution of our species means all measurement comes through, with, and in Him.

MY ASSIMILATION OF THE ABOVE INTO A MINDSET ON HOW TO GROW DEEPER IN MY HUMANITY

I am not you; you are not me; God is not us, and we, most certainly, are not God. I am the reason all of this exists. Were I not to exist, none of this would matter. Because I do realize that I know that I know and that my free choice is to give it away to God to receive in return the fullness of what it means to be at the next level of my evolution along with the energy from outside of my nature to sustain me as I continue to wobble down the pathway of whatever time I have left in my physical and mental existence.

I am the only translator of what it means to be Catholic. I use the totality of my life experiences, which are different for each human, to look at reality and ask fundamental questions, such as The Divine Equation poses and answers with The Christ Principle as the truth template. They are:

• What is the purpose of life?
• What is the purpose of my life within that purpose of life?
• What does reality look like?
• How does it all fit together?
• How to love fiercely?
• You know you are going to die: now what?

My Lay Cistercian Way is how I have chosen to live out the kingdom of heaven in this world of original sin until I am resurrected with Christ and ascend to the Father in the kingdom of heaven after death. Your way may not be my way, but all of us must use The Christ Principle and these five levels of sophistication to answer the longings of our hearts to know, love, and serve God in this life and to be happy in the next. (Baltimore Catechismm, Q6).

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