The purgative stage of spiritual development did not exist until the onset of original sin; now it is the necessary starting point for every student, since we all have a burden of original sin.
All the actions of Adam and Eve were legitimate, prior to
original sin; but each action could have been made better somehow — more generosity, more reverence. Adam, Eve and
family were expected to make spiritual advancement, even from their condition of sinlessness. But with the onset of original sin, each person had to take on a portion of it, and each person now started his spiritual advancement from a condition of sin, or the purgative stage.
We start our spiritual advancement in the Purgative way,
and by repeated effort substantially eliminate sin from our lives. The purgative stage has the student eliminating major sins of commission and omission in his life. We may suffer the effects of original sin to a greater or lesser degree, but barring a God given exception, everyone has a burden to purge.58 Sin and imperfection arise from misshapen virtues, called vices. If 58 So far as is known, Adam, Eve, Virgin Mary and Jesus are the only humans who were exempt from original sin at conception and birth. Adam and Eve were later afflicted, and Jesus took on the apostles sin via the Eucharist at the last supper; this lead to his death just hours later. The human nature of Jesus (emotions, body, intellect) was afflicted; only his divine nature (his will) remained free of sin.
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we examine and reform these vices then our actions will become virtuous instead of sinful.
In the purgative stage, which will overlap to some degree
into the illuminative and unitive stages, we reform the vices into virtues. We recall that while sins may be forgiven by God or man, vices can only be reformed by the owner of the vice.
Vices are the cause of sin, which takes the form of injustice, war, poverty and crime in our world. Political action cannot reform vices, politics cannot advance or perfect our virtues, and no political program can make our divine union with God.
We consult the Catechism of the Catholic Church for definitions of sin, vice, and virtue (given previously). This list from CCC 1852, which quotes the apostle Paul is useful, and each of these sins might fall under the category of mortal or venial; “Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.” 59
Our soul does not contain both virtues and vices; vices are actually our virtues in a damaged state. From CCC 1866, “They
[vices] are called ‘capital‘ because they engender other sins, other vices…They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth….” All deformation of virtue may be traced to these seven primary vices.
The sin of irreverence for example is caused by the primary vice of pride, which is the faulty tendency toward isolation, which may even exclude God.
59 This final sentence is not a guarantee of Hell. Purgatory would also fall short of the full Kingdom of God.
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In another example, the vice of greed is actually the effect of several damaged virtues: trust, moderation, religion (we have no greater goal than this life, and put all our effort into it).
We know that acts of generosity alone will not reform greed, a new mindset is needed which includes many virtues.
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The purgative stage is largely the identification and elimination of our illegitimate actions. We therefore begin with identifying those vices, which oppose the virtues.
Pride is really illegitimate isolation. We may not recognize God; we may take sole credit. Isolated and therefore small goals might become our life work: career, love of select others, worldly power or praise. When pride encounters
a virtue, it holds it prisoner within oneself. We grow smaller, at the expense of a greater being which includes
others and God.
The most damaging form of pride is irreverence, in which we fail to give God what is due, we may even fail to acknowledge God.60
60 All of these vices, which are damaged virtues may be assigned by Christ, or cultivated by ourselves. Atheism can be improved upon by allowing for the possibility of God, acknowledging a higher ideal (even an impersonal ideal), and working to make oneself into that ideal. There are millions of former atheists whom have come to some understanding of God.
Advancement beyond basic belief will lead to greater participation in God, including our faculties of intellect and will, we wil have improved understanding and action.
Here is a quick proof of God. First define God: God is all that has unconditional existence. Second: consider any thing which exists, yourself for example. You are either unconditional existence (God), or a creation of God, either directly or through extended means. Either way God exists. The first conditional part of creation had to have come from the unconditional existence of God. If creation has existed forever, then it would be God.
This proof of God, is not proof of Jesus Christ as God made man, such 56
Pride is said to be the root of all sin. It can take the
forms of self centeredness, or an external form which lacks the moral guidance of an ideal outside of oneself. In its severest forms of brutality and injustice, the selfishness of pride will not even accept the existence or well being of
others.
Pride should be reformed into humility. Humility is a
selflessness that allows our participation in God, who is Christ, the Holy Spirit, and ultimately God the Father.
Avarice is greed; a desire to have it all to ourselves and keep it all to ourselves. It has an obvious link to pride.
Wealth or abundance in itself is no sin. To
unreasonably accumulate or retain such abundance,
rather than relieving the want of others could be a sin.
Avarice should be reformed into its correct virtue of generosity.
