Jesus says, “You are gods.” (Jn. 10:34) How is this possible?
At baptism, we become “partakers of the divine nature,” (CCC 1265 or 2Pt.1:4) or as St. Athanasius states that we are, “becoming by grace what God is by nature.” The Catechism quotes St. Athanasius to explain this teaching, “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God,” (460) and furthermore it explains, “The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that He, made man, might make men gods.” (CCC 460)
For most of us, the concept that “You are gods.” (Jn. 10:34) or that we are being “divinized” is difficult to grasp so let us first look at Jesus’ baptism when the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus and the Heavenly Father says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:17) Likewise, the Holy Spirit also descends into our souls at baptism, and we, too, become His sons and daughters as the Psalmist states, “You are ‘gods’; you are all sons of The Most High.” (82:6) The Heavenly Father’s words also apply to us as when St. Faustina hears Him say, “You are My delightful dwelling place; My Spirit rests in you.” (Diary 346)
Our Lady of the Divine Indwelling
St. Paul reminds us that we are temples of God, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?” (1Cor.6:19) and “For this reason, those in whom the Spirit dwells are divinized.” (CCC 1988) Divinization also means that the Holy Spirit makes us, “a new creature.” (CCC 1265) However, it is not just the Holy Spirit that dwells in our souls, but it is also the Holy Trinity. The Catechism explains that baptism is the “entry into the life of the Most Holy Trinity,” (1239) and we become “the indwelling of His Presence in us” (2781).
Trinity
St. John Paul II enlightens us that “‘Divinization’…occurs through the admission into the intimacy of the Trinitarian life”, (Novo Millennio Ineunte no. 23) as when the Holy Trinity speaks in the soul of St. Faustina, “‘You are Our dwelling place.’ At that moment, I felt in my soul the presence of the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I felt that I was the temple of God. I felt I was a child of the Father,” she said. (Diary 451)
St. Faustina says, “Divinize me so that my deeds may have supernatural value,” (1242) but she remains a meek and humble student of the indwelling Presence. She accepts to be molded regardless of her sins and frailties. Jesus explains to St. Faustina what He can do despite our faults and failings, “Your heart is My constant dwelling place, despite the misery that you are. I united Myself with you, to take away your misery and give you My mercy.” (Diary 723) She learns to worship the Holy Trinity within her soul so well that the Blessed Virgin Mary appears to her explaining the divinization going on in her soul, “You are a dwelling place pleasing to the living God; in you, He dwells continuously with love and delight. And the living presence of God, which you experience in a more vivid and distinct way, will confirm you, my daughter, in the things I have told you.” (Diary 785)
Divine Mercy and St Faustina
St. Faustina continues to plead with God, “Divinize me that my deeds may be pleasing to You,” (Diary 1289) so the Blessed Virgin Mary gives her instruction on how to live continually with the indwelling Presence, “My daughter, strive after silence and humility, so that Jesus, who dwells in your heart continuously, may be able to rest. Adore Him in your heart; do not go out from your inmost being. My daughter, I shall obtain for you the grace of an interior life which will be such that, without ever leaving that interior life, you will be able to carry out all your external duties with even greater care. Dwell with Him continuously in your heart. He will be your strength. Communicate with creatures only in so far as is necessary and is required by your duties.” (Diary 785)
Divinization is difficult to understand due to the way we view ourselves, “we hold this treasure in earthen vessels,” (2Cor.4:7) but Instrumentum Laboris instructs us that the “Eucharist is the summit of the Church’s life, since communion with the Lord leads to the sanctification and “divinization” of the person.” (1) Similarly, to help St. Faustina comprehend, Jesus tells her that as she sees Him outside so He is within, “I am dwelling in your heart as you see Me in this chalice.” (1820) But, why is all this relevant or important to us now? Because “The hour is coming when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth.” (John 4:23)
St Marget Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Yes, the hour is coming very soon when there will be no physical Church to worship in as Pope Benedict XVI explains in the year 2010:
“This passage in chapter 4 of John’s Gospel is the prophecy of a worship in which there will no longer be any temple, but in which the faithful will pray without an external temple in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and the truth of the Gospel, in communion with Christ; where what is needed is no longer a visible temple but rather the new fellowship with the risen Lord. That always remains important, because it signifies a major turning point in the history of religion as well.”
