The forgotten path to Union with God - Theosis.

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:02]One of the things in my prayer life or in in my spiritual life is this ever beautiful reality of God's existence.

[00:00:15]And some people go through their whole life wondering, does God exist? Is he real?

[00:00:22]I go through my life trying to understand how how can I know you more? How can I better do your will more? And I suppose the older you get it for me it's it it captivates my whole mind, you know, the the the this reality of God, this this the reality of his love to be honest. That's what I experienced when I was 18, so it's it's kind of a an interesting experience to have uh unmerited, you know, didn't deserve it.

[00:00:56]But again, that's up to God to decide what he's going to do with with his gifts.

[00:01:01]And then you're wondering, well, why why me and not everybody else? Like why would you do that to me?

[00:01:08]Right? And not just do the same to everybody else.

[00:01:12]Uh why >> [clears throat] >> you know, like uh since I was very small, I always remember praying. I always remember going to church and asking God and and you know uh for some reason I not that I'm any great saint here and uh and I really do mean that, but God kind of was it was this reality that always impacted me. Do you know what I mean?

[00:01:38]And um later in life you when you start reading and I as I've blogged about it before, you have all of these this wealth of Catholic literature on prayer, right? On on on God, on the experience of God and and how we can love God more. Um terms like um personal relationship with Christ deification, theosis, becoming like God infused contemplation uh this you know, you could blog about them from an academic from an academic side.

[00:02:24]But I always thought, wouldn't it be amazing if we could blog about it from our own experience?

[00:02:30]Now, I don't want to hold myself out there as uh as any great mystic or somebody that that, you know, knows this. I'm I'm very flawed and I'm very conscious of my own flaws, but when Second Vatican II mentioned mentions in Lumen Gentium the universal call to holiness, where the church came together in a council and discussed this this key principle of the universal call to holiness, they they were reaffirming something that we already knew that God is calling us all to be holy.

[00:03:09]God is calling us all of us to be that.

[00:03:14]And so kind of go go into this term holy, what does it mean to be holy?

[00:03:20]We have this awful view of holiness today of, you know, this kind of oh, somebody that's you know, all the time in adoration with the rosary beads in their hand and >> [snorts] >> in the church and kind of this mush person that doesn't get angry, that has dominion over all of their faculties, that is just, you know, the most principled person with with, you know, they have it all together.

[00:03:51]And we forget that holiness is a process of transformation. We're all on different stages.

[00:03:58]But it also is a real encounter with God's love.

[00:04:04]You know?

[00:04:05]I was asking God to explain how I would put in a video what God is trying to do in in the spiritual life when when we talk about terms of infused contemplation, you know, what is infused contemplation? What is what is God trying to do in infused contemplation? You know, as as we journey towards towards him. And I got got this image of of a child that's throwing a tantrum.

[00:04:35]This might resonate with somebody. It It did with me. And and I think God when he God when is trying to explain something complex to us, like Christ using parables, uses very simple images for us to capture our attention.

[00:04:51]So you have a child throwing a tantrum.

[00:04:53]Probably wants some chocolate, right?

[00:04:56]And you have the parents there observing the child.

[00:04:59]And the parent is not going to give them chocolate because they have the dinner in the oven that's going to be ready in 2 hours, so they have something prepared and they know if they give the child chocolate, she's going to start vomiting or, you know, it's again, it's not going to happen. It's in the best interest for the child not to have what the child wants.

[00:05:21]Uh and so the the the the parent there that has birthed this child, right? That loves the child, is looking at this this this infant throwing the tantrum.

[00:05:30]It's screaming, it's crying, it's sweating and it's, you know, anybody that's seen a child's tantrum, you just have to let them go through the suffering.

[00:05:41]So you're like you're there looking at the child suffer.

[00:05:44]Maybe try to distract it, but at some at there comes a point where nothing you can do is going to resolve this, right?

[00:05:52]So you just have to let the child suffer their tantrum in order for for them to for the benefit of that child.

[00:06:00]Sometimes in the spiritual life, our will is attached to all of these wrong things.

[00:06:08]Our will is attached to um disordered passions.

[00:06:13]Our will is attached to uh money, power, our addictions or all of these things.

[00:06:21]And we're saying, where are you, God?

[00:06:23]Where Why don't you show your love to me? Why don't you love me?

