Third Sunday of Advent

Intro

Even the least in heaven is greater than John the Baptist

greater than the one who was firm, not blown like a reed in the desert?

one who spent life dining on locusts and honey

wearing camel shirt

Least in heaven greater?

sounds a bit frightening

so YOU have to be better than John??

And true, heaven is filled with the divine, the perfect

no imperfection there

Although we should strive to enter the narrow gate, something else too

Christmas time of gift giving as Christ came give greater gifts

why God became man.

several that know, but one is often overlooked

divinization/deification

he came to make of us children of the God, and so gods, fulfilling destiny made us for

what?? (Roman Emperors, etc)

Western Situation

Western situation

since earliest time, fathers taught

Christ gives ascension to godhood by participation in the life of Christ.

takes human nature which we all share

not worthy of worship, and dependent on God

second to getting to worship and behold God, goodness self, but part of our happiness.

but Eastern Churches, if met, chide us for abandoning Christ’s teaching here

but havent

might not blame them for their ignorance:

West emphasize God forgiving our sins (which in deed he does) rather than truly transforming us.

Protestant

Havent abandoned, but how many know this fundamental teaching about the high divinity of humanity in Christ?

Well OK fr. Ben...

Teaching

"For the Son of God became man so that we might become God." "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

those in whom the Spirit dwells are divinized." CCC1988

At Mass comes up, particularly when deacon mixes water and wine (humanity is mingled with divinity)

This is nothing new, just take a look at the Church Fathers who repeatedly teach this doctrine.

Irenaeus

Athanasius

Augustine

As Christ says that thru grace “you are gods” quoting Psalms 82:6 John 10:34), and Scripture cannot be set aside.

Through Christ called children of most high because we indeed are. 1 John 3:1

John 1, given power to become gods

if something is a child of another, dont they have similar natures?

Free Will, imago Dei

Implications

What a mighty calling

and we dare to treat other humans as we do?

besides the Eucharist never see anything more holy on earth or perhaps anything more horrifying, for a fallen god is a terrible horror.

The least in kingdom of Christ are greater than the greatest men to ever walk the face of this earth.

If you have respect for the mighty prophets of old, have even more for those reborn and living in Christ.

Despite appearances, You walk among gods because of the great Christmas gift of the God of gods.

Notes

me:

‘none greater, but least in new kingdom greater’

divinization?

hearing and seeing make one holy

consider times you spent reading scripture, praying, and studying morality

Compare hard life of John and prophets to YOU and yet YOU holier if in kingdom?!?!?

Commentary

Hilary: Prophets acts and condition are prophecy too. John acts as old law. Near point of death. Sends and prepares its disciples to look forward to the coming messiah

Me: in similar way we must prepare thru purification, etc.

Christ’s description (wind reed, soft clothing) speaks of John as the opposite (firm)

Rabanus: Born of women uses a term for wedlocked women that specifically does not mean virgin

Jerome: those in battle are less than those who have the crown, thus all still living less than saints.

 Thanks for reaching out.  It's great to dive deeper into the faith and know our doctrines.  There is too much of a spirit of anti-intellectualism that is polluting society these days, and many have abandoned study as a spiritual practice.  Anytime you have a difficultly with something you read or hear in a homily feel free to come chat about it.  If it is about my homily I will not get offended either.  I won't be able to write out a reply as long as this often, but I had time this week:

So for clarification: I really do mean 'lesser gods' and 'heirs of divinity' quite literally, but a word can mean many things to many people leading to misunderstanding.  By 'lesser god' I do not mean something that should be worshiped.  I mean a sharer in the Divine Nature who becomes a lesser divine, a child of God who is not the Almighty, or an unmoved mover in-kind.  All of these are confirmed by 1.), Tradition, 2.) Scripture, and 3.) reason, and this doctrine of the Church is traditionally called 'divinization' or 'deification' (literally 'god making' in both etymologies).