(Light of the World, pages 16-17)
Inner Light – Source Unknown
Finally, believe and understand that He wants to divinize us not by the “counterfeit divinization of eros,” (Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est no. 4) as when the serpent says, “you will be like gods,” (Gen.3:5) but by being humble, intimate, and living temples of God as when Jesus states, “We will come into him, and make Our dwelling in him.” (Jn. 14:23) Therefore, in these turbulent times trust and have confidence that His loving indwelling Presence is always with us day and night to divinize us as Jesus tells St. Faustina, “You are my dwelling place and my constant repose. For your sake I bless the earth.” (Diary 431) ST FAUSTINA PRAY FOR US.
Who Dwells In You – Dr. Miravalle
Man was made in the image of God, we are told we are God’s children, children are of their parents, therefore we are mini god’s.
God is Father(source), Word(Son) and Holy Spirit(Arch angel Michael).
Man’s word comes out of him and is communicated by his angel to God.
When the snake told Eve that she would become god if she took of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil the snake was not lying as when Angel and Man combine then, when the fruit(angel) and Man combine then they have the very nature of God. Unfortunately Eve then Adam combined with the opposite gender angel to themselves and brought gender confusion on themselves and rebellion to their angels. Good if combined with their own angel, evil because they combined with the others angel bring confusion.
Cain was the product of Lucifer and Eve’s union, the first of the many of the Nephilim as other fallen male angels started creating their own children and these demi gods/Nephilim were wiped out in the floods but their evil spirits lived on, better known as demons.
The scientist have found dna evidence of the Neanderthals/Nephilim and are in the process of bringing these bodies back into life by woman who will carry the dna Nephilim child.
Jesus tells us that in the end times things will be like the times of Noah, at that time the Nephilim were running around causing havoc.
Nostradamus predicts that an ancient race will be brought back in the end times as well as in the book of Esdras.
2 Esdras 5:8 There shall be a confusion also in many places, and the fire shall … shall change their places, and menstruous women shall bring forth monsters: …
Dear Mart1963,
Greetings. These are some interesting thoughts though not Catholic. None the less, I commend you for your search for the truth. It is good that you are searching. Never stop searching since “Jesus the fullness of truth” is also searching for you. I would like to comment on your thoughts, “Man was made in the image of God, we are told we are God’s children, children are of their parents, therefore we are mini god’s.”
Fr. Émile Mersch (1890-1940) gives an explanation on how we are His children that I think is very nice, “The Word is united to us in order to unite us to Him and to transform us into what He is, that is, to make us sons of God, not by nature, like Him, but by grace; to stamp us with His form and character of Son. Thus through One, He has taken up His abode in us all. … This is the great Christian truth: the Son was made man that in Him and through Him, men might be adopted as sons. By our participation in the only-begotten Son we become adopted sons, truly and “physically.” This shows clearly that He is the Son in the full sense of the term, that is, by nature. … As the Fathers repeat so often, we become by grace what Christ is by nature. Christ is the Son by nature, and He is God because He is the Son. The grace we receive ought to make us sons, that is, adopted sons, who are divinized because we are adopted. Our divinization comes from our adoption, and our adoption is no less sublime than our divinization; the excellence of both is derived from that of the sonship of God the Son. … Thus we men, who used to be afar off, have been made to come near; (cf. Eph. 2:13.) we who were strangers and outsiders have been brought inside and welcomed as members of the family.(cf. Eph. 2:19) Such is the superabundant riches of God’s grace that is given to us in the bountiful generosity He has toward us in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2:7.) He has made us His own beloved children (Eph. 5:1) by sanctifying us in His well-beloved Son. (Eph. 1:6)
You have some Mormon (non-Catholic) doctrine here– mis-identifying the Archangel Michael ( a created spirit) with the Holy Spirit (3rd person of the Eternal Trinity– uncreated Spirit: God).
The Catholic Church does not recognise Nostradamus as a prophet or saint. Cain was the sinful son of Adam and Eve, not Eve & Lucifer.
I think Mormons identify Jesus as Michael.
The Old Testament identifies one angel as “The Angel of the Lord” not an angel of the Lord and we know that it is Michael and his angel’s that throw the Devil out of Heaven, Daniel also tells us that Michael is the prince of princes opposed to Jesus being the king of kings. The arch angel Michael (which means like God) is the Holy Spirit(Ghost) of God. and is the third part of the trinity with Jesus and the Father.
Hebrews 1:7
In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.”
Hebrews 1:14
Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Matthew 18:10
[ The Parable of the Wandering Sheep ] “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
Dear Mart1963
Greetings. Thank you for explaining yourself as this helps to understand your reasoning. At times scripture can appear to contradict itself and most especially if the passages are taken literally or out of context when that was not the intention of the Holy Spirit who is the author of all scripture. This is the reason why there are so many different Christian and non-Christian Church denominations rising every day as they attempt to interpret scripture on their own. For the Catholic Church we use the four senses of scripture to interpret scripture. I hope the below from the Catechism of the Catholic Church helps you understand how the Catholic Church has interpreted scripture for 2,000 years. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
THE SENSES OF SCRIPTURE:
115 According to an ancient tradition, one can
distinguish between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral and anagogical senses. The profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture in the Church.
