Now that we have considered our future bodily resurrection in three reflections—a resurrection we can joyfully look forward to as the faithful—it is fitting to turn our attention to our spiritual resurrection, which is the prerequisite for facing death with confidence. This spiritual resurrection is also referred to as the “first resurrection,” meaning the awakening of the soul to true life.
St. Augustine writes about this topic in The City of God and comments on the following words of the Lord:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.” (John 5:25)
According to Augustine, “the Lord is not speaking here of the second resurrection—the bodily one that will take place at the end—but of the first, which is taking place now. It is precisely this that He wishes to mark with the words: ‘The hour is coming, and now is.’ But this resurrection is not a resurrection of bodies, but of souls. For souls, too, have their death—namely in godlessness and sin—and it is such dead people the Lord means when He says: “Let the dead bury their dead,” meaning: let those who are spiritually dead bury those who are physically dead. (Augustine, Volume 28, p. 1227)
We lead a true life when we live by faith. Then the supernatural light of God is our guide. Our soul has awakened from the state of sin, which is called spiritual death. The life of God flows into the soul in various ways and frees it from the captivity of the senses and from the dominion of the devil.
St. Paul shows the way in the Letter to the Colossians: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Col 3:1–2)
One of the faithful is a person who has been born anew of water and the Spirit (cf. John 3:5). He has now become an obedient person who honors God’s commandments and eagerly seeks God’s will. Through this, the person is transformed, for divine life is at work within him. He is no longer under the bondage of the evil mind but under the wise guidance of the Holy Spirit. He will still face struggles to overcome his sinful inclinations, yet the Lord will stand by him and bear this burden with him. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who is his Teacher and Master, he seeks “things that are above.”
Now is the hour of the Holy Spirit for the faithful, for it has been given to Him to nurture and bring to growth this resurrected life in Christ. He does this with divine thoroughness, for the person who has been spiritually resurrected in the Lord is to be prepared for eternity and to bear great fruit on the way there.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit sent by the Father and the Son, who will remain with the faithful. Jesus asked the heavenly Father for this sending of the Spirit: “I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you.” (John 14:16–17)
Thus, the Holy Spirit will guide a converted person to read the Holy Scriptures, so as to always receive spiritual nourishment from the Word of God, for the Word of the Lord is a light on our path (cf. Ps 119:105). The Spirit nurtures the new life from Christ and calls the converted soul to the gifts of the sacraments, which enlighten and strengthen the soul.
Without a doubt, the Holy Spirit will guide the faithful person to unite with God constantly in prayer and thus to live in intimate love with Him. The supernatural life becomes more natural, and the soul begins to perceive things—its surroundings and itself—more through the eyes of God.
With zeal, but also with patience, our Master and Teacher, who has long since become our intimate friend, will guide us to practice the virtues by addressing the spiritual and material needs of our fellow human beings to the best of our ability, and especially by bringing to fruition within us those wonderful gifts of the Spirit that transform our entire lives.
Divine life has taken up residence within us, and we are increasingly being shaped into the image in which God created us.
This wise and faithful guidance of our eternal Father is an inexpressible grace for us. For indeed, the life of the Resurrection, which the Risen One grants to our soul, is already beginning now. It is an infinitely loving consolation on our journey home to full communion with God in eternity
Tomorrow, let us try to glimpse at least a little of this eternal homeland, so that our longing may grow and our efforts on earth may become as fruitful as possible for the kingdom of His love.
Reflection on the daily reading: https://en.elijamission.net/obedience-to-god-comes-before-obedience-to-men-2/
Reflection on the daily Gospel: https://en.elijamission.net/the-gospel-of-st-john-jn-331-36-the-crucial-decision/
