
PODCAST | Becoming Christ
Fr. Peter Armenio, priest of Opus Dei, helps us to reflect upon the means of becoming like Christ using the story of the Rich Young Man (Mark 10: 17-22) as the model. The young man, desiring eternal life, asks Jesus what he must do. After exhorting the young man to follow the commandments, Jesus invites him to “give it all” and become his disciple. It is this invitation that Christ repeats to us as well; how is Jesus calling us to follow him more closely?
One danger in the spiritual life can be to regard our life of prayer and formation as a time of personal training or self-improvement. Instead, Fr. Peter reminds us that the goal of prayer and formation is to encounter Jesus and grow more deeply in our love of him and others. By responding to prayer in this way, we will “become Christ” and our lives will be a witness to others, giving them an experience of the heart of Christ.
“You lack drive. That’s why you sway so few. You don’t seem very convinced of what you gain by giving up those things of the earth for Christ. Just compare: a hundredfold and life everlasting! Would you call that a poor bargain?”
St. Josemaria Escriva; The Way, no. 791