FOUR COINS THAT COME WITH ADOPTION AS A SON (DAUGHTER) OF THE FATHER: Coin One gets me in the door.

Reality exists independent of my belief, yet I depend on my humanity to probe and discern how IT ALL FITS TOGETHER. It does, I am sure of that, and I even get glimpses of how this cobweb of seemingly unrelated happenings in my life not only fits together but what it all means about the totality of all that is (that is, what I know is). This is my challenge for the remaining time I have (it doesn’t matter how long, and, believe me, it won’t be extended). It adds sparkle to my otherwise mundane retirement. My body is failing, as is its natural process, contained as it is in the corpse of corruption of matter and mind (not moral corruption per se, although that is a part of the human condition of original sin).

This morning, as is my habit five or six times a day, I go to the upper room of my inner self (the room the late hero of mine, Stephen Hawking, never thought to enter, and not because he was not a genius cosmologist, but instead because he never thought there was anything there worth exploring). This is the Achilles Heel of Scientific Thought that holds that it alone is the language of reason and objective thinking. Of course, that is sheer nonsense from my point of view. Science is one of many languages we humans use to communicate with each other, and, I might add, with a God, we don’t see with our eyes and mind but only our eyes, our minds, and our hearts. Love is the ultimate language. I always use multiple languages to confront what is and what it means. I am not multi-lingual. I use science when science is the appropriate way to look at reality and ask, “How does it all fit together?”

This brings me to the topic of this blog. What are the coins of which you speak? As you might have imagined, I use them metaphorically to tell a story. Is this recorded in the Bible? No, but neither is the name of Atheist, Protestant, or even Catholic. You have reason for a reason. Use it productively (searching for meaning through good works. See St. Benedict’s Rule, Chapter 4).

THE UPPER ROOM OF MY INNER SELF: The Waiting Room

In this upper room is a couch (which you can see) and a table on which are four coins. (Matthew 6:5) I sit on the couch, and the air squishes out with a smell of leather. Nice. As I always do in my Lectio Divina sessions, I think of Chapter 7 of St. Benedict’s Rule on Humility and how the first step is “fear of the Lord.” No one is visible sitting next to me, but after a while, my heart calms down, and I begin to pick up the sound of a faint heartbeat coming from next to me. I must keep reminding myself that this is God, and I have asked to play in His sandbox, so I must use his rules, not mine, to grow.

When I reach a stage of awareness that tries not to see Christ in my image and likeness but simply wait in serenity and simplicity, there is a voice, a faint whisper, “Did you get the coins?” says Christ. “Yes,” I respond, “but I don’t remember when I got them, nor do I know what they mean,” I say. “It takes a lifetime to know the meaning of those coins, ones that I give to each of my adopted sons and daughters at Baptism, your Birthday,” says God. “I don’t remember ever seeing them before,” I add. “That explains a lot,” says Christ. “I know you got them,” said Christ, “because I told the Church, my living Real Presence on earth, to make their meaning and practice known to each person who can say, “Jesus Christ, Son God, Savior.” “Your belief completes my Faith each time you place yourself in my presence. And don’t worry about those who don’t believe or not. You believe what has been handed down to you through the Prophets, the Apostles, and the Church Magisterium, and never lose sight of me. This is your inheritance, and it begins on Earth, not in heaven.”

“These coins are reminders to you of the price I paid for the ransom of many. You need to present these four coins to St. Peter as the price of your admittance to the first level of heaven (there are three levels).”

“Can you give me just a refresher of the scope of their meaning,” I say? “You are my center, my Magister Noster, my way, my truth so that I can live a life with you, Lord,” I add. “All I need from you, Michael, is a THANKS BE TO GOD,” the Holy Spirit whispered.

THE FOUR COINS OF ETERNITY

“At your Baptism,” says the Holy Spirit, “we presented you with four coins. Never mind the fact that you were young. It would not have made a difference even if you were 70.” These are the coins you can use only in the realm in the kingdom of heaven, like the coins that John Wick uses at the Continental Hotel. Remember, you entered the kingdom of heaven on Earth at your Baptism, and your task is to guard them so the Evil One does not steal them from you. You will need these four coins when you enter the kingdom of heaven in heaven so you can advance and grow in your capacitas dei even then. Don’t lose them; they are the pearl of the great price, and you need to guard them with your life. You only get four of them, but I will show you how to use them. “

“We gave them to you personally, but you must spend them wisely, using my Body (Eucharist) as your bank, while you are living. These coins are not only to help you survive the minefields of walking through the Garden of Earth, the realm of Satan, but you take with you to move to the next level of your human evolution, one that happens only if you use your reason and free will, as I intended,” said Christ.