116 The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: “All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the
literal.”
117 The spiritual sense. Thanks to the unity of God’s plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities and events about which it speaks can be signs.
1. The allegorical sense. We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by
recognizing their significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the Red Sea is a
sign or type of Christ’s victory and also of Christian Baptism.
2. The moral sense. The events reported in Scripture ought to lead us to act justly. As St. Paul
says, they were written “for our instruction”.
3. The anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, “leading”). We can view realities
and events in terms of their eternal significance, leading us toward our true homeland: thus the Church on earth is a sign of the heavenly Jerusalem.
118 A medieval couplet summarizes the significance of the four senses:
The Letter speaks of deeds; Allegory to faith;
The Moral how to act; Anagogy our destiny.
119 “It is the task of exegetes to work, according to these rules, towards a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture in order that their research may help the Church to form a firmer judgement. For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgement of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred
commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of
God.”http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s1c2a3.htm
Im not sure if I comprehend this correctly. New age make people out to be Gods..but I guess unto them selves. Right? This thought is new to me. Iwill have to contemplate this much deeper. I dont want to be God…or a god…I dont think…I trust the Saints alot. I want to be with God. I want his inheritance, I want to be a Saint. but a god….not sure how that theology fits yet. Its not humble to think as yourself a god so. Im not sure if I wan tto go down this road for now. Never heard of this before in all my Catholic years. Like I said more research,
It is very much in tune with the Christian mystical tradition of the Church: Doctors of the Church like St. John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila talked about this, along with countless others. It’s rock solid and a mystery at the same time. <3
Dear Inspokane,
Greetings. I completely understand your feelings. I remember hearing about this theology and almost falling off my chair some 25 years ago. You say, “I trust the saints a lot.” Look at what St. Faustina says about the humility and simplicity of divinizing our actions in her diary, “When a reluctance and a monotony as regards my duties begins to take possession of me, I remind myself that I am in the house of the Lord, where nothing is small and where the glory of the Church and the progress of many a soul depend on this small deed of mine, accomplished in a divinized way.” (509) Put simply it is doing everything “through Him, with Him, and in Him.”
You say,”I want to be with God. I want his inheritance, I want to be a Saint.” God wants the same for you too, but He wants to divinize you even here on earth. God loves us so much that He shows us the deeper mysteries of divinization by union with Him as when St. Faustina writes in her diary, “This deeper knowledge begins here on earth, depending on the grace given, but to a great extent it also depends on our faithfulness to that grace. However, the soul receiving this unprecedented grace of union with God cannot say that it sees God face to face, because even here there is a very thin veil of faith, but so very thin that the soul can say that it sees God and talks with Him. It is “divinized.” God allows the soul to know how much He loves it, and the soul sees that better and holier souls than itself have not received this grace. Therefore, it is filled with holy amazement, which maintains it in deep humility, and it steeps itself in its own nothingness and holy astonishment; and the more it humbles itself, the more closely God unites himself with it and descends to it.” (771) I hope this helps. Please feel free to ask more questions.
Dear Shawn,
I always enjoy your writings. They are always so contemplative and union oriented. I found this quote on St. Teresa of Avila that I thought you might enjoy as you mention her above. “In order to speak with God and take delight in Him, the individual has no need to go to Heaven or speak to Him in a loud voice. However quietly we speak, He is so near to us that He will hear us…we can be alone and look upon Him present within us. …Those who are able to shut themselves up in this way within this little heaven…may be sure they are walking on an excellent road.”
Awe, thank you, Deacon Guadalupe! That is very good of you. And that IS a a great St. Teresa quote. 🙂
Dear Inspokane,
Greetings. I found this official Vatican document called “JESUS CHRIST THE BEARER OF THE WATER OF LIFE” that addresses your comment, “New age make people out to be Gods.” New agers do believe they are gods but in a completely different way from Catholics. I hope the below helps to explain how Catholics differ from new agers concerning this subject. SECTION 2.3.4.2. …God? “New Age has a marked preference for Eastern or pre-Christian religions, which are reckoned to be uncontaminated by Judaeo-Christian distorsions. Hence great respect is given to ancient agricultural rites and to fertility cults. “Gaia”, Mother Earth, is offered as an alternative to God the Father, whose image is seen to be linked to a patriarchal conception of male domination of women. There is talk of God, but it is not a personal God; the God of which New Age speaks is neither personal nor transcendent. Nor is it the Creator and sustainer of the universe, but an “impersonal energy” immanent in the world, with which it forms a “cosmic unity”: “All is one”. This unity is monistic, pantheistic or, more precisely, panentheistic. God is the “life-principle”, the “spirit or soul of the world”, the sum total of consciousness existing in the world. IN A SENSE, EVERYTHING IS GOD. GOD’S PRESENCE IS CLEAREST IN THE SPIRITUAL ASPECTS OF REALITY, SO EVERY MIND/SPIRIT IS, IN SOME SENSE, GOD.
