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In a previous article, I wrote about moral perfection in this life, but I focused on contrasting mortal and venial sins for the purposes of helping us to remove sin from our lives and grow in holiness. In that article, which you can find by clicking here, I briefly mentioned deification, of which eradicating sin from one’s life is a part.
When studying deification, you will sometimes read or hear the words theosis and divinization, but all three words mean the same thing—to make one divine by grace. Generally, Eastern Christians use the Greek word theosis, while Western Christians use deification or divinization. Please note that by becoming divine, we share in God’s divinity by way of His grace; we do not become objects of worship.
In this article, I would like to delve deeper into deification to provide a better understanding of complete sanctification and holiness. This process involves cooperating with grace not only to root out sin but also to do the good works that God creates us to do and to do them joyfully out of love for Him. By doing this, we dispose our souls to more grace until we reach that perfection of holiness to which God calls us (see Hebrews 12:14).
Theologians traditionally teach three stages of deification, and we should familiarize ourselves with each as they will help us better imagine our journeys with God.
God created Adam and Eve full of sanctifying grace (click here for more on this). They had no inclinations to sin, which means they had no impediments to grace in their souls. And God interacted with Adam and Eve (see Genesis 1:28-30 and 2:16-23), which means that He somehow revealed Himself to them while they were in this state of complete holiness. In this life, God gives us power to return to this state and even move beyond it (click here to read how).
This is not to say that we absolutely cannot fall into sin or that temptations will cease. In this life, temptations are sure to come (Lk. 17:1). Rather, interior and exterior temptations will no longer attract us; they will have no power over us. Imagine a sin that holds no sway over you. Then, imagine all sins being like this one. This is what grace and our cooperation with it accomplishes in the first stage of deification.
By cooperating with grace, grace will purify our minds and bodies. This is the purgative stage of deification. Eastern Christians, especially Greek Catholics (Byzantines) and Greek Orthodox, call this stage katharsis, which means purification.
The next stage of deification is the illuminative stage, what the Eastern Christians call theoria. Theoria means contemplating or viewing. In this stage, God periodically illuminates our minds with His wisdom. This happens directly rather than indirectly, such as when we read Scripture or theology. It is akin to God interacting with Adam and Eve and giving them revelations.
The last stage is the unitive stage, what the Eastern Christians refer to as theosis. Here, God gives us a habitual and perceptible union with Him. This is not something we know by faith alone. Rather, God unites us to Him in such a way that we perceive His immanent presence in our souls continuously. He not only illuminates our minds, but He also fills us with His burning love in such a way that we are aware of His presence. At this point, we become fully human the way God intended. The image is now “like” God (see Genesis 1:26). The Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church (paragraphs 850-855) states:
For the Holy Fathers, spiritual struggle is the primary path to divinization. The first (“purgative”) stage of this spiritual asceticism is purification from passions and passionate intentions through the power and grace of the Holy Spirit. The second (“illuminative”) stage is the illumination of the mind and contemplation or vision of God. The third (“unitive”) stage is the actual attainment of divinization.
A few paragraphs later, it explains the unitive stage in terms of divine love:
Divine love, which is the summit of the virtuous life, is also the force that accompanies our divinization. In his love for humankind, God became one of us, and through our love for God we grow toward divinization. In divinization, the human mind becomes illumined and enraptured by divine light. The human person becomes a partaker of divine love, and their entire being is transfigured: the person becomes a god by grace.
Please note that deification does not consist of clearly delineated stages. Rather, God may give a person illuminations before the purgative stage is complete, and He may fully unite the person to Himself while giving illuminations. We would better understand these stages as signs along a highway. The stages help us to know that we are on the right path as we journey with God.
Additionally, between the first and second stages (purgative and illuminative), God temporarily deprives one of sensible consolations such as those feelings of progress and satisfaction that one experiences during prayer and study. He does this because the person becomes too sure of himself too quickly and loves the consolations too much. The person becomes more enamored with the consolations than with God.
Similarly, between the second and third stages (illuminative and unitive), God temporarily deprives one of both sensible and spiritual consolations such as supernatural insights on the mysteries of salvation, eager desires for them, ease of learning these mysteries, and ease of preaching and teaching, for which the soul had felt a secret pride and complacency (Fr. Garrigou Lagrange).
These deprivations are called passive purgations, and God uses them to purify the soul before it moves on to a higher stage. By removing consolations, the person has a decision to make: Do I despair and eventually turn away from God, or do I rely on God with even greater fervor, trusting that He will increase my faith and help me to cooperate with grace without the delight of consolations? When spiritual maturity arrives, the person is ready for the next stage of deification.
A word of caution: We must not view deification as a list of things to complete to move from one stage to the next. In doing so, we would bring deification down to the realm of the purely natural. Instead, we must simply cooperate with grace and recognize the path that God is helping us to walk. It is an exercise in humility, love, fervent prayer, and cooperation with grace, rather than forced self-exertion that results in frustrations at one’s failures. This approach will maintain the supernatural order of deification.
Also, falls from perfection (i.e., venial sins) can help us to recognize our own weaknesses and develop the habit or virtue of humility. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “Grace does not destroy nature, but perfects it.” Accordingly, we allow grace to work within us to perfect us, to humble us, and to make our souls ready for the divine light mentioned above.
Finally, we must not haughtily expect illuminations and deification. Instead, we must simply allow God to bestow His gifts upon us if He chooses.
Author’s Note: For deeper treatment of this subject, please read the longer version of this article by clicking here.
Click here to read about how suffering can help one grow in grace.
On how we can merit additional grace, please click here.
To better understand the necessity of setting our morality standards high, please read this article.
The Homiletic and Pastoral Review originally published a longer version of this article in its January 2026 edition under the title “Theosis: Becoming Gods in this Life.”
Thank you to Catholic Exchange for publishing this article as well.
Nate Guyear returned to the Catholic Church in 2012, immediately gravitated toward apologetics, and subsequently completed his M.A. in Theology. He is excited about sharing the good news of God's love and the truths proclaimed by Jesus Christ’s one and only, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church. Nate served 10 years in the Air Force and 20 years with the federal government. Other education includes a B.A. in Criminal Justice and an M.A. in Political Science. He and his wife live in California, are active in their parish, volunteer as catechists, and bring Communion to the sick. Nate also writes for his personal blog, catholicismexplained.com.
