HOW IS YOUR INTERIOR LIFE?

HOW IS YOUR INTERIOR LIFE?

The term ‘interior life’ may evoke something too deep for us ordinary Christians. It makes us think of the spiritual giants, like St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila. We might think it's only for the mystics; “I'm not that holy”. But the truth is we all can and ought to have an interior life, lest we live a superficial or shallow life.

Interior life is simply the life of our soul. The life of our body is our soul, but the life of our soul is the Holy Spirit dwelling within us when we are in the state of grace; in other words it is God's life in our soul, a sharing/participation in God's life. We are called to be “partakers of the divine nature” (2Pet 1:4). For “God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom 5:5). “As a result communion with Jesus has become, in a way, more intense: ‘by communicating his Spirit, Christ mystically constitutes as his body….’” (CCC#788). God has indeed united us to Himself in a more intimate way.

At Baptism the Holy Spirit is infused into our soul, which gives us SANCTIFYING GRACE for the first time, a share in God's life, DIVINIZING us. And with the Holy Spirit is the Father and the Son. Properly speaking the Blessed Trinity becomes ‘really’ present in our soul. [“If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and WE shall come to him and make Our home with him.” Jn 14:24] We enter into the inner life of the Blessed Trinity. This supernatural life of grace is beyond intellectual analysis or emotional reaction (not discernible by the senses), because it is in the deepest core of our being, in the depths of our soul. Yet it is a real presence, though not substantial as the REAL PRESENCE of Jesus in the Eucharist in his physical existence, body, blood, soul and divinity. Still it is a REAL SPIRITUAL PRESENCE, an indwelling of our Triune God in our soul.

However, It is to be feared that many of us Catholics do not have a lively sense of this divine presence in us when we are in the state of grace. Yet we do believe in the REAL PRESENCE of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, perhaps because our faith is strengthened by the many Eucharistic Miracles through the centuries. In other words, Jesus' physical presence under the appearance of bread and wine is made in a sense even more visible by such miracles as the Sacred Species turning into human flesh. But we take for granted God's real presence in us through grace.

Thankfully we also do have countless manifestations of the ‘real divine presence in our soul’ by grace in the lives of many Saints, through the marvels God has wrought in them. [For instance: it is told that during a time of great famine St. CATHERINE OF SIENA was able to miraculously produce a large number of loaves using moldy flour at which the people served at dinner remarked that they had never before eaten such sweet bread. In addition St. CATHERINE asked that the bread be distributed among the poor and supplied to the friars. “It is reported that the bin remained always full, even though the amount of bread distributed was generous”. We are also told of a miracle witnessed by over four hundred people when St. Hyacinth, after making the sign of the cross upon the deep and rapid river, walked upon the waters as though it were dry land. We also know of bilocating and levitating Saints like St. Martin de Porres, St. Padre Pio and St. Joseph Cupertino]***–all these marvels and miracles being signs of their Sanctity, union with God, that is, God's life in their souls (INTERIOR LIFE manifesting exteriorly through miracles). The heroic charity of many Saints attest also to the depth of their interior life. In a sense these are visible manifestations of the power of divine life present in the souls of these holy men and women. How else are we to explain these wonders?

But these are the more striking cases, certainly due to the degree of Sanctity of these Saints. Indeed as Jesus promised, “I tell you most solemnly…whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself, he will perform even greater works” (Jn 14:12). This is God at work in us, divine life working in us.

Actually, we all are able to manifest powerfully this divine presence and life in us every time we make acts of love for God and others, or even when we overcome temptations. If we have been serious in growing in grace, making more effort to be prayerful, frequenting the Sacraments, and making acts of mortification, we might already be experiencing this growth in Charity, the lessening of our grudges and ill will, becoming more benevolent, avoiding sin. We might even be surprised how we are becoming less and less selfish, able to do concrete acts of charity. This is grace 'kicking in' because of our cooperation. Through all these the Holy Spirit, Who is Love personified, is indeed transforming us little by little into becoming more and more Christ-like. Why? Because the Holy Spirit does not come to us empty-handed. Along with Sanctifying grace the Holy Spirit gives us the Theological and Moral Virtues and His spiritual gifts in seed form. We need only to nurture these gifts with prayer, Sacraments, and good works. Then “He who has grafted us onto the true vine will make us bear ‘the fruit (s) of the Spirit: … love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.’ (Gal 5: 22-23). “We live by the Spirit”; the more we renounce ourselves, the more we walk by the Spirit” (cf. Gal 5:25). Unfortunately, for many this interior life is stunted due to laziness to pray and apathy to the Sacraments.

May we then be always mindful that we are meant to have two lives marvelously united at once: our natural and visible life, consisting in the union of soul and body, and an invisible and interior life, consisting in the union of the soul with the Holy Spirit. For we were created by God for a profound and personal relationship with Him. This interior life is expressed and deepened through prayer. (How is it that we would not speak to Him Who we know is present in us and loves us so dearly?) Everytime we converse with our Triune God present in our soul, or even just resting silently in His presence we are nurturing this interior life. And may we not extinguish this life by mortal sin. But if by weakness we fall, as sometimes we do, may we approach the throne of God's Mercy in the Sacrament of Penance and be restored to grace. Then, little by little the Holy Spirit will transform us from within enabling us to do great things-- works of charity.

Merely living a human life is doomed to lead to a miserable, even futile life. But with divine life in us, ever growing and intensifying, we are destined for greatness in Christ; yes, even now, SUPERNATURAL men and women.

[ ]***some examples taken from “MYSTERIES, MARVELS, MIRACLES in the Lives of the Saints” by Joan Carroll
Cruz (Tan Books)