To be Christ like

Sin is the result of not giving God his due, Man his and Myself mine. Sin is the lack of Love. Sin is the reason we will be cast into hell fire. Sin is the root-cause all miseries of mankind.

If sin is such dreadful thing, why do we desire it deep within? As St. Paul says why do end up doing what we do not want to do. Blame it on the law of sin at work in our bodies. The world we live-in too is hostile to holy living. WeLooks like sin always has the last laugh! What are we to do? How is holiness possible? How long does it take? Is it worth?

On our own, we are incapable of uprooting and avoiding sin. But in Jesus we are more than conquers. Jesus by his perfect obedience, self sacrifice and resurrection destroyed the claw of sin forever. He founded the church upon himself and apostles. He instituted sacraments as a means to give himself to us. Beginning with Baptism, through all the sacraments, Jesus washes us clean by the merit of his perfect sacrifice, gives us his Holy Spirit, his Body and Blood, thus himself to transform us into his likeness. Jesus forgives our sins and provides us the Grace to begin our journey in the path of holiness. Little by little we are confirmed to the likeness of Christ.

Holiness is not a result of our own work and it does not happen overnight. The awareness of our own wretchedness marks the beginning of our journey. This awareness humbles us and leads us to Christ and the sacraments he instituted. We must submit ourselves consistently and diligently to the finished work of Christ and its continuation through the ministry of the church.

Christian life is not a work I undertake expecting to succeed just by believing and struggling alone in futility. When we attempt to avoid sins on our own we are driven by pride and fall harder. We get discouraged and loose heart.

The following points keep us on the right path:

Live the efficacy of baptism
We need to know our wretchedness. But more than that we ought to know what we have become in and through baptism. We need to know who we are in Jesus Christ. We need to know what it is to have the same Spirit of Father and Son dwelling within us.

The key is to be able to love like Jesus. We must be people orchestrated by the Spirit of God.  It takes knowledge of the truth, faith in Jesus, fidelity to the Christ, his commandments, His Church and sacraments, untiring perseverance and persisting in hope.

Build a relationship with Jesus-soaked in prayer
God is not just a moral law giver or a control freak. He is our Father. He desires to relate and commune with us intimately just as they do within the trinity. That’s their innate nature. Jesus wants to make his home in us as we make our home in his body. It is His love that will transform us. The more we desire it the more we have it. The relationship is built by spending quality time in prayer much like the communication between lovers. It’s a mutual offering of self gift by each other. It is a joyful union. It enables us to say as St. Paul says who can separate me from the love of Christ.

Any traces of sin in our lives will slowdown or shutdown this relationship. True contrition, frequent confession and frequent reception of the Eucharist helps us to repair the deficiency and resume the union. Rejoice in this love relationship, let it be addictive.

Allow Jesus to love you out of sin
Our own efforts to fix things are in vain. Allow Jesus to love you out of sin. We need his love to love him back. It is the overwhelming presence of His love that belittles the lure of sin. Submit totally to his supremacy. Be like a child in need. In all this we must not ignore but dispense our responsibilities trusting his mercy, grace and love.

Sacramental life
Confession is the means Jesus instituted to offer us forgiveness for our sins. Eucharist is his self gift which transforms our body and soul to that of Christ. Frequent reception of these sacraments makes us more and more pure just as every shower cleans our body. Our body gets accustomed to cleanliness and purity. It begins to reject dirt. Our inner inclinations enjoy a new found love for purity and sanctity.
Church is the body of Christ. We are members in his body. Each member has a unique role to fulfill in the kingdom of God. Identify and do it most joyfully as if for Jesus.

Let our transformed lives produce fruits
The work of our hands should glorify God and edify others. Our lives should become a a gift and blessing to others. The fruit we produce tells the nature of our core. We are expected to produce fruits according to our ability and capacity. God judges us based on what we did with what we were given. This includes our opportunities, talents, character etc.

Reaching out to others in compassion
Christ has enabled us to be his hands, heart and mouth piece. Compelled by the love of Christ, we must reach out to those who are ignorant, weak and rebellious. The message of salvation, peace, everlasting life and perennial joy should reach all.  All that we do must draw people to Christ.

Accept Mary as a role model and help
In all creation, there lived no human being as perfect as Mary, the mother of Jesus. She is the perfect model for us all. She is our mother. She is our help. She draws us close to her son. She has no other personal agendas but to gather children towards the love of her son. Jesus who made her who she is will make us also like her. We believe in the communion of saints. The saints are available to us in our struggles to guide and strengthen us, not by their own merit but by the merit of Jesus.