The following table analyses and compares two possible ways of living our Christian life, presented in two columns. I have referred to them as “systems,” although finding the right term was challenging. While “way of life” could suffice, what I am examining goes much deeper. It encompasses all our actions, not only in their visible aspects but also in their profound roots, real motivations, and ultimate source: God. It’s a comprehensive mode of knowing and acting, and even more than that. Therefore, I settled on the term “system” to encapsulate all these meanings, as no other word seemed to fully capture its depth.
But why do we have two Christian ways of living our life and not one? Why two and not three? This duality arises from the inherent complexity of our spiritual journey, reflecting different approaches to faith and practice.
The Teaching of the Spiritual Masters
When reading the Gospel, we realise that people’s responses to Jesus’ call take on at least two distinct forms, or “systems,” each with its own laws, mentality, and habits. This is what we would like to study and examine closely. One system is rather lukewarm, sometimes going in circles, not progressing, or progressing a bit and then stopping. The other possesses a remarkable characteristic: its purity and quality drive a steady growth. Both systems are spiritual in the sense that they follow the Lord, but their means differ. One is spiritual in its means but imperfect, while the other is both spiritual and perfect. Some might doubt this interpretation of the Gospel, questioning why there are two ways and not one, arguing that since we are following the same Lord, the outcome should be the same and the differences merely human variations. However, saints, spiritual masters, and doctors of spiritual life show us that this is far from true. For instance, St. Teresa of Avila’s masterpiece of spiritual pedagogy, Way of Perfection, clearly distinguishes between these two ways. She provides numerous examples and advice on practising three virtues: love (fraternal love), humility, and detachment—virtues she believes summarise the entire Gospel. The clarity and pertinence of her analysis are astounding. She reveals that it is not enough to simply follow Jesus and practise these virtues; the manner in which we follow Him, i.e. the manner in which we practise these virtues, is as important as choosing Jesus as the object of our love.
It is much easier to put these two ways and the two criteria in a Table to have a better immediate understanding of what is at stake:
| Imperfect way | Perfect way | |
| Goal – object | Following Jesus | Following Jesus |
| Means – subject | Human means | Divine means |
As we can see, both ways suppose that we are “following Jesus”. However, the means and ways of following Jesus (we focus here on the quality of the human subject’s acts and ways) are as important. Failing to have “divine means” engenders an “imperfect way” of following Jesus! We will see below that this way fails to bear fruits. As frustrating or astonishing as it can be, it/this will be the centre of our attention in this article.
The focus in following Jesus, then, is Christ himself, and it is He who came to show us a “system of life”: the baptised life. Baptism is an immersion in the Person of Christ (see this article re Baptism and Trinity). His “system” is the second system on the following table (See below: “God’s System”), the one in the right-hand column. It makes us live “in the world” while not being “of the world”. It makes us live “in Christ,” as St. Paul says. “Abide in me,” says the Lord in St. John, chapter 15. The Lord wants us to be like little children dispersed in the crowd, like Lambs among wolves, like Doves amid dangers. To live this way, we need to be very determined to enter the “system” that Christ came to propose to us (St. Teresa of Avila would say: to do His will perfectly).
Note: We are “in the world,” but our deep operating system is not that of the world! It’s not just about saying or believing we are Christians, as we will see – the internal functioning of our life must also be Christian! It is not by adding decoration (like Christmas decorations), such as by obeying the letter of the Law, that only touches the surface of my life that I become a Christian! A profound spiritual transformation of my actions (and this is not just about morality but about behaviour which goes much deeper) must be considered! One can be morally Christian but not measure up according to this new criterion. It is not only about avoiding sin.