1.) In the West, maybe because of the hyper-focus on combating the Christological heresies, we did not talk as much about it as the Eastern Churches did in the later centuries, but it was still discussed by the Church Fathers and continued well after.  Thus, you probably will not hear this doctrine much from your average western priest. It should also be noted the Protestants went far away from this (especially considering there is a common view among Protestants that salvation does not include God making us perfect like our heavenly Father; just being covered over), and most of them reject this doctrine shared by us and the Orthodox Church.  Though American Protestantism is a bleep on the radar of the history of the Church, we grow up around Protestant culture in the West, but in the Eastern churches, including those united with Rome, you will not find as much of an allergy of talking about the doctrine of deification probably on account of that history. In fact, it is often their primary focus. The non-Catholic Orthodox Churches like to chide us claiming we fell into heresy by rejecting deification, which we certainly did not, but if they talk to the average Western Christian on the subject, we might not hold them to too much blame for such a misconception. If you read the Church Fathers on this they often talk about us becoming divine through God being our Father.  I don't have time at the moment to get too many quotes from them, but here is at least one:  “We carry mortality about with us, we endure infirmity, we look forward to divinity. For God wishes not only to vivify us, but to deify us” (Sermon 23B) My only warning is sometimes the real early Fathers' rhetoric goes too far and you will hear some seem to suggest we become the Trinity itself on account of how intimately unified with Christ we will be.  This is obviously taking it a bit too far if you do not understand they are sometimes a bit imprecise with their language before the scholastic period, and are just emphasizing that we share (in our own limited way) the life of the Trinity. As for the Mass, deification comes up even there.  For example, in the Eucharistic prayer the deacon or I am required to say at the pouring of water in the wine (though it is silent/low voice) “By the mystery of this water and wine, may we come to share in the divinity [godhood] of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”  The Church has come to call this the 'marvelous exchange' (God becomes human so we can become gods) and, if memory serves me correctly, is most cleverly laid out by the 'Tome of St. Leo the Great' I believe. In more recent times, the Church reiterates this marvelous exchange as a primary reason Christ became man.  Whenever we talk about being children of God this means we are gods of course, but this says it more explicitly: CCC 460: "The Word became flesh to make us "partakers of the divine nature":"For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God." "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God." "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.""   Likewise CCC 1988 "Through the power of the Holy Spirit we take part in Christ's Passion by dying to sin, and in his Resurrection by being born to a new life; we are members of his Body which is the Church, branches grafted onto the vine which is himself: (God) gave himself to us through his Spirit. By the participation of the Spirit, we become communicants in the divine nature.... For this reason, those in whom the Spirit dwells are divinized." There is much more than this elsewhere, but there is a bit from Tradition at any rate. 2.) In Scripture you have the following on divinization, though there are more: Gen 1:26-27 (What is so interesting here is this is in contrast to the pagans of the time of the Hebrews who say only the kings are sons of god or images of god, where Judaism sees us co-equal in divinity), Gen 3:22 (as St. Augustine notes our birth to divinity was mutated by the fall into a horrible divinity that needed to die and be reborn by participation in Christ: “We wished to be God ourselves when we fell away from him, after listening to the Seducer saying, “You will be like gods.” Then we abandoned the true God, by whose creative help we should have become gods, but by participating in him, not by deserting him.” (City of God, 22.30)), Matt 25:34, Lk 20:36 (the God of gods [Duet 10:17] says we have equality to other divine [god] beings, though He promises even more), Jn 1:11-13, Jn 14:20, Jn 17:20-23, Acts 17:28-29, Rom 8:14-29, Cor 6:2-3 [rulers (the classic idea of judge) of reality], 1 Cor 10:14-17 (as St. Augustine repeatedly mentions, and Church documents teach, this is quite literal which is why he says we truly offer ourselves in the Eucharist with Christ), 2 Cor 3:18, Gal 4:7 ('heirs of divinity/God'), 2 Peter 1:4, 1 John 3:1-3, Rev 20:4. You also get a few very literal to the point claims.  Most obvious are Ps 82:6 and Jn 10:34, for all children of the most high are gods, or if eternally begotten God Himself (only Christ).  That this is literal, but to point out we are only lesser gods through Him, and not to be worshiped like God, see the Father's commentary: e.g. https://www.ecatholic2000.com/catena/untitled-98.shtml#_Toc384506998 📷 Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas - e-Catholic 2000 CHAP. 10. 10:1–5. 1. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. www.ecatholic2000.com    3.) Finally, Philosophically.  A god is an unmoved mover or self-moved/self-existing.  Now only God totally fits that definition, but among creation he gave some beings free will, which is a principle of motion that is (insofar as it is free) unmoved or self-moved.  Thus, some creatures are partially unmoved or self-moved movers, and hence a lesser god. Finally, if something is a child of another do they share their nature?  If so this makes us divine through God, does it not? God truly makes us his children and gives us rebirth, not just a declaration.

Hope that helps. Feel free to share this email with whoever you want too (e.g. your brother in law). Also feel free to come to confession any time even if you are not comfortable with it.  It is totally confidential under every circumstance, and we can walk you through what to do. In Christ, -Fr. Ben