Envy is the desire for others status, attributes, abilities or situation. Faith makes water into wine, but envy makes
wine into water. Envy seeks what is others and demands
it for our own selfish ownership. Joy of the moment is the reformation of envy. To place oneself into the presence
and person of Christ, is to know that envy of anything else is uncalled for.61
a proof comes through faith. Faith is a sort of hidden knowledge, had only through God revealing himself to our knowledge. We see that this faith at its most basic level of awareness of God, involves the mutual participation of God and person. No wonder Jesus often speaks of faith as necessary for salvation.
61 God assigns the challenges of our lives. Riches, talent, beauty are also challenges which demand our correct way of living them. To be rich, thin and beautiful is a blessing from God…and a challenge until correctly lived.
Since God arranges all things with deliberate, individual purpose in mind, let us concern ourselves with our own challenges, and not the challenge 57
Wrath is unjustified anger, in degree, duration, or reason for. Anger should be no more than an emotional signal to
correct the situation which causes justified anger. Often our only recourse of action is prayer.
All vice seeks more of itself, because the vice is sensed
or believed to be good. Anger especially feeds and grows
upon itself, and quickly so, often into vengeance. Patience is the correct reformed virtue of anger.
Our goal is not to be more in this life, but to be more
in the afterlife, therefore our priority must not be ourselves. Patience shifts our priority not just outside of our self, but toward an ideal, which for the Christian is the person of Jesus Christ.
Lust is illegitimate self stimulation; lust for power, sex, blood, revenge all feed some vice seeking satisfaction.
Stimulation can never be fulfillment because fulfillment satisfies and perfects not just the momentary, but extends even to the eternal. Fulfillment is the big picture, even beyond what our senses and limited reason are aware, or
are dimly aware of.
Lust can be the most difficult vice to reform.
Addiction at its worst combines the brain chemistry of addiction, the psychology of on demand satisfaction, and
the spiritually damaging cycle of pride, which spirals into itself and is unable to discern a higher ideal worth pursuing, resulting even in self destruction.
In the elimination of some tangible bad habit, the student should of course remove himself from the
proximity of the problem item. Practice in reformed action is very useful, one could mentally step through the absurdity of the desire for the item or activity and repeatedly image oneself avoiding the problem activity. A of riches that others may have.
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trained memory as such can be an effective guide for the will. “Never make a decision based on emotions”, is an all around good rule. Always examine an action from outside
of oneself, before committing to it.
Gluttony is excessive consumption of food, alcohol or anything else. Motives vary according to what is
consumed. Food gives satisfaction to taste, texture, hunger; over consumption is a developed obsession with
this satisfaction. Alcohol is different in that it is not required by a person, as is food, and overconsumption satisfies a desire for intoxication. Both food and alcohol are commonly abused in an effort to relieve boredom or
depression.
Overeating is a complex situation. Weight gain occurs
in part because of reduced metabolism as one ages, and
ulcers painfully scream to be fed. Overeating requires more overeating to satisfy ones hunger. A person may end
up overeating simply to feel full, which in itself is a legitimate reason to eat! Training one’s hunger and acclimating one’s stomach to a much reduced intake is the
key.
Smaller meals, eaten slower is a good start to more
moderate eating; the stomach will feel full after fifteen minutes. Light foods may not be a real solution, since any food reactivates hunger, and acid production. Many people find they can skip a meal, and this becomes easier
with practice.
Over consumption is very common, but it cannot be
part of any spiritual advancement discipline. To eat a bag of chips an hour after dinner is a form of masturbation, and cannot help the soul rise above its imperfections.
Excessive consumption includes not only quantity but
level of luxury. Any willful self seeking slows or even reverses the soul’s advancement. It is for good reason that 59
religious communities stick to a meal menu and schedule; it takes individual self seeking out of the spiritual advancement equation.
All self seeking and stimulation ends only in itself, without advancing into a higher ideal. In making spiritual advancement the student must make a real self
assessment, and self satisfaction, self interest, self destruction, self stimulation must go where ever it is found. Moderation is the reformed form of gluttony.
Sloth is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work. If we fail to do what is required by the situation…any situation, we are slothful. If we fail to make the moral effort to move out of despair of life, or depression of life, we will remain in it. Our God given life requires that we attain our highest potential for our life.
Acedia is a specific spiritual sloth, or disregard. It is not irreverence, or a failure to do the minimum required
spiritual work. It is really a failure to make spiritual advancement. Even the minimum requirements for
spiritual advancement increase continually. If we are to advance further, we need to make more and/or better quality of moral effort than we have made to date.