Let us take the following passage from the Scriptures to illustrate our point: “I say this, brothers: the time is short. From now on, those who have wives should live as if they do not; those who weep as if they do not weep; those who are happy as if they are not; those who buy as if they do not possess; those who use the world as if not engrossed in it. For this world in its present form is passing away. I want you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife—and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs. Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 7:29-35)
It is powerful to see that St. Paul proposes the same ideal to everyone: not to have worries, and to see that he explains why: he wants the heart of the Christian to be undivided, i.e. given entirely to the Lord. Indeed, it is idolatry to have a divided heart. Ironically we are not aware of the fact that it is idolatry. We think that since we are living in the world, it is inevitable to worry, to get dragged down by all sorts of challenges, difficulties, which then drain our energy, use it, instead of us directing it relentlessly to the Lord. For some persons the difference between the two “systems” can appear to be very subtle, too subtle. This is why we will try to show the differences by setting up two columns, one for each way of following Jesus.
But for now, before embarking on this exploration, we can reinforce this distinction by a well- known text: the one on the famous Parable of the Sower (Mt. 13, Mk. 4, Lk. 8). In this parable, the Lord does not focus on whom we are following – the Seed! He takes for granted that He is talking to one of his disciples, i.e. a person following Him. He turns his attention and focus on the human being (the soil), and more precisely on the way the person is following Him and compares the different ways of following Him. He shows us four ways of following Him, of listening to Him. But surprisingly only one of these four ways works, i.e. produces abundant fruit. So, on one hand we have three ways of following him which are not “good” and only one described as “good: “the good soil”. And it is only one in number: “the good soil”! In this sense, then, we are faced with two ways: one which bear fruits and the other which includes three forms which have one and the same outcome: they do not work, they do not reach fruition. In this sense we can place the Royal Parable of the Sower at the centre of our analysis, putting the three first soils in the left-hand column and the only one good soil, which bears much fruit in the right-hand column.
Let us add a final important point: very often one follows the unfruitful way not only because of neglect, or because we can easily find excuses for ourselves owing to our living in the world and in difficult situations and that we need to compromise with the reality, but because there is in fact another existing reason we need to underline: we act this way not knowing that our way is not perfectly pure. Our eyes are blind, and we are not aware of this reality: our way is separate from the fact that we chose to follow Jesus. The goal is one thing is and the means is quite another: and we are often blind regarding the ways and the means we use! We canonise our actions because they are made with a general good intention and that it is all about following Jesus. We are not aware of the number of unconscious choices we are making, drawing from our own well or means, views and ways. It is in fact a huge shock to discover this fundamental factor – the shift of attention as to how we respond is like discovering another world for us. And it is indeed! We can see it very clearly in St. Peter, who being full of good will and kindness and generosity of heart, still thought that the suffering and death of the Lord was not a good idea (Mt. 16). He even generously said that he would defend the Lord and die for Him (Jn. 13). The spiritual ego, the old man in us are often quite hidden, until we hit the wall of our nothingness. In this sense, discovering the elements of the right-hand column, the column of “God’s pure system” is a shocking surprise and our spiritual ego is still able to put up considerable resistance to this new information, and continue to live in denial, or just by giving in saying say: well, I have well and truly crossed that stage!