THE FIRST COIN– INFORMATION Entry and Sustainability

“Take a look at Teilhard de Chardin’s map of ‘the spine of life,’ the one that shows you both the consciousness and complexity of my Word (John 1:1). Notice how there are milestones in the evolution of humanity from creation to life, to humanity, to Christianity, and to the culmination of this movement, Omega (that is Me)?” said the Father. “When you look at this map, you see me (with your eyes and your capacitas dei) and how I made plans for just you, to share with me the fullness of your human nature.”

“Pick up the coin and notice that it has two faces, but they are smooth, glass-like, with no symbols or markings. Now, look at one side and hold it up to get a reflection of your likeness on this side of the coin. “What do you see?”

“I just see me, I said.

“I gave this to you at your Baptism so that you could look in it throughout your life when things get dim and dark. Your face and only your face are in that mirror. St. Peter will ask you for your coin, so you should give it to him to enter the kingdom of heaven after you die.”

“What about the back of the coin?” I dared to ask.

“The first side is your proof of adoption as my adopted son (daughter) and your inheritance. The second side is a gift of the Holy Spirit, called Confirmation by the Church. One coin, two sides. Baptism makes you a citizen of heaven, even as you live on Earth. The Holy Spirit and our energy is with you as you live your dual citizenship. What do you see on the back side of the coin?”

“Just the same as on the front but with one exception. I have a sign of the cross on my forehead with what looks like ashes,” I said. “Good,” said Jesus, “I had a hard time trying to get the ashes right. I did so by my death and resurrection, and now I ask you to do the same and die to all that your experience and reason tells you is real. You can’t die to yourself each day without my help, but I am always there for you in the upper room of your inner self in contemplation, plus, of course, in the Eucharist. Come, wait with me.”

“The Holy Spirit is the advocate for you to be able to help you be in my presence so that you can assimilate the way, the truth, and the life into you more profoundly every day,” Jesus said. You are made in our image, not that we look human, but that you become more like us, as your nature and capacity permits: to know, to love, and to serve with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. We left our fingerprints on each physical atom with unique properties, so you could know we are.”

“Thank you,” I said, with eyes lowered in the sheer humility of being in the presence of pure energy. I don’t deserve any of these divine coins. I realize that these are my inheritance while I am still here on Earth as a citizen of the world, and I must protect them from the grasp of the Evil One who seeks to steal them from me when I am not looking. Glory be to the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. The God who is, who was, and who is to come at the end of the ages,” I said. “Amen,” Christ responded.

“If you think that was good, wait until you open your mind and heart with the Holy Spirit and consider that there is not one heaven, but three. I will give you a hint: One heaven with three distinct levels of existence each one different but each one the same. Remind you of anything?”

“The Trinity,” I said.

“Good job, “said Jesus, “it is like playing Jeopardy, the game show, not so? Oh, just as an aside, you won’t believe who I got to host the Divine Jeopardy game on our Transcendent YouTube TV channel.”

“No,” I said, “Alec Trebeck?”

“The same, ” said Christ, ” He jumped at the chance to do here what he loved doing while on Earth, and, I might add, all of us are made very happy. What a grand guy.”

“You may not believe it, but everything we do in heaven is like Earth; you must be willing to die to your human will so you can rise to my divine will, the fulfillment of your human species. Why do you think Earth is a training camp for you to know how to live in heaven as an adopted son or daughter? That is why contemplation is an art to be mastered over a lifetime and I don’t just you infused knowledge. Why do you think I gave you adoption on Earth but left you with original sin as your earthly context to live out your inheritance. You must earn it by taking up your cross each day. You must struggle to keep yourself aligned with my will. Use it or lose it, I think the saying goes. The value of these four coins is the value you give them to help you love others as I have loved you. You must learn how to be it on Earth, so you won’t waste time in Purgatory having to struggle all over again and get it right. You might think you get these gifts for free, but not so. The coins you receive on Earth are free, just like Baptism, but you must learn how they are used and how they can help you move higher and higher in heaven. Want to hear more?” said Christ.

