Opening Prayer
Lord, I recognize that You became man so that we might become partakers of the divine nature, raised to an incomparable dignity. I petition for the Deification of the Soul, seeking to be made like You through the operation of Your grace and the consistent practice of virtue. Let the ocean of Your goodness wash over me, transforming my earthly nature into a reflection of Your heavenly glory.
I ask for a holy desire to stretch my soul, making it capable of holding more of Your presence as I wait in hope. Help me to empty my heart of the vinegar of worldly longings so that You may fill it with the honey of Your sweetness. May my hunger for You grow daily until it is finally satisfied by the vision of Your face in the eternity of heaven.
Amen.
Matthew 20:1-16
1The kingdom of heaven is like to an householder, who went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2And having agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing in the market place idle. 4And he said to them: Go you also into my vineyard, and I will give you what shall be just. 5And they went their way. And again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did in like manner. 6But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing, and he saith to them: Why stand you here all the day idle? 7They say to him: Because no man hath hired us. He saith to them: Go you also into my vineyard. 8And when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard saith to his steward: Call the labourers and pay them their hire, beginning from the last even to the first. 9When therefore they were come, that came about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10But when the first also came, they thought that they should receive more: and they also received every man a penny. 11And receiving it they murmured against the master of the house, 12Saying: These last have worked but one hour, and thou hast made them equal to us, that have borne the burden of the day and the heats. 13But he answering said to one of them: Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst thou not agree with me for a penny? 14Take what is thine, and go thy way: I will also give to this last even as to thee. 15Or, is it not lawful for me to do what I will? is thy eye evil, because I am good? 16So shall the last be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.
St. John of Damascus
St. John of Damascus teaches that the deification of the soul (theosis) is the ultimate goal of the spiritual life. It means becoming like God by grace, not by nature. Humans achieve this by turning away from sin and uniting their minds and hearts with God through prayer and virtue. God made humans with a rational soul and free will. This gives people the unique capacity to know and love their Creator. Jesus Christ took on human flesh. Because He united human nature with divine nature, He opened a clear path for humans to share in God’s divine life. Fasting, prayer, and fighting bad habits clean the soul. A clean soul can better receive the light and grace of God. Humans cannot become gods by their own power. Deification happens only as a free gift of God’s grace working inside a willing person.
True worship is the recognition of God’s incomparable perfection and our call to be “partakers of the divine nature”. Through adoration and thanksgiving, our souls are stretched to “be like Him” as we contemplate His boundless wisdom and goodness. Worship transforms the worshiper, making us more like the Object of our adoration as we share in His eternal life.
“On the purpose of creation: God made man to share in His eternal goodness and divine life.”
— St. John of Damascus
Mary and the Magisterium
Through grace, we become partakers of the divine nature. Mary is the preeminent partaker, whose soul was so deified by grace that she became the Mother of the Creator.
- Do I realize that I am "destined to live eternally and be perfectly united" to God?
- How does the "science of the saints" help me to "partake in the divine nature" today?
Closing Prayer
Lord, You have qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
Amen.
