Someday when/if I'm a mom, what will be the most important gift to give my children? At this point in my spiritual development, I would say participation in the Trinitarian life. I want my kids to understand that their deepest desires for love, thrills, and connection can be satisfied. I want them to experience a satiation of their deepest desires, insofar as that is possible this side of Heaven, and to identity that satiation with God Himself. Religion is not about "being good," where self-denial is an end in itself. It's about cultivating and satisfying our deepest desires.
As Catholics, we understand participation in the Triune Life to be the essence of Heaven, and the principle of sanctification. The Holy Trinity is poured into us at baptism, and our participation in God will continue to deepen and mature as long as we are receptive to Him.
I phrase things in terms of "The Triune Life," instead of a "relationship with Jesus," or "getting to Heaven," because I think the connotation of the former helps us best grasp "the big picture."
Having a "relationship with Jesus" and "getting to Heaven," are obviously crucial goals. However, the former puts an emphasis on Jesus's atoning sacrifice, which we must remember is a (most necessary) means to an end. Jesus died for us so that we could experience Eternal Life within the Trinity, not only in the future, but now. Are our lives bursting with fruits of the Spirit? Are we in Heaven right now? It's possible to be intellectually obedient to the idea of Jesus, to accept Him as our Savior, to attend mass, fear Hell, and obey the precepts of the Church, without overflowing with spiritual fruits. The question is whether or not Eternal Life characterizes the quality of our lives here, and now. Sometimes we need to think beyond the cross itself--to the promised land we enter via the cross--to cultivate Heaven on Earth.
"Getting to Heaven," is a necessary expression. Yet sometimes it has a laborious connotation. We are not only journeying to Heaven; done rightly, we are already in Heaven, as we journey towards it definitively. Are we experiencing Heaven now? If we're not, there are likely problems in our discipleship. Perhaps we're focusing too much on externals, not enough on our internal state.
Do we know how to recognize the presence of God in our lives, and abide in it? We can't see God with our physical eyes; can we see Him with the eyes of the heart? Do we desire God with our whole being and experience the fulfillment of that desire?
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