Here is what St. Teresa says about the perfection of the practice:
“But, unfortunate that we are, rare are those who must achieve it! However, the one who guards against offending God and has entered into religious life believes he has done everything. Oh! how many worms have gone unnoticed, like the one that gnawed at Jonah’s ivy (Jn. 4:6-7)! They have gnawed away at our virtues through self-love, personal esteem, our judgments of others, even through small things, our lack of charity towards others because we fail to love them as ourselves; for if we manage, slowly, to fulfil our obligations so as not to commit a sin, we are still far from total union with God’s will.” (Fifth Mansions, III,6)
We have also a striking example given by Blessed Marie Eugène OCD in his book: “I am a Daughter of the Church”:
“Such a person walks carrying out his duty, calmly, without apparent fervour or cowardice; his actions are good but weak. Another, his neighbour, is barely distinguished outwardly, but her awakened fervour sustains a diligent fidelity to purify her intention and to add to her actions that little something which ensures perfection: her actions are good and intense. This last one, and she alone, practices in love. The years pass in a communal life that unites and differentiates them outwardly only slightly. However, the second has attained union of will, while the first, perhaps more gifted, has fallen asleep in an ease and routine that have halted all progress.” (“I am a Daughter of the Church”)
To better see the difference between an unfruitful lukewarm Christian life and a true perfect and “good” Christian life according to baptism, let us examine the table below:
| Criteria | Pseudo-Christian System (Actually “World System”) | God’s System |
| Mode of Operation | A Human way of leading a Christian life | A Divine way of living the Christian life, a life from above |
| The Master and True Lord is: | We think it’s God, Jesus, but actually it’s: “God andMammon”. God is important, very important, but does not take the real first place in our daily choices. | Purely God (the Kingdom of God). God really takes first place. |
| Who Takes First Place in Our Heart | (unconsciously) Ourselves. | God. Our heart is undivided. |
| Purity of Heart | The heart is not pure. Detached.We do not love God truly. | Effective purity: “Blessed are the pure in heart.” We truly love only God. |
| Plans | We unconsciously start from ourselves, our view of life. We possess the plans for our life and decide what to do, what means to use, and what struggles to undertake. It’s like taking over the steering-wheel while Christ is sitting next to us. We make the plans and impose them on God, noting that they are very good plans! | We start from God: a wise way. God makes the plans and abides by them. He arranges everything in the finest details: “Not a hair from your head falls without God seeing it.” This system comes from God, descending like the Bride (cf. Revelation 21:2) from above. It is like a cloud overshadowing the human being, like the virginal mantle of Mary (cf. Therese who wants to live under this mantle of Mary). The plans come from Him; I do not have to create them. I just have to contemplate His plans and fulfil them. When St. John writes his Apocalypse, the Lord says: look at the city, how it is; here is the plan. And when Moses has to describe the Temple of Jerusalem, God tells him the same: look at the Temple, how it is. |
| The Goal we Pursue | God and the world,God and Caesar (politics)God and neighbour (social) a good causeGod and Mammon, money (economy), pleasure, etcA great ideal, in fact a beautiful human construction/project. | God only, loved and sought above everything.Union with God is the goal of our life.“Seek first the Kingdom of God and all the rest will be given to you”The precious pearl, the hidden treasure we sell everything.The widow gave “all what she had for her living” |
| Events | Sometimes they are “for us” and sometimes “against us”.Sometimes “it works” and sometimes “it doesn’t work”. | They are always wanted by God for our good: “everything contributes to the good of the ones who love God (Rom. 5). Even if initially they are not perceived this way.Everything serves the goal; everything is meant to reach the goal. This is the “economy” of the Gospel. I am offered/given to God; He can never fail in his promise. |
| The Energy of the Heart | (the following ideas are deeply rooted in the heart of Christians and this is dangerous.)One part goes to God and the other to one’s neighbour. This seems normal because it looks like the second commandment. Caesar, Mammon etc… receive in fact some of our energy. We are divided.The heart is divided between the worries about the world and the worries about God. | All the energy of the human being goes to God only: “you shall love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your spirit and all your strength”. The first Commandment states: “all”! It is clear. I give my life, all my time to God. There is no “now I am praying” and “now I am in the world”. All my undivided energy is given to God, everywhere and all the time. When I pray, when I am at work, with my wife, my children, when I buy and when I see. “all” my heart and “all” my time. If we want it. Nobody is forcing us.I need to love myself. To love God is to love oneself. You shall love God with all your heart. We cannot hate ourselves or neglect ourselves. With what then will we love? We need to love our neighbour as ourselves… the second commandment is similar to the first. In fact, I am loved by God in the first commandment, by receiving his love. God teaches me how to love myself. Then all my energy goes to Him, and He teaches me how to love my neighbour.The heart here is given totally to God, undivided, without “distraction” taking it away from God. This is why St. Paul says: I want you devoid of worries, having the only “concern” or “worry” to please Him. “one thing only is necessary” says the Lord to Martha. |
