GROWTH IN COMMUNION WITH GOD

SAINT HYACINTH OF POLAND, PRIEST

Ezek 24:15-24; Deut 32:18-21; Mt 19:16-22

Demands of Divine Communion

When we speak of divine communion as the goal of our lives here on earth, we should not consider it an event that will happen only at the end of our lives, but rather an ongoing process. It is a process of participation in God’s life. Understanding God as the Supreme Spirit and the Father of spirits, we see our growth in divine communion as through our spirits. The communion is non-existent when we are spiritually dead. When that is our case, we need to be raised to spiritual life again. Only God does such a supernatural feat. All lives begin at the will of the Father, most importantly, the spiritual life. All lives commence in the presence of the Son as the expression of the Father’s will. The Holy Spirit makes each life real and active. Because spiritual death is due to sin or abandonment of God’s holy will, we must come to the Son of Man to receive a new spiritual life. He is the one who redeems us from our sins and satisfies the Father’s just demand for the atonement of our sins. Jesus therefore presents himself to us as the gate, or the way, leading to communion with God. We must come to Jesus in repentance, to start our entry into the promised communion.

Based on the above, to live a day without a conscious attendance or remembrance of our Lord Jesus Christ is to live aimlessly. It is a waste of our precious time that we ought to devote to the spiritual journey into Jesus Christ on irrelevant things. We must ask ourselves the purpose for which we live our lives. This question is meant to help us reset our life compass and ensure we are making progress in the right direction. Human life is for the purpose of entering into Jesus Christ. The aimless lives of the Israelites prompted God to allow the destruction of the Temple and the nation. “Say to the House of Israel: The Lord says this. I am about to profane my sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the delight of your eyes, the passion of your souls. Those of your sons and daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword.” The Temple is only the passion of their souls as external beauty and architectural pride, not as a place of true worship of God, demonstrating their eagerness to do God’s will and obey his words. Thus, Ezekiel added: “You shall waste away owing to your sins and groan among yourselves.” The manner of their daily living was the true cause of their wasting away, and not God as such. When we choose to disobey the word of God and break his commandments, we cease to participate in God’s life and leave the divine communion, into which we ought to advance daily by our choices.

Moses sounded the same warning to the Israelites when they came out of the house of bondage in Egypt. By redeeming them from slavery and giving them the Law, God gave them a new spiritual life and opportunity of sharing divine life. This is the meaning of the covenant with them. To abandon the Law and the covenant is to live forgetful of God as their Father. “You forget the Rock who begot you, unmindful now of the God who fathered you. The Lord has seen this, and in his anger cast off his sons and his daughters.” Our Lord’s response to the man who came to him for clarity on how to enjoy God’s life confirms our explanation. “Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is one alone who is good. But if you wish to enter life, keep the commandments.’” We note the way Jesus put it: ‘if you wish to enter life,’ for there is no other life apart from doing the will of God; anything else is death and death dealing. Our observance of the Commandments is the necessary condition for entering the communion of God.

But as we have already noted, there are levels of participation in the communion. If we desire deeper life with God eternally, we must proceed from observance of the Commandments to the following of the divine Counsels. This is what we do when we dedicate our lives and property to preaching of the Gospel through the promotion of the Church’s mission on earth. “If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” Saint Hyacinth of Poland followed Jesus Christ in this way and became great in life and in death. He is called the "Apostle of the North.” He was born in 1185 at the castle of Lanka, Kamien, Silesia, Poland. He studied in notable cities: Krakow, Prague, and Bologna, and at the latter place merited the title of Doctor of Law and Divinity. He accompanied his uncle Ivo Konski, the Bishop of Krakow, to Rome, where he met Saint Dominic and, with his relative Saint Ceslaus and two other attendants to the Bishop of Krakow, became a Dominican. He preached the Gospel in so many places and worked many miracles. May his prayers help us to dedicate ourselves to doing God’s will.

Let us pray: Lord God, you made blessed Hyacinth your confessor, illustrious among many nations for the holiness of his life and the wonder of his miracles. Grant that the example he gave may change our lives for the better, and that his help may support us in adversity. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.