“Just a word of caution, don’t lose any of these coins while you are trying to evade the false promises of Satan. He will betray you like he did me, but I still love him. His pride prevents him, even now, from being fully what I created. Satan was one of my top Lieutenants and a clever spirit, but he was jealous that I did not make him human, so he got so angry that he vowed that anyone on Earth (Adam and Eve) he would try to steal their inheritance and get them to worship him as king of Earth. (John 14) The poor guy missed that train that left the station. My point in all of this is to just mention that the big conflicts are not only the Ukraine War or the War of Palestinians against my people (I love them both), but rather something more sinister and diabolical (pun intended). It is the cosmic conflict between what is good and what is evil and who determines what is good. Satan, once again, has seduced gullible and ego-centric nations with delusions of fulfillment, as they create factions and fracture boundaries.”

“What is so special about these coins,” I said, “they look like silver dollars, only gold and thicker? These remind me of the gold coins in the John Wick series about revenge and personal vendetta rather than redemption.”

“I paid for your coins with my life,” said Christ. “These are the coins I used to redeem each human so that your species could have a chance to jump that last step from rationality to spirituality. Humans don’t have that kind of energy to lift themselves up, but I lifted all reality up to the next level of evolution so I could draw all things to myself. If you don’t take up your cross each day with me and walk with me in Lectio Divina, Eucharist, Liturgy of the Hours, reading Holy Scriptures, and seeking humility and obedience, as beloved St. Benedict teaches in his Chapter 4 of the Rule, you might just forget the great price of these pearls, and cast them before swine (and you know how we Jews hate pigs).”

“So here is how I want you to use them. When you die and the angels escort you to Paradise,” said Christ, “you take these coins with you. In fact, they are the only things you can take to heaven. Each coin is like a computer in that it records everything you ever did and said, and the hidden thoughts you had while you were living. This is important because I will ask you to deposit the first coin of Baptism into a slot in the door you will discover. If the coin opens the door, go inside and await further instructions. If it does not open immediately, you will be directed by St. Peter to go to another door which is the waiting room. Some people call this Purgatory, but it is a place where you get a second chance to get it right. If you do find yourself in Purgatory, don’t worry. You still have hope to go through the door after you have figured out why your coins would not let you in.”

“There are three questions that you must answer correctly based on the background you found on this first coin. The first is, What does it mean to be fully human and fulfill what nature intended for your species? The answers have always been right in front of you so now you must re-focus your human reasoning and free will to make the correct choices. Secondly, What does it mean to love with all your mind, all your heart, all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself? I showed you how to do this by dying to your worldly self to enter the kingdom of heaven on Earth as an adopted son and daughter. I never wrote down my instructions, but my disciples did with my inspiration. Read these stories to find out how to be fully human. This leads to the third question you must answer, and it is not only an intellectual question but one of transformation of the heart to be able to talk and listen to the language of God on Earth but also in heaven–the whispers of silence. It is the template that shows you what is good on Earth and in heaven, and what is a false path that does not lead to the fulfillment of your humanity. On Earth, this language or energy of God translates into thinking of serving others rather than yourself and helping them. Chapter 4 of the Rule of St. Benedict says it like I would. Read it and ponder it as you await your purification.”

“When you have learned these three lessons to your satisfaction, take your coin and try it again in the door. It will open if you have learned what it means to convert your life daily to your true self in Christ (conversio morae). This step means you will have learned HOW to submit your will with that of mine to approach the Father in obedience and freedom to actualize your inheritance as an adopted son or daughter. Secondly, it means you cannot die to yourself (abandoning your will to God’s way, truth, and life rather than your own perception of what is real) without humility and realizing that, unlike Adam and Eve, knowledge of what is good or evil comes from God, not the world. These lessons are critical for entering the kingdom of heaven, even if you are baptized in name only and have never learned HOW to place God as your center. All there is in heaven is knowledge (the Father), love (the son), and service (the Holy Spirit). You will be able to participate in this first level of heaven, knowledge, based on the results of your life, which are imprinted on that first coin. Heaven is not the same for each person, although there is only one heaven, one Lord, one Baptism.

“But what if I place my coin in the slot and the door opens?” I said. “You had better worry if the door does not open,” said Christ.

To be continued…

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