When it is consciously received by men and women, “divine energy” is often described as “Christic energy”. There is also talk of Christ, but this does not mean Jesus of Nazareth. “Christ” is a title applied to someone who has arrived at a state of consciousness WHERE HE OR SHE PERCEIVES HIM – OR HERSELF TO BE DIVINE AND CAN THUS CLAIM TO BE A “UNIVERSAL MASTER.” Jesus of Nazareth was NOT the Christ, but simply one among MANY historical figures in whom this “Christic” nature is revealed, as is the case with Buddha and others. Every historical realisation of the Christ shows clearly that all human beings are heavenly and divine, and leads them towards this realization.
The innermost and most personal (“psychic”) level on which this “divine cosmic energy” is “heard” by human beings is also called “Holy Spirit”.”
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html#2.3.4.2. …God?
In the Divine Will which is where we will live with the Trinity in heaven, we become ” little gods” this can also happen on earth as it has happened with some of the Saints. Saint Faustino , St. Elizabeth of the Trinity , Luisa Picaretta, Saint Padre Pio and others. Every time we pray the OUR FATHER we call heaven to earth.
” THY KINGDOME COME THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.” So we call heaven down to earth! The more we LOVE THE LORD AND DIE TO SELF. THE MORE WE UNITE TO HIM. WE EVENTUALLY DIE TO SELF COMPLETELY BY HIS GRACE N GIFT TO US WE UNITE OUR WILL WITH HIS WILL. Our constant thought is of heaven. “THAT THY WILL BE MY WILL, and MY WILL THY WILL.” We no longer exist outside of ourselves but with HIM. Some souls are truly blessed in desiring this Gift. ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE, SEEK AND YOU SHALL FIND, KNOCK AND YHE DOOR SHALL BE OPEN TO YOU. I do this daily but still have a very long way to journey. But I never stop asking. Not that I care to be either a SAINT or a “little god” I just want to be with THEM, but I believe it is THE TRINITYS gift to us. It is THE TRINITYS GIFT to all souls it is there for the asking, knowing about it and desiring it.
GOD BLESS N MARY KEEP U. bette
Dear Elizabeth,
Greetings. You are so right about doing God’s will that we may be divinized. It is also what Pope Benedict XVI says on Feb. 18, 2010, “In his interpretation of the Mount of Olives, of the anguish expressed precisely in Jesus’ prayer, “not my will but your will”, St Maximus Confessor described this process that Christ carries in himself as a true man, together with the human nature and will; in this act “not my will but your will” Jesus recapitulates the whole process of his life, of leading, that is, natural human life to divine life and thereby transforming the human being. It is the divinization of the human being, hence the redemption of the human being, because God’s will is not a tyrannical will, is not a will outside our being but is the creative will itself; it is the very place where we find our true identity.
God created us and we are ourselves if we conform with his will; only in this way do we enter into the truth of our being and are not alienated. On the contrary, alienation occurs precisely by disregarding God’s will, for in this way we stray from the plan for our existence; we are no longer ourselves and we fall into the void. Indeed, obedience, namely, conformity to God, the truth of our being, is true freedom, because it is divinization. Jesus, in bearing the human being, being human in himself and with himself, in conformity with God, in perfect obedience, that is, in the perfect conformation between the two wills, has redeemed us and redemption is always this process of leading the human will to communion with the divine will. It is a process for which we pray every day: “May your will be done” And let us really pray the Lord to help us see closely that this is freedom and thus enter joyfully into this obedience and into “taking hold of” human beings in order to bring them by our own example, by our humility, by our prayer, by our pastoral action into communion with God.” http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2010/february/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20100218_parroci-roma.html
We live in times of casual apostasy, while our fellow Christians are “red martyred” in Islamic persecutions, –and we (increasingly) are white martyrs as we are legally and judicially marginalised in post-Christian Europe and America.
