Speaker: Rev. Fr. Freddie Sabado ,Spiritual Adviser, The Lord's Flock Catholic Charismatic Community

“ Maintaining our Spiritual Maturity ”

T he Gospel of John provides us insights on how to develop and maintain our spiritual maturity.

“T he next day John was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God.' The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, ‘What are you looking for?' They said to him, ‘Rabbi' (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?' He said to them, ‘Come, and you will see.' So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.” (John 1:35-39).

1. Knowing Christ

Y ou have been called to enter The Lord's Flock. You have answered the call by becoming a member of your community. Your first question is “Who called me?” Is it the person who invited you to join the Spirit Empowerment Seminar? Is it your Elder? No, the one who called you is Jesus Christ himself, the Lamb of God. Christ is the Messiah (John 1:41 ). He is the sole foundation of our spirituality. He is the one who called you. “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.” (John 15:16).

O ur first step in developing our spiritual maturity is knowing about Christ and studying his Word.

2. Following Christ

T he question of Jesus to the two disciples of John “What are you looking for?” may have been asked to all of us. For your spiritual growth, what do you really want from Jesus? Are you ready to follow Jesus? Are you ready to walk with Jesus without setting any conditions and asking questions?

I f we are intending to follow Jesus, there are three elements to consider:

A) P ositive Response – We should know how to respond positively to God's call. We should understand that when we are called by God and we positively answer his call, we may be facing severe trials (Sirach 2:1). We should understand and should not worry because “God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

B) C onditions of God – We agree to place ourselves in the conditions of God. John, the Baptist, proclaimed with humility “He [Jesus] must increase; I must decrease.” (John 3:30). When we follow Jesus, we should always proclaim God's glory without any consideration of our own. We leave entirely our present and our future to God's hand.

C) H umility – As human beings, we are usually results-oriented; we depend on our human abilities to produce results periodically. We should be humble enough to confess that we are weak physically and spiritually. We should be poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3). Without Jesus as our vine , we, as the branches, can do nothing. (John 15:5).

G od asks us “What are you looking for?” What do you want? Do you want an easy life? Do you want a successful life?

W hen you decide to follow Jesus, when you start to serve God, you should be ready for tests and for everything. You should be firm and steadfast (Joshua 1:9). You should not give up. You should trust in the Lord who takes control of everything.

3. Accepting Christ

A fter knowing Christ who called us and after following him, we should accept him in our life. We should also accept the consequences of answering the call of Jesus. Like Mary, we should say “May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38). Like Jesus, we should proclaim “….not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42).

T here are three points to consider about acceptance.

A) A cceptance is the awareness and expression of one's needs. We have to be aware of our needs and to express them when we communicate with God. For example, we should express our spiritual need to know more and more about Jesus who called us. We accept and express our need for the Word of God.

A cceptance also includes the awareness that we need others to build up ourselves. We cannot exist in this world alone. We need each other to build up one another. We need to recognize one another, to appreciate, encourage and build up one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11 ). This need is two-way: we need others; others need us.

B) A cceptance is also the awareness and expression of one's uniqueness. Each one of us is unique. We have to respect this uniqueness.

J esus himself respected the uniqueness of his disciples. Many were simple folks and not educated, yet they were selected for being poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3). Jesus understood Peter and Thomas in their uniqueness.

I n your own community, The Lord's Flock, you are all unique. You have different qualities and desires, yet God has called you and formed you into a faithful community.

C) A cceptance includes the awareness of the need for our orderliness [and righteousness]. We should accept others with their good qualities and also those with their bad attitudes. It is essential that we correct one another (2 Timothy 2:25 ) and teach and admonish one another (Colossians 3:16 ). Jesus himself corrected his apostles.

4. Staying with Christ

W e thank Jesus when He says to us (as He said to the disciples of John the Baptist) “Come, and you will see.” We should not hesitate to come and see and eventually to stay with Jesus in his kingdom in heaven.

J esus is inviting us “to come and see” ; He considers us as his “friends” (John 15:15 ). He wants us to develop intimate relationship with him.

H ow do we gain spiritual maturity and be intimate with God?

A) “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39). Let us show our love of God by surrendering totally our will to him. We also give the Lord our time, talent, and treasures.

B) W e should love one another. (John 13:34 , 15:17 ; 1 John 3:11). Love binds us together. Love requires us to proclaim “I am here for you and you are here for me.” Do not wait until a person is gone before saying how much you love him/her.

C) W e should keep our communications with God through a deep prayer life. We should visit frequently the Blessed Sacrament. We should maintain our communications with Jesus through his miracles in our life and our service to our fellow men.

D) W e should grow spiritually through our regular study of the Word of God.

E) W e should affirm one another by maintaining a Christ-like attitude. As St Paul wrote “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1).

B eing intimate with Christ, and as his friends, we are sure of staying with him in eternal life.