Article #1 - Seventh Series - November 13th, 2023 by Fr. Ben Daghir

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Article #1 -  Seventh Series - November 13th, 2023 by Fr. Ben Daghir

Editor's Note: Fr. Ben Daghir has had the honor of celebrating funeral Masses. He has synthesized several of his funeral homilies into article form with a keen emphasis on the doorway into Heaven. The door, of course, is Christ. 

Article:
The goal of the Christian life is to become another Christ. It is to be in communion with God for all of eternity. 

Of course, this is a grace and not primarily our own initiative. It’s the type of grace which seeks out Simon Peter while he is fishing. It’s the type of grace which encounters Saul (Paul) while on the road to Damascus. It’s the type of grace which seeks out Nathanael and says, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you” (John 1:48). It’s the type of grace which sees Zacchaeus searching from the sycamore tree and says, “come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house” (Luke 19:5). It’s the type of grace that the prodigal son experienced, “while he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). 

We see the transformation of grace in Galatians 2:20 when Paul writes, “I no longer live, Christ lives in me.” We also encounter this from John the Baptist who says, “He must increase, I must decrease” (John 3:30). We see this toward the end of St. Thomas Aquinas’ life when he hears from a crucifix, “You have written well of me, Thomas. What reward will you receive from me for your labor?” Aquinas responds, “Non nisi Te, Domine” (Nothing except you, Lord). 

There will be a day when we pass from this earth and encounter Christ, the Judge. What will He be looking for? I would like for us to imagine this moment because it’s crucial for how we live our lives. 

Again, what will Christ be looking for when we are face to face with Him after passing from this life?

The answer: Christ will be looking for a reflection of Himself. The Christian life is all about becoming another Christ. The French novelist, Leon Bloy, once stated “the only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life, is not to become a saint.” He’s correct; the real tragedy is not to become another Christ, to not reflect Him. 

So, how do we reflect Christ? St. Augustine stated, “We become what we receive.” As Catholics, we receive Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist. Again, the goal of the Christian life is to become another Christ. Just as the bread is broken, the body of Christ is broken. Just as the wine is poured out, the blood of Christ is poured out. So too, our lives must be conformed to Christ and be broken and poured out in service to Him. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “By his death and Resurrection, Jesus Christ has ‘opened’ Heaven to us” (CCC, 1026). In other words, the doorway into Heaven is Christ Himself. We clearly see this in the Gospel of John when Thomas asks him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus responds, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:5-6). The doorway into Heaven is Christ. 

Now, it’s obvious that no one person fully reflects Jesus Christ. Christ, in all his magnificence and vibrancy and power, is not someone that we will fully reflect on this side of the Kingdom. Paul understood this when he wrote to the Ephesians, “And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11). Paul also adds in 1 Corinthians, “As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12). In other words, each of us will be more naturally inclined to reflect certain virtues and characteristics of Christ than other aspects. Now, this does not mean, “Well, I’m good then. I reflect a little of that and not much of this…but good enough.”

Consider the lives of the saints who reflect various virtues of Christ: St. Francis with Christ’s poverty, Pope St. John Paul II with Christ’s mission of evangelization, Mother Teresa with Christ’s service to the poor, St. Thomas Aquinas with Christ’s brilliant mind, St. Therese of Lisieux with Christ’s humility, St. Teresa of Avila with Christ’s intentional prayer, St. Catherine of Siena with Christ’s mysticism, St. Gregory the Great with Christ as shepherd, St. John Chrysostom with Christ as preacher, and the list could continue in its diversity and vibrancy of saints. 

The lives of the saints are a reflection of Christ. These saints can join Paul in claiming “I no longer live, Christ lives in me.” These saints can also join John the Baptist in saying, “He must increase, I must decrease.”

Again, Christ is looking for Himself when He looks at us. We are built for sainthood which can also be stated as “we are built to become another Christ.” The shape of the door into Heaven is Christ Himself. The angles of the door reflect His virtues, His life, His death, and His resurrection. The face of the door is His face. The door handle is His hand. The wood of the door is from His cross. The doormat is His footprint.

Jesus says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). In a powerful way, Jesus is referring to Himself. 

Thus, the doorway into Heaven is not the shape of water. It does not conform to our whims and desires. The door is not necessarily in the shape of the culture, unless the culture is of Christ. The door isn't designed to suit our sinful fancy and it’s not to be manipulated or replaced by what we prefer.  

Let us not be like the five foolish virgins who failed to prepare by not bringing oil while waiting for the bridegroom. Once these virgins ran out of oil before the bridegroom’s arrival, they still knocked on the door. Jesus responded, “I do not know you” (Matthew 25:12) and the door was not opened to them. Instead, may we be like the five wise virgins who were ready and prepared for the bridegroom. As a result, they entered the wedding feast before the door was locked. In other words, they reflected Christ. 

May Christ see Himself when He looks at us. May we have the oil (the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist) which fuels us on this journey. May we be crafted, conformed, transformed, and changed into another Christ. At that moment when we encounter Him face to face, may Jesus Christ look at another Christ and say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
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Fr. Ben Daghir is a priest for the Diocese of Erie. He is a graduate of Elk County Catholic High School in Saint Marys, Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, and St. Mary's Seminary & University in Baltimore, Maryland. He considers writing one of his favorite hobbies.