| Which Man is Operating and Following Jesus? | A mix between the old man and the new man. Rather the old. | The new man: led by the theological virtues: faith, hope and love. |
| Trust in What, in Whom? | Trust is placed in human means. There are plans, even in religious life, in work, everywhere. God knows it takes courage in life not to belong to these plans. When we do not fit into the plan, the party, the clan, the tribe, the intrigues, the gossip, the slander, it can indeed cause us trouble. But what does it mean to be Christians? Where is the purity of heart? Often, we sell our conscience for the plan, for the intrigues. It is hard to resist to the point of shedding blood (Hebrews) to be upright in life; we pay a high price for it. Not engaging in “politics.” | Total trust in God: because He is the Lord and Father. He is the one who will defend me. Man does not rely on a set of securities or guarantees. It is his faith in God the Father that is his only support. We are not talking about civic duties, insurances, or social securities; we are talking about the functioning of the heart. God is my only rock, my defender. He is the one who opens the way before me and marks my path. |
| Richness | Relative wealth yet things are still missing. The religious person is theoretically poor, but is he really? He may continue to desire this or that thing. This “poor” person in the street is not poor if he sees a beautiful car passing by and seriously desires it, even worse if he has hatred for the person driving it. This is a state of slavery; the heart is, in a way, defiled. | One leans on God, to whom belong heaven and earth, the fields and the seas. “Lord of the rents and the renters” (St. Teresa of Avila)Great poverty and yet nothing is lacking.Rich with all that is necessary.The heart is pure. My God is my treasure. |
| State | Slavery | Freedom of God’s children |
| Peace? | Worries, fear, anxiety (for tomorrow), sadness. | Abandonment, entrustment (even during the worst trials), joy, happiness. |
| The Eyes | We seek God, but we do not always find Him because the heart is cluttered with other quests and attachments. Events are not transparent to our eyes because they cannot perceive. What happens around us is no longer clear like stained glass, an icon; it is a wall that does not let the light pass through. God seems silent. | The eyes are illumined. Life, events are like stained glass, an icon that shines through the light, and the light is Christ. We are happy because we are seeing God behind every event.Seeking Him with all our heart we see Him in the events. He appears and then seems to disappear to attract us toward Him.We meet Him, we see Him. God speaks to us. |
| Effort | We give in to the ease of believing that this system is flawed. The first mistake is to believe that God’s system does not exist, that it is a utopia that could never be applied, that only saints can achieve it. We think we need to make compromises, arrangements, a little tinkering, telling ourselves that we also need to love our neighbour (thus giving him a share of our heart). The effort turns towards our neighbour, and that is comforting, practical. We loudly proclaim to exonerate ourselves that we must also love our neighbour (in fact, we love him for himself! And not with a view to loving God). To let oneself give in to the practical point of view. | Faith demands believing that it exists, that it is so. Every day, we question ourselves to renew our self-giving, aware that we live in this world and that dust reaches us, requiring us to recommit every day, given that we constantly move from one system to another. This is why Christ said: Watch! It requires a courage most virile, a determination, perseverance, a heroism greater than that of the greatest war heroes (Teresa of Avila). Because the battle is daily, and in the spiritual life, we either progress or regress, we do not stand still. We cannot rest! We find ourselves on a slope, and it is easier to do evil than good, so if we do not ascend, in fact, we descend. |
| Gift of Oneself | Not a complete gift of oneself. Sometimes the ‘self-giving’ is done only once, punctually, but it is not renewed, so we fall back into incomplete giving where we take ourselves back! | Complete gift of oneself in line with baptism and is renewed every day (because we take ourselves back three minutes later)! |
| Christian Practices | Meditation.There is no supernatural Prayer of the Heart or hardly any. | Supernatural Lectio DivinaPrayer of the Heart. It is the door of this system. |
