Cure of Souls - Oneness with God

The 7 Steps to the Cure of Souls published by the Society for the Cure of Souls, Robert L. O'Block

Oneness with God

By Archbishop Karl Pruter

St. Willibord's Press
P.O. Box 98
Highlandville, MO 65669

(This material has been edited and modernized.)

Catechism: is a statement of religious facts in the form of questions and answers

Catholic: the universal body of believers in Jesus Christ; the entire Christian Church. In our usage here, this is not referring to the Roman Catholic Church, but the entire body of believers.

Orthodox: right thinking; a correct belief

Apostolic: relating to or deriving from the Apostles or their teachings; an Apostolic Church can trace its beginnings back to the Apostles

CATECHISM

Q. What is life all about? Does it have any rational meaning?

A. The universe everywhere cries out that there is order and intelligence in the world. The world could not have come into existence unless behind it all there was an intelligent Being. Since this is so, then it is unimaginable that such a Being would create us without purpose, leave us without direction, and cast us to the winds of chance. No, such an idea would fly in the face of all logic. Modern man knows too much about the universe to doubt that an intelligent Being created it.

Q. Is the Creator a person?

A. God is a Person. If He were not, He would have no need for you or for me.

Q. How does God need me?

A. Without man, God would be lonely in the vast universe that He created. There is no other creature on earth with whom God can have fellowship. There are none that are aware of God and can return to Him some of the love that he has shown us by our creation and by His ever-sustaining Hand.

Q. Does God demand anything from me?

A. No, God does not demand your obedience or your love, although He merits both. He chooses instead to ask you to give Him your love and your service, not because you must but because you may. To know God is to want to love and serve Him.

Q. How is it possible to know God?

A. Since the creation of the first man and woman, God has reached out to us. Some have responded, but more have spurned Him. He chose to reveal Himself more completely in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, who though born of a woman is God Incarnate, and He walks among men. Since His advent nearly 2,000 years ago men have been able to turn to Him for guidance and to dwell with other believers in Catholic, Orthodox and Apostolic.

Q. What do the mystics seek?

A. Union with God.

Q. Is union with an eternal God possible for a mortal man?

A. Jesus said that union was possible, and in the Seventeenth Chapter of the Gospel of St. John He prayed to His Father on behalf of His disciples that "They may be one, Father, even as We are One."

Q. How does one achieve union with God?

A. Jesus taught by His word and example a four-fold path of mysticism, and He exhorted His disciples to follow Him.

Q. What are the steps in the four-fold mystical path?

A. They are the awakening, the purgation, the illumination, and union with God.

Q. What is meant by the awakening?

A. It is the moment when a person becomes aware that his life has been self-centered, but if he is to fulfill the purpose of his creation he must become God-centered. It becomes a turning point after which God and His Kingdom become an irresistible and all-absorbing goal.

Q. What is purgation?

A. An awakened individual becomes acutely aware of the gulf that separates him from God. He sees a need to purge himself of sin and all that stands between him and God. Through prayer and meditation and with the divine help of the Holy Spirit he gives up all that is not of the divine essence and seeks only after that which God seeks for him. When he wills only what God wills for him, he is purged.

Q. What is illumination?

A. Either when the purgation is completed, or shortly before, God grants the seeker a glimpse of Himself or of the Heavenly Kingdom. These glimpses serve to give strength and encouragement to the soul struggling out of purgation. Sometimes it is a glimpse of what union with God can bring. Often the mystics refer to this as a vision of Heaven.

Q. What is union with God?

A. It is the end for which man is born. God created each of us as unique creatures, and He desires that we surrender our wills to Him that we may be eternally in union with Him. Thus we enter the Kingdom of God and dwell eternally in His love and His service.

Q. Isn't it presumptuous to think that with all the billions of men and women on earth that God would be concerned about one person and seek union with him?

A. No, because each of us is a unique creation. God made us different, and therefore it follows that our unique nature serves some Divine purpose that can only be fulfilled by our union with Him.

Q. What is the purpose of the Church?

A. It is the mystical Body of Christ and has been given to us because God, in His mercy and wisdom, saw our need to live with Christ that He might give us strength, help, and direction as we follow the four-fold path to God the Father and the Heavenly and Eternal Kingdom.

Q. Is it necessary to be part of the Church?

A. God has invited us to come to the table He has prepared for us and together partake of the Sacrament of Holy Communion. He created the Church so that the Gospel might be preached and the Sacraments provided for our spiritual nourishment. How can anyone who loves God reject the gifts that He has so generously offered to us? It is foolish to ask, "Must I be part of the Church?" for what right-thinking person would refuse God¹s gifts?

Q. What does the Church do?

A. The Church is! It is the Body of Christ, and all men and women are called to share its fellowship and follow Christ, who is its Head. It is the means by which God seeks to have us share in Christ's work in preaching the Gospel and providing the Sacraments for all of the people of God.

Q. Are all Churches the same?

A. Yes, but not every organization that calls itself the "Church of Christ" is the Church of Christ. Jesus said, "By their fruits ye shall know them." In short, where the Gospel is rightly preached and the Sacraments rightly administered, there is the Church of Christ.

Q. What Church today meets this standard?

A. There are any number of Orthodox and Catholic Churches that seek to preserve the faith as given to us by Christ through the apostles. These Churches continue to preach the historic faith and to administer the Sacraments rightly. There is probably a Church in your community that is teaching the four-fold path of mysticism as it was taught by Jesus to His disciples. If you cannot locate one, write to the publisher of this Catechism and he will be glad to direct you to a Church in your area.

For further information write

St. Willibord's Press
P.O. Box 63
Highlandville, MO 65669

Author of the book The 7 Steps to The Cure of Souls and founder of The Society for The Cure of Souls(SCS), Robert O'Block, does not receive any income from the sales of the book or from membership dues or donations to the society. The income from book sales and SCS membership dues and donations to the ministry fund the promotion of The Cure of Souls as a way to help individuals form a closer relationship with God and live a Christ-centered life. Promotion includes marketing materials, staff time, and continuing education conferences."