Restoring our divine image

This is a task we have to do, obviously with God's grace. But I wonder if many people are aware of it, and if they are, if they are really dead serious in carrying out that duty.

Restoring our divine image, of course, presumes that we have been made in the image and likeness of God, a fact that was distorted and corrupted by our sin. It's a truth of faith that somehow expresses itself in our innate desire for what is true, good, simple and beautiful.

In spite of our wretchedness, we are at bottom a religious being. We are always looking for a God, if not explicitly, then implicitly. The history of man bears witness to this fact irrespective of the complicated twists and turns.

The restoration work, for sure, is a joint effort between God and us. On God's part, everything has been done to make it possible. In a sense, he has supplied us with the plans, the materials, the strength, and the other resources we need.

In fact, he gives himself to us. If we only realize the power and effectiveness of God's word, the sacraments and the Church herself, then we would have no doubt that God is constantly with us and intervening in our life. The meaning of Easter and Pentecost highlight this truth.

Things now depend on us, on whether, first of all, we are aware of this duty, and then on whether we decide to pick up the task. That's why, for those who already know and are convinced, there's always a need for apostolic work, for catechesis and evangelization. Let's hope that all this gets going all the time.

The task of restoring our divine image is a matter, first of all, of faith. Without it, then we would not know what to do next. But with it, we would soon realize that the task involves constant docility to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, prayer, and the love for sacrifice.

We need to be docile to the Holy Spirit who is actually guiding and leading us all the time to our real end. He never withdraws from us. But we have to realize also that to be more able to discern his promptings, we should be familiar with the teachings of Christ and now the Church.

Constant study of the doctrine of our faith is a must. We should never take this for granted, thinking that with our common sense and with our occasional reading and reflection of God's word, we already would be properly enlightened. God's doctrine contains a lot of mysteries that require us to probe them always.

This study of the doctrine will help us build a sense of beginning and end of our life. It will show us the pattern and itinerary of our life as given to us by Christ himself. It will reassure us that whatever happen in life, there is always a means to bring us back to God.

That's why we also need to pray. Prayer is our continuing conversation with God. And while it usually touches on our daily affairs and concerns, it is also the best occasion to plumb deep into the God's mysteries that are unavoidably entwined with our life.

We should really find time for it. That time will never be a waste. Rather, prayer would be the best way to spend our time, since it will give us a sense of direction, and fill us with the warm presence of God. Whatever happens, we can manage to remain at peace, with joy to boot.

But we should neither forget that restoring our divine image necessarily involves the cross. It cannot be helped, because that's how the ball bounces, given our nature and dignity as free and intelligent beings whose choices and decision have consequences that we cannot avoid.

Yet we know that Christ took away the poison of sin and death through the cross, showing us that we can only conquer sin and death, and thus restore our divine image, if we too choose to be with Christ on the cross.

That's what he said clearly. "Anyone who wishes to come after me must deny himself, carry the cross and follow me." We need to overcome, with God's grace, our natural fear for the cross, so that we can escape from the bondage of sin and death.

The cross also trains our human nature to be open to our supernatural goal of being with God. It does not destroy our nature. It simply enables us restore our divine image.