The Mirrored Flower

I have overheard people talking about methods of divination which were used upon them and, more importantly, how it would have affected them. They haggled on about what this particular fortune teller predicted for them and at times i tried to intervene in an attempt to relieve them of any anxiety at the thought of the horrendous things that lurked around the corner for them. But that is not enough. So I have decided to write this for further clarity and truth regarding our ”destiny” or life path.

It is said that our lives are pre-destined with God having a plan for each of us, I believe our path is both fixed yet dynamic at the same time or the free will God blessed us with is a lie, and God does not lie. What we need to remember is that the plan we have for ourselves and the plan God has for us are often two different things, and this is the crux of the matter. God’s plan for us is set in stone yes, but He gives us the free will and opportunity to fit our lives into the mold he has cast for us.This has to do with the concept of freedom which will be discussed a little later. Once we choose to fit into His mold we are living out His plan for us, if we do not fit that mold, we are essentially lost. 

The next question, then, has to be along the lines of”How do we know what God wants?” or ”How do I know If I’m on the path he has set out for me?”. The answer is.. “get to know God”. We get to know what our friends and loved ones like and don’t like by getting to know them, right? Why should it be any different with God. Who God is and what he wants has been set out in scripture and church tradition for centuries, we need only to explore it with sincerity and humility.

John 3:30 states all of this perfectly and beautifully. John the Baptist says no one can have anything unless God gives it to him. You yourselves are my witnesses that i said “I am not the messiah but i have been sent ahead of him. the bridegroom is the one to whom the bride belongs; but the bridegroom’s friend who stands by and listens, is glad to hear the bridegrooms voice. This is how my own happinness is complete. He must become more important while I become less important.

In adopting this approach of total humility within Christ, John the Baptist became the forerunner to Christ! one of the greatest biblical figures.. What could we too achieve by becoming humble within Christ?

One thing remains, the freedom we have to choose to walk with Christ as a guide to and on our path. Pope John Paul II in his book Memory and identity outlines this framework for freedom to attain intimate proximity to Christ. His words are red text whilst mine remains as is.

The call “follow me!” is an invitation to set out along the path to which the inner dynamic of the mystery of redemption leads us. Here we have the word path once more. This is the path indicated by the teacing, so often found in writings on the interior life and on mystical experience, about the three stages involved in “following Christ”… We speak of the purgative way, the illuminative way and the unitive way. In reality these are not three distinct ways but three aspects of the same way…. Observance of the commandments, properly understood, is synonymous with the purgative way: it means conquering sin, moral evil in its various guises. It also enables us to discover values..

.. the purgative way leads organically into the illuminative way. Values are lights which illuminate existence and, as we work on our lives, they shine ever more brightly on the horizon. So side by side with observance of the commandments we develop virtues. For example: “you shall not kill!” we discover the value of life..and we learn an ever deeper respect for it…”You shall not commit adultery!” Observing this commandment leads us to aquire the virtue of purity, and this means we come to an greater awareness of the gratuitous beauty of the human body, of masculinity and femininity. “you shall not bare false witness!” we learn the value of truthfulness. This not only excludes all lying and hypocrisy from our lives, but it develops within us a kind of “instinct for truth” which guides all our actions. Here we once more have the word guide. And living thus in the truth, we aquire in our own humanity a connatural truthfulness.

…With the passage of time, if we persevere in Christ as our teacher, we feel less and less burdened by the struggle against sin, and we enjoy more and more the divine light which pervades all creation…to move with ever greater freedom within the whole of the created world. This same freedom and simplicity characterizes our relations with other human beings, including those of the opposite sex. Interior light illumines our actions and shows us all the good in in the created world as coming from the hand of God. 

thus the purgative way and then the illuminative way form the organic introduction to what is known as the unitive way. this is the final stage of the interior journey, when the soul experiences a special union with God. This union is realized in contemplation of the divine being and in the experience of love which flows from it with growing intensity. in this way we somehow anticipate what is destined to be ours in eternity, beyond death and the grave. Christ supreme teacher of the spiritual life, together with all those who have been formed in his school, teaches that even in this life we can enter onto a path of union with God. 

And so we end with Scripture: “God placed all things under his [Christ's] feet…  But when all things have been placed under Christ’s rule, then he himself, the Son, will place himself under God, who placed all things under him; and God will rule completely over all.” 1 Cor 15:27-28. This includes our lives.

In summary; God has a life plan for us, but we need to discard our ambitions for ourselves and discover his ambitions for us by becoming less and allowing God to become more in our lives. Once we allow him to become more in our lives we enter into a three stage journey toward ultimate freedom where Christ is our guide in all we do..Christ! not dreams, not divination, not crystal balls, sweaty palms or tea leaves.

Thanks for reading, any questions or comments? feel free to post a reply. God bless.