| Unity/DivisionMeans and Goals | Division reigns in this system. At times there is a way, at others it’s an obstacle appearing on the horizon. | The entire system is both means and end because it enables us to progress towards the goal and gives God Himself at every step. |
| Love of Neighbour | In fact, we do not serve our neighbour according to God, whether it be our neighbour (spouse, children) or the State. | We serve our neighbour perfectly (spouse, children) and the State. (cf. Way CC. 4,6 and 7) |
| Motivation | Human motivations (success, prestige, power, material interests, etc.) | Spiritual motivations (love of God, service to the Kingdom, charity, etc.) |
| Priorities | First the things of this world, then God, prayer, etc. if we have time.Or, we seek the Kingdom of God and second we seek the rest. | First God, prayer, searching for his will. Listening to Him and putting his will into practice.”Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)There is no second “and see the other things after”! |
| Mentality | Mentality of a slave, a hireling. We think we can serve God and Mammon. The heart is not given entirely to God | Mentality of a free person, a child of God, loving God purely. The heart is given entirely to God |
| Possessions | We possess things, and we are often possessed by them. Our heart is divided. | We possess nothing, and we are not possessed by anything. Our heart is pure. Jesus saved us, paid for us, we belong to Him totally. |
| Lifestyle | Often a dual life: the spiritual side is separate from the rest of life. We try to reconcile the two sides without succeeding.We care for what others will say or do. | Unified life: everything is under the Lordship of Christ.We care only about Christ’s will and the way He wants us to act. |
| Obedience | Obedience to self, to the world, to human considerations, more than to God. | Total obedience to God. |
| Poverty | Poor in spirit, meaning that we are not aware of our spiritual poverty. We rely on our own resources. | Truly poor in spirit, aware of our dependence on God. We rely on God’s resources. |
| Struggles | Human struggles, often carnal. We struggle with human means. | Spiritual struggles. We fight with the weapons of God. |
| Prayer | A secondary activity, sometimes neglected. We pray when we have time. | Primary activity. Prayer is the breath of our life. |
| Attitude towards Suffering | Avoidance, fear of suffering. | Acceptance. Love of the Cross. |
| Fruit | Fruits of the flesh: disunity, jealousy, conflicts, etc. | Fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, etc. |
Conclusion:
Baptism is an immersion in the Son, facing the Father, in the Holy Spirit. Or expressed in another way, it is to be held by the Father with his two hands: the Son and the Holy Spirit (an Image used by St. Irenaeus see here). The art of Christian life is the art of staying immersed and not to slip away from the grasp of the two hands of the Father which hold us. from being held by the two hands of the Father.
After the second conversion we desire to live with Jesus, to follow Jesus, to be united to Him. To do so, i.e. to live in the Kingdom of God, it is necessary to change our system or way of following Jesus. It is not enough to modify some few aspects of our life; it is a question of converting the entire orientation of our life to live according to God’s system. This means a profound transformation in our way of thinking, acting, and loving.
Whilst I have shown in the table above the important differences between these two systems of living our Christian life – one being a “worldly” Christian life so to speak whilst the other is a true Christian life, it is imperative to know that the bridge or journey between these two systems are : a daily and determined conversion and commitment to follow the Lord. This commitment realised through the very means of prayer that define the true Christian life. These are Lectio Divina and the Prayer of the Heart in other words “listening to the Word of God and putting it into practice” and a truly effective “Contemplative Prayer”. They come directly for the daily Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
By the grace of God which we receive abundantly in these forms of prayer we are transformed and purified to the extent that we will live according to God’s system instead of our own worldly Christian system.
The other vital element and without which none of this can be achieved is knowing Mary’s role in our spiritual life. Becoming aware of the importance of her place in our daily life with respect to the quality and speed of our growth is vital. As a consequence we need to “receive her” (see John 19) in a daily and practical way. She truly is our spiritual Mother: “When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” So from that hour, this disciple took her into his home. After this, knowing that everything had now been accomplished,…” (John 19:26-28)
As we know, formation in spiritual life in order to gain clarity and practical knowledge is not a luxury and God has throughout history given us many Doctors of the Church, spiritual masters and examples in the saints to help us along our spiritual journey.
We can live in the Hope that God has called all of us to live in His System! Let us renew our commitment with “determined determination”, as St. Teresa of Avila puts it.
Jean Khoury
Sts. Peter and Paul, 2024