Life is the principle of activity and growth. A stone which has no life cannot initiate activity or growth from the inside. It can grow only by adding to it externally. A plant has plant life that enables it to grow, give flowers, and bear fruit. Animals have animal life that enables it to feel, make noise, and move, etc. Man has human life that enables it to think and to choose, in other words to reason and to will. Finally, there is grace or Divine Life, which God in His love and mercy grants to man which will enable him to be united to the Creator. This is a mystery for how can the creature even aspire to be united to the Creator. And yet this is what man must aspire to otherwise he would be unhappy. Whatever man can think of or imagine he wants. Whatever we can imagine or think that is good, we want. But since we can think of the limitless good then we want it. The human heart cannot be satisfied with anything less. And to get the limitless good is to get union with the Creator. Nothing will satisfy man in the next world less than 100% happiness. Here on earth we can get only 30% to 40% happiness. But not in the next world where we have to have perfect happiness. 99% happiness in the next world is the definition of hell. The reason is that the man who does not get 100% happiness will suffer remorse. I could have gotten perfect happiness but through my own fault forfeited my chance to be limitlessly happy.

Christian doctrine is that when God created man. He so loved His creature that He gave him this seed of potential union with Him in perfect happiness. However, through misuse of his gift of free will man lost this divine life. But God in His mercy became man in Jesus Christ to re-establish this connection with the Creator. In baptism we receive this divine life, but it is only a seed or spark that will flower into a full blown union only in the next life. Here it is a mystical union through the mediation of the Savior, Jesus. We receive this grace as a free gift which we do not deserve because of our goodness or intelligence or any competence on our part. The only thing we can do is open ourselves to receive this gift by prayer.

This divine life is a free gift purely from the love and mercy of God. Our function or man's function is to reciprocate that love. God does not only want our adoration and praise but also our love and dedication to Him.

This seed of divine life is often called grace. Grace can mean a gift, the seed of divine life, or the Holy Spirit Himself dwelling in man. Once we receive this gift of Grace, it is difficult to lose it. But if we have the misfortune to lose it we can always turn back to God in love and He will accept us back. We cannot out do the Creator in love. Similar to a poker game any bet we make with currency of love, the Creator can and will double His bet of love on the table. With Grace therefore as the Holy Spirit dwelling in us in our fellow man, we should zealously guard our hearts to constantly adore and love the dwelling of the Spirit in us. We respect our fellow men as temples of this Same Spirit. This highest form of life enables us to love and adore God. <emeterio_barcelon@yahoo.com>