[00:06:26]Like I don't see you.

[00:06:30]We we're we're completely attached to uh a world that is dragging us away from from God. And God who created us, who loves us, is standing there watching us uh saying, well, look, I I've given you my son. I've given you my gospel.

[00:06:49]Uh you know, listen to my son. This is my beloved son. Listen to him. And we're not able to listen to Christ.

[00:06:57]We're we're actually not able to listen to Christ.

[00:07:01]And so God is there. He's not He's not distant from us. It's very very close.

[00:07:08]But once we align our will to God's will, right? Once we we we we come into God's will and we we we unite ourselves to God's will and we do God's will. Not, you know, uh which is to to fulfill his loving will.

[00:07:25]God comes and gives us a big hug.

[00:07:30]And this is what divine contem- infused infused contemplation is. It's not It's not some intellectual discourse or some intellectual, I don't know, structure. It's the hug of God.

[00:07:45]It's his presence there, you know.

[00:07:47]It's when we know that we're at least trying to put into practice God's will in our life.

[00:07:55]You know?

[00:07:56]Uh and I I I firmly believe one soul's have been mentored, discipled to follow the path, to practice what they need to do to be disposed to this.

[00:08:12]You know, like a good parent who, you know, doesn't give in to the child's tantrum. Because if you did they will be spoiled and they will never progress. They'll never they'll they'll never have the will to to progress in life if we did this.

[00:08:31]You know, if you if you if you give a child everything that the child wants you you spoil the child.

[00:08:39]God doesn't want us spoiled. God wants us God wants us to have what is good and true for us.

[00:08:47]Um I often think this point is is very very very much missed in in our church and our in this whole synodal process and you know, the whole discourse on laity and ministries and so forth. You know, the finality of of the faith is to introduce us into into a relationship of divine love.

[00:09:10]It is to unite our will to God's will so that we live in his divine will.

[00:09:17]And so that fruits come from this relationship.

[00:09:21]And people say, okay, God is real. I can see what he's done in you and you and you and you. And the fruits come and the gospel is spread.

[00:09:31]You know, prayer is a lot more than just reciting uh set prayers.

[00:09:39]You know?

[00:09:41]That's that's in a way just making us ready preparing the ground.

[00:09:51]But like prayer should lead us to an encounter with of love.

[00:09:56]This is the universal call to holiness.

[00:09:59]Uh Uh you know, we look we shouldn't be afraid of receiving these gifts that God wants to give us. And the gift, the greatest gift that God wants to give us is to share God wants to share with us his love. This is why you have the marriage and image in the spiritual life used a lot.

[00:10:25]You know, in in in marriage and when two people love each other, they they want to share what's interesting, what what they love.

[00:10:34]Do you know, there there is this this this this sharing.

[00:10:38]You know, it's not just all one way.

[00:10:41]You know, okay, so it's one person that's and the other person is mutual and you don't know much about them. You know, it's a both hearts want to share.

[00:10:51]God wants to do the this. I I really do believe this is the core. You know, there's a whole debate coming up now about Vatican II again.

[00:11:00]You have the whole SSPX news cycle, you know, as Rome prepares for excommunications and you know, traditionalists say, "Oh, the Pope will meet with this Anglican Archbishop, but he won't meet with the SSPX." And there's also there's a whole debate on on on tradition.

[00:11:22]Um but what is the core of what we're missing in the church when we debate over over this? Is the core really, guys?

[00:11:34]All the all of the the sacraments, the structure, our prayer life has to be to that transformational reality of union with God.

[00:11:46]It has to be this is the living tradition we need to pass on to the next generation.

[00:11:51]And in the church, if there there there are people that go to the new mass that have a very very very high level of spiritual life.

[00:12:01]It's quite obvious.

[00:12:03]Completely transformed.

[00:12:07]You know, I think we miss this. We're missing this debate when when when when we're we're debating on on all of this. But if we don't put Christ at the center, if we don't put this transformational process at the center and this process of conversion at the center of our of of the church, like this is the path that you need to take to know God.

[00:12:31]This is what you need to stop doing.

[00:12:35]If this is the deposit of the faith in reality, what what what did Christ deposit into his with his disciples, with his apostles?

[00:12:45]What is God trying to do with the the church?