Recall that spiritual advancement consists of the
complimentary actions of purgation and reformation. We
refrain from making a bad act, and we replace it with a good act. When we are insulted, we refrain from replying
with an insult and we make a positive act in its place, prayer if nothing else. The vice (revenge) is not only avoided, but reformed into a virtue, (prayer). All of creation advances, starting with ourselves.
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For our spiritual advancement, we might construct a three
stage program, which we repeat until holy:
(1). We identify and examine the problem and our foolish attachment to it. We do this in both structured mediation and on our feet as we encounter problems. We hold the temptation or imperfection at arm’s length to break the emotional cycle which feeds itself. This emotional cycle usually proceeds away from perfection and towards self: pity, indulgence, destruction.
We recall our goal (incorporation into Christ) and our reasons. We compare our proposed action to the person Christ, and not only the first century Christ, but the present day Christ: the mother, the worker, the person at leisure, danger or trouble. We think of our past failings in which we fail at the peak of temptation, only to kick ourselves later. We do not listen to the self calling us to satisfaction, but Christ calling us to fulfillment and perfection. We do what is best for our soul.
(2). We ride out the peak and steamroll to virtue on the downside. We do not worry about the consequences, God will arrange those. We maintain focus on the only thing that lasts or has value, our participation in Christ.
(3). Cultivation of peace is the next (and necessary) event.
We must not eliminate vice, pride and worry, only to complain of boredom.62 Our calling is to express ourselves as Christ in 62 Boredom is disguised selfishness. We seek stimulation, rather than fulfillment. The solution is as always to ride out the problem as often as it occurs, each time gaining by habit, a deeper life in the virtues of Christ, rather than self.
The perfection of any act is simply its fullness. To eat a brownie is good if it properly feeds us. To eat a brownie only for emotional stimulation is imperfect. This wholeness of act is the basis for the prohibition of birth control in the procreative act. When we finally arrive at perfection of an act, or a life, we see that the infinite love of God can enlarge it stil .
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the many ways open to us. Christ seeks to express himself in every legitimate art or enterprise, and “non-religious” acts are not less than religious acts. Indeed, to carve out a part of life for religion, implies that the other part does not seek inclusion into God. In ancient Israel there was no divide (in theory) between God, government, business, family. They were all God’s enterprises under our stewardship. With the advent of Christianity, we are not stewards for Christ, but Christ himself, and this life is our productive training ground.
Not only temptation to sin or imperfection, but decisions
also should be given this program of scrutiny. A good decision may be made better by it, and we advance as Christ. Idle thoughts are not so idle, (Mt 5:28). We can and should practice the best possible thought. This is the core value of prayer, it is proactive good thought and will which has great meaning for eternity.
Prayer is a real act of construction, it requires real moral effort and we can feel this. It is easier to view television for fifteen minutes than to pray a rosary. The rosary is far more productive, and as we free our soul of selfishness, the television becomes less attractive and the prayer more meaningful.
The Ten Commandments are in order of importance. God
comes first; separation from God only brings a corresponding separation from God’s good design for our world. Praise of God implies an association of wills with God. Positive prayer joined to acts of selflessness advance our incorporation into God, and our families and the world benefit. Lack of external resources does not prohibit great influence in our world.
Spiritual advancement is not primarily a matter of reading or study, but of doing and not doing, of purgation and reformation. Most who have made the effort (and were 62
literate) used only the Gospel and the Holy Spirit as guides.
Confirmation is the sacrament for spiritual advancement, and adult evening classes are available.
The most vital virtue is love of God, It is possible that a person making imperfect advancement in the purgative stage, shows a greater love of God, than someone starting off with fewer faults, but making less effort. This is what Jesus teaches in his parable of the talents, where virtue is depicted as talent weights of gold (1 talent = 75 pounds). If we adjust the talent weights given to the actors in the proverb, we might have one starting off four talents in debt, but acquiring ten additional talents, giving him a net of six talents of gold, placing his efforts (love of God) ahead of the one holding a single talent, or even five talents.
If one could perfect one’s discretionary will and
environment, rapid progress could be made; that is just the reason behind religious orders of nuns and friars. Meals, prayer, work, recreation are all scheduled; each action performed is good and proper, but with no individual will involved. This is an extreme example of the eradication of self will, but it is effective. Recall that our goal is complete participation in Christ. We become Christ, and our individual being simply becomes an instrument of the will of Christ.