Five Ways to a Closer Relationship with Christ  &
Five Steps to Living Our Faith in Christ

1. Social

Exemplary, Holy People:  We want to imitate the behavior of people who are doing or have done well, e.g., Apostles, Saints, Good Parents, Mystics, recent Popes, Spiritual Writers, Good Relatives that made a positive impression on us, etc.  We want to imitate them so we can become good like them!  Note that we are not highlighting self-help programs or gurus that do not include God, but real, known, certified and proven life-long Holy People who have earned their measure of Goodness and Respect.  They have earned their status as Noteworthy Persons to imitate, each with his or her own unique set of Virtues.

Ourselves:  We must recognize and acknowledge our God-given Goodness and Dignity, our call to Holiness.  By “owning” the Positive Aspects and Truths of our Faith and the Rewards that follow, we Cooperate towards building up the Kingdom of Heaven, the Mystical Body of Christ.

2. Rewards

Benefits of Following Christ.  Authentic following of the self-emptying Example of Christ and known Saints makes us feel better about being a Good Citizen, a Good Catholic, a good all-around, Well Adjusted, Highly Motivated, Positive Human Being.  Worthy People are the ones we like to associate with and imitate, thus we know that we are doing right for God. They truly Live the calling to Imitate Christ; they Affirm and Inspire us by their Holy Example.  Living the Christian Virtues brings about its own rewards, such as Freedom, Peace, Harmony and Happiness.

Rewards of Heaven.  The knowledge of Being Happy in Heaven forever and ever and ever makes us want to go there—more and more and more!  Eternal Happiness in God is well worth any price you can name, especially in light of its permanent, eternal nature.  As we become more Christ-Like, we enjoy a Greater Share in His Divinity; We become more “Divinized”.

3. Marks of Progress

We can log our daily Progress in Honest Journaling, marking of Calendars, charting our Progress.  Remember the Good we have Accomplished by Participation in the Graces that Christ earned for us, and still offers twenty-four hours each and every day and night.   Journals or notes help review the trials we encountered and Progress Achieved.  They recognize and Appreciate the many graces God has Gratuitously Bestowed upon us for our good and our work to Share these gifts with others.  It is good to Savor these Precious Moments and to Offer Thanks.  This is expressing pure Honesty, not false pride.  And remember that Heaven will be filled with Grateful People.

4. Keep Good, Healthy Control of our Own Environment(s)

We want to maintain Healthy Control of our own environment for the Good of our souls.  Think about how we Want to Change for the better, and devise a Plan.  We can Simplify our home, our heart and our environment.  We work to Maintain clean, Healthy Living conditions both physically, mentally and especially spiritually.  We put good, Achievable Limits on the use of the TV, Internet and cell phones.  Turn them off and Enjoy the Silence.  Bring in Prayer, Contemplation, Reading of Sacred Scripture and Spiritual Writings such as the Fathers of the Church, Lives of the Saints, Documents of the Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church, etc.  Abbot Claude used to say, “Don’t read good books, read only the best.”  We can Capitalize on how to Improve our internal and external environment without becoming a fussy perfectionist.  Enjoy your own yard, take a walk around the block, visit a park for a time of Rest and Refreshment.  Bring your lunch and Enjoy the day as yet Another Gift God has given to us.

5. Spiritual, Physical, and Healthy Asceticism
   (Self-denial for the sake of the Kingdom)

We can focus on how to make Holy Progress in the proven, ancient and Holy Art of Asceticism.  How?  First of all, we must recognize that no true Spiritual Progress can be made without our own Cooperation, our own Sacrifices, and our own authentic Participation in the life and example of our Savior.  Being of Service to our neighbor is one of the marks of Healthy Asceticism.  Being Fair and Civil to people we don’t like generates Peace and Trustworthiness.

True Sacrifice will often cost us some time, some inconvenience, some effort.  Jesus Christ was constantly dying to Himself in order to Accommodate the teeming masses of people ranging from the merely curiosity seekers, those outraged at His behaviors, the hungry, the weak, the envious, the rule-bound religious authorities, the faint-hearted, those who had nothing else to lose, and the Holy Remnant who had enough faith to follow and Believe in Him who is and was.  Christ endured with Holy Love for our Eternal Salvation inconvenience, suffering, being degraded and death.

So, how are we to map out ways to more Fervently Accomplish the will of Christ in our own daily lives?  What are some Positive Steps we can make to Improve the lot of all mankind?

Five Steps to Living Our Faith in Christ

 Step #1: Ask God to Enhance our own Faith, regardless of how little or how much we already have.

Step #2: Learn how to die to ourselves often, so that we can Accommodate the manifold Graces Offered, and become more Available to our neighbors.  Thank Him for any Progress made.

Step #3: Seek out our own Peace in God by fostering this Peace and Harmony among all people we meet or associate with, often at the cost of our own inconvenience.

Step #4: Be more eager to practice Sufficiency and not excess, to Fast, to Prayerfully Read Scripture, to Contemplate God’s Love for us and His Love for our neighbors.

Step #5: Become more Approachable by being Patient, Kind and Accommodating.  Learn how to give Support and Encouragement to one another.  Always be Grateful for what you receive.

Perseverance in these proven methods will reap multiple Rewards, the most important of which is following after the will and Example of our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, while working towards Achieving the Kingdom of Heaven, both here and hereafter.  Christian Discipline brings on great and Lasting Benefits for ourselves and for the entire Body of Christ.  For some who are well-versed in the practice of all of the Virtues, their Hope is a Positive, ever-present reality and source of Divine Energy throughout their entire lives.

Brother Daniel Sokol, OSB, is a Benedictine monk at Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside, California.