When we finally lose the “institutional” church, “real” Christians will go underground; or “be hidden in plain sight” as they themselves become “temples of indwelling” as more and more church buildings are shut and the real estate sold off or seized by hostile, satanic forces.
The time is almost upon us when we must be saints and/or perish.
Dear Adrian,
Wow! Deep, deep insights! You have spoken the truth in a very unique and inspired way! Your words, “we must be saints or perish” remind me of the approved apparition of Our Lady of America where she says, “The youth must be prepared, and this must be done by instilling into them, not only the knowledge of the Divine Indwelling, but a serious study of It, living It in such a way that the Divine Presence becomes, as it were, an inti-mate and necessary part of their life and daily living. From this will flow a great love, a conflagration that will envelop the world in the flames of Divine Charity.” Thank you for these profound insights! http://www.ewtn.com/library/BISHOPS/burkeolamer.HTM
Sounds like what the Mormons teach.
Dear CGDoc,
You are correct. What Mart1963 is talking about is Mormonism.
“Mormonism itself is a belief system that would reduce the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit from being the three Persons of the one, true, and infinite God to being three limited, finite deities among an uncounted multitude of deities, all of whom merely reshaped
small parts of a preexisting cosmos. Mormonism teaches that human beings may, by practicing the tenets of its faith, become gods and goddesses themselves, with their own planets full of people worshiping them.” Catholic Answers
http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/what-does-the-catholic-church-say-about-the-practices-and-beliefs-of-mormonism
It is important to realise that in Jn 10:34, Jesus was quoting Psalm 82: 6 —The Lord says, “You are gods, sons of the Most High.”
However to keep it in context it is good to know — as Jesus’ hearers knew– that the following line (Ps 82:7) says,
“–Nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.”
That will bring us down to earth with a bump 🙂
Dear Adrian,
You are so, so right! (Saint) Pope Leo XIII explains it in more detail in the encyclical Divinum Illud Munus, “Now this wonderful union, which is properly called “INDWELLING,” differing only in DEGREE or STATE from that with which God beatifies the saints in heaven, although it is most certainly produced by the presence of the whole Blessed Trinity – “We will come to Him and make our abode with Him,” (John 14:23.) – nevertheless is attributed in a peculiar manner to the Holy Spirit.” (9) https://w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_09051897_divinum-illud-munus.html
Amazing article. Very inspiring!
Dear Steve,
Greetings. Thank you for your service to the Church with putting together the Sunday podcasts. Yes, this subject is so, so AMAZING! It shows how much God loves us. It is a mystery I don’t tire of contemplating and learning about. I found this by St. John Paul II. His teachings are amazing, and I hope you enjoy it. “A NEW SPIRITUALIZATION: 3. The words of the synoptic Gospels testify that the state of man in the other world will not only be a state of PERFECT SPIRITUALIZATION, but also of fundamental DIVINIZATION of his humanity. The “sons of the resurrection”—as we read in Luke 20:36—are not only equal to angels, but are also sons of God. The conclusion can be drawn that the DEGREE OF SPIRITUALIZATION characteristic of eschatological man will have its source in the DEGREE of his DIVINIZATION, incomparably superior to the one that can be attained in earthly life. It must be added that here it is a question not only of a different degree, but in a way, of another kind of DIVINIZATION. Participation in divine nature, participation in the interior life of God himself, penetration and permeation of what is essentially human by what is essentially divine, will then reach its peak, so that the life of the human spirit will arrive at such fullness which previously had been absolutely inaccessible to it. This NEW SPIRITUALIZATION will therefore be the fruit of grace, that is, of the communication of God in his very divinity, not only to man’s soul, but to his whole psychosomatic subjectivity. We speak here of subjectivity (and not only of “nature”), because that DIVINIZATION is to be understood not only as an interior state of man (that is, of the subject) capable of seeing God face to face, but also as a new formation of the whole personal subjectivity of man in accordance with union with God in his Trinitarian mystery and of intimacy with him in the perfect communion of persons. This intimacy—with all its subjective intensity—will not absorb man’s personal subjectivity, but rather will make it stand out to an incomparably greater and fuller extent.” ST. JOHN PAUL II https://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/jp2tb66.htm
Thank you for sharing this Deacon! Your reflections and use of mystical traditions have been very helpful in opening up the Scriptures and planting seeds for growth in my interior life. This particular reflection reveals a level of glory from our divine filiation that I’d never really contemplated before. I’ve noticed that the “lived theology” of the saints (Faustina, etc.) — that St John Paul Il referred to in Novo Millennio Ineunte – really makes the Faith come alive for me and I very much appreciate how you use these treasures of the Church in your ministry.