[00:12:48]It's not just save our souls. That's just God doesn't just want to save your soul.

[00:12:54]God wants to impart into you his love.

[00:12:59]Here on earth.

[00:13:02]God wants to make himself known to you personally here on earth, not just when you get to heaven.

[00:13:09]Oh, I'm going to slog through earth and I'm going to do my rosary every day and I go to mass and I'll say the Angelus and I'll live the commandments and tick-box Catholicism.

[00:13:19]So, tick tick tick did this did this did this. I'm sure I'll be saved someday.

[00:13:25]Yeah, I continue on my drudge in my life and go to work and the family and just tick-box tick-box Catholicism.

[00:13:34]Some people live tick-box Catholicism.

[00:13:38]That's such a reductive view of of the spiritual life. God doesn't want you ticking boxes.

[00:13:44]God wants you to encounter his love.

[00:13:47]You know, if we put this at the center of everything and guarded this, you know, oftentimes we we receive we receive communion and it it has no impact on us.

[00:14:03]None. Zero.

[00:14:05]It's tick-box. Everybody's going up.

[00:14:08]I've never seen it's it's quite amazing at any Irish mass, the whole church will go up for communion.

[00:14:16]The whole church. The whole church.

[00:14:17]Everybody.

[00:14:19]You know, and uh when was there there's when was there confession or No, like you've got 300 people that have gone up for for communion.

[00:14:32]Uh did you have 300 confessions in the in the parish in a given month? No, because like we we're all we're all perfect, you know. We're we're we we don't need this confession. What what's that? Examination of conscience, what's that? You know, You know, >> [laughter] >> and then we're wondering, "Oh, we don't have vocations. We don't have you know, we don't have vocations and mass attendance is is dropping and Yeah, but cuz you're not you're not disposing your congregation to receive God's divine love.

[00:15:06]You're not.

[00:15:08]And you won't have vocations cuz God's spirit isn't there.

[00:15:13]Where structures don't lead souls to union with him.

[00:15:21]It's simple as.

[00:15:24]This this is the this is the sad truth of it.

[00:15:27]Anyway, you know, I do I I do hope this concept is studied more. This firm foundation in the spiritual life it it is is proposed more cuz without it, we will end up going around in circles.

[00:15:44]You know, we we need our our our bishops and our priests to be in effect mystics.

[00:15:53]You need to be at the advanced stages of the spiritual life and to take teach us.

[00:16:01]You know, St. Paul wasn't shy in calling people to conversion.

[00:16:07]The apostles weren't shy on preaching Christ's message.

[00:16:11]And you know, it was a high calling.

[00:16:15]You know, "Go and sin no more." One is you know, "Change your life."

[00:16:23]"Sell everything come follow me." You know, the Christ was a was a bit radical in in capturing people's attention. St. Matthew, "Leave all those coins there.

[00:16:36]Your tax collector's bench. Leave it all.

[00:16:40]Your house, your friends, your lifestyle, all of that you have to leave it and follow me."

[00:16:47]And he got up and he followed Christ, left everything behind.

[00:16:51]Good job, good position, lots of money, easy money, friends, easy life, very comfortable.

[00:16:58]All done. The best pension you could [laughter] get. You like he wasn't And you had Matthew got up and left one lifestyle and started another lifestyle.

[00:17:10]You know, we as Christians are called to live in a different way and to be an influence in the world in a different way. Anyway, I would if if if the the crisis in the church at the moment is a crisis of of prayer, of contemplation.

[00:17:34]This is really where we are.

[00:17:37]Where they're arguing over the SSPX, should they be excommunicated or not excommunicated?

[00:17:43]And at the end of the day, I think what's being missed here is the key then the key of the crisis is is crisis of of of teaching, of catechesis on the universal call to holiness. And that is really it.

[00:18:06]If you if you dispose a soul to know God, speak to them of your experience and dispose them to receive the this universal gift of holiness, they will you you won't lack churches, people coming to mass. You won't lack um vocations.

[00:18:30]You won't lack anything.

[00:18:33]Because God's grace is running through the souls that are loving him. But when we don't do this, this is where the church is empty.

[00:18:42]We're we're we're focused on the world and this program and that program and the other program and all of this and we're we're a Catholic NGO.

[00:18:55]Anyway, God bless you. Take care. God bless.