Catching Fire, Becoming Flame(A guide for Spiritual Transformation)

By Albert Haase

The Spiritual Journey is a process of being transformed by the Spirit of God into a "little Christ" sent to respond lovingly to the unmet need or required duty of the present moment. The Spiritual Journey is a life-long PROCESS - not a destination.

There are 4 stages of the Spiritual Journey. They are not distinct stages - we don't graduate from one to the other. They are ongoing processes and we can bounce around from one stage to another throughout our lives.

The first stage of the Spiritual Journey is the Awakening. This stage can begin as a result of either a positive or negative experience.

Examples of positive experiences are:

• • Returning from a week-end retreat,

  • Having a great experience during the Sacrament of Reconciliation,

  • A wedding,

  • A birth of a child

Examples of negative experiences are:

• • Illness,

  • Ending relationships,

  • Loss of a loved one

In all the above experiences, we have a realization or an Awakening that we have to get serious about our spiritual life. God uses ordinary experiences (both positive and negative) to wake us up to come to the awareness of the love of God.

The second stage of the Spiritual Journey is the Stage of Purgation. This is the time when we are doing the work of purging ourselves of our sins. This is when we realize that we need to remove specific sins from our lives. This can be accomplished through Community, Prayer, and Reformation (CPR).

• • C (Community) - Surrounding ourselves with like-minded people and growing in this community by sharing life experiences and helping one another along the Spiritual Path

  • P (Prayer) - Establishing a daily commitment to prayer

  • R (Reformation) - A life conversion or reformation

The third stage of the Spiritual Journey is the Stage of Illumination. This is the realization that life is full of light. We come to the realization that there is nothing to GET in the Spiritual Life because we already have all we need through the presence of God. God is closer to us than we ever thought or imagined.

The fourth stage of the Spiritual Journey is the Stage of Union. This is the experience of being united to God. As Awakening can be likened to a spark landing on ripe kindling, Purgation can be likened to fanning the flame, Illumination likened to catching fire, and Union likened to the experience of becoming a torch with a blazing fire from within. At this stage we are so united with God that God's desires are our desires.

The Spiritual Journey gets more difficult the further along we go. Each journey is unique and unrepeatable. We must become comfortable with our own unique path and remember that it is not important to try and track where we are along the journey. The Spirit of God is ultimately in charge of the entire process, and divine grace is often more complicated and messy than delineating the different stages. The Spiritual Journey is something that happens to us.

The Holy Spirit is the fingers that God uses to write a love letter on our hearts. Learn to let go; surrender & be receptive. Be moldable; allow God to do the work. We all have something we ask God to remove from our lives. If we learn to surrender to God instead of worrying or blaming, then we have a better understanding of our path to God. The Holy Spirit is the Operating System in the Human Being. "The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, generosity, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)." These are all signs of gradually letting go. Love is the fulfillment of the Law and in serving others we are serving Christ.

Reflection Questions

1. When people encounter us, do they see the Christ connection? Do they encounter the person of Jesus Christ?

2. As you reflect on your past, how has God's passion to be in a relationship with you expressed itself? What has been your response?

3. How are you responding to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the sick, the naked, and the imprisoned in your neighborhood or the wider world community? How do they influence your spiritual life and transformation?

4. In what ways are you beginning to become awake? What are the circumstances? What is your immediate reaction to it?

5. How are you living out the purgative practices of community, prayer, and repentance in your daily life right now? Which of these needs the greatest attention?

6. Where is the Holy Spirit currently working in your life? How might your actions and attitudes hinder the Spirit's guidance?