From Baby Food to Ribeye: Pursuing Spiritual Maturity

"I could not talk to you as spiritual people, but as fleshly people, as infants in Christ" -1 Corinthians 3:1.

In making this statement, St. Paul is criticizing the Corinthians for the immaturity of their faith. He had planted the seeds of faith in them and because he knew that they weren’t yet ready to take it all in, he spoon-fed them everything they needed to know, just as you would a baby. St. Paul expected that over time, as they grew in faith, their perception of life would change from a worldly or natural point of view to a spiritual or supernatural point of view. Then Apollos came and continued to minister to them. However, even after these two great teachers of the faith instructed them on how to live and grow in the faith, instead of abandoning their worldly ways, they merely incorporated their old ways into their spiritual lives. The result was jealousy and rivalry among them, with some saying Paul was the best minister and teacher, while others were devoted to Apollos. They didn’t understand that it’s not the minister or teacher of the faith that we should place our trust in but that our trust should be in the Lord.  

Isn’t it amazing that the more things change, the more things stay the same?  Even in our Catholic Church today which is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic, and has stood on Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium for almost 2000 years, we still see many people who follow and place their trust not necessarily in the Lord, but in a particular priest.  Oftentimes, this occurs because of his charismatic personality or preaching style. Still, sometimes it happens because he doesn’t challenge us to grow beyond a very basic understanding of the faith and in many ways is just telling us what we already know or want to hear.  Unfortunately, our weak human nature often seeks to follow a “feel-good Gospel” in which we are continually spoon-fed parts of the faith that we feel comfortable with, while avoiding the teachings that are not so easy to accept without much prayer, study and surrender to the will of the Lord.  This type of error is more understandable in Protestant churches (which don’t have the long history of the theological teachings of Jesus and his Church to guide them), but it is clear that as Catholics we are not immune to this.

As in all things, if we are never challenged, if we never strive for more, or if we just flat refuse to grow in the Lord, our faith will remain in an immature state.  

However, if we are regularly encouraged to go further and to continually grow in our understanding of the deeper areas of our faith, we will no longer need to be fed the proverbial baby food, as St. Paul said when criticizing the Corinthians. We will be ready for solid food.  In other words, while it won’t be as easy as eating Jello pudding all the time, as we grow in the faith and are able to take it in, it will be like enjoying a perfectly grilled ribeye steak, or at the highest spiritual level, Jesus himself, when we are fed the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ in the Eucharist.

By giving ourselves to the Lord and keeping our focus and faith in him and not in any human being, the Lord Jesus will change our hearts.  He will draw us close to his heart to know him, love him, and serve him as we should. He will develop in us not a weak fleshly faith that is dependent on a person (no matter who that person is), but a powerful supernatural faith that doesn’t waiver and stands strong, even when our earthly leaders of the faith fail us, we encounter intense cultural opposition, or we face threats to our family, livelihood, and life. 

Concerning this, St. Paul tells us in Romans 8:28-30 that “all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.  For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son and that those he called he also justified, and those he justified he also glorified.” 

Brothers and sisters, our life here on earth is so short. Even if we live to be 100 years old, it’s just a blink of the eye in God’s time.  So let’s keep our eyes focused on the Kingdom of God that Jesus was sent to proclaim.  I know it’s hard, but the closer we get to Jesus and the stronger our relationship is with him, the easier it is to accept the truth that life is short and eternity is, well, eternal.  

My friends, it is important we remember that the spiritual life is a process of being conformed by the Spirit of God to the image of Christ for the sake of others. I'll say that again: 

The spiritual life is a process of being conformed by the Spirit of God to the image of Christ for the sake of others. 

(A priest once made that statement at a retreat I attended during diaconate formation, and it really stuck with me.) 

That’s why we’re here: to surrender ourselves to God, allowing him to mold and shape us throughout our life to the image of his son, Jesus, so that one day, fully mature in our faith, we will be able to live his new commandment to "love one another, as I have loved you."