The Need for Spiritual Growth

It is necessary to grow in one’s faith. At baptism, the life of God is given to us. It is a new birth; yet we must play our part in ensuring that this life of God grows. If, for example, we were given sand, cement, scrap metal – in short, all the building materials – we would still have to put them together to build a house. Hence the need to work to grow in our faith.

Examine your faith

What is the state of God’s life within you? Is it dead? Perhaps you have stopped believing in God, or perhaps you never believed in the first place? Is God’s life within you feeble; at the same level as before? Has it declined compared to what it was when you were converted or when you first began your journey with the group? Is your faith mature? Has your life of holiness grown? Indeed, everyone can examine themselves; everyone knows themselves and can gauge the state of God’s life within them.

Being aware of the need to make progress

Jesus, we are told in the Gospel of Luke, grew in age and wisdom. Children who do not grow clearly have growth problems, and this indicates something is amiss. A Christian must attain great spiritual maturity. There are people who, after encountering God, decide to love him. They experience extraordinary growth and make spectacular progress; on the other hand, there are others who, having been converted, no longer make any progress today, contenting themselves with recalling their past experiences from time to time. Jesus warns us: ‘The prostitutes and other sinners will enter the kingdom of heaven before you.’ From those to whom much has been given, much will be required. Hence the need to be mindful of the growth of our spiritual life.

A lack of care for the growth of our spiritual life

Many do not care for their souls. We can see the efforts people make for their physical lives; healthcare: as soon as we feel the slightest ache or pain, we panic and go to hospital. We never fail to follow a remedy that might help our physical well-being. We ensure that our bodies are well nourished and hydrated; we pay attention to our physical appearance, our clothes, our skincare products, our perfumes… everything that can help us look our best. Do we show the same concern for our faith? The body is fleeting; it passes away, yet the soul does not die.

It feels as though we often go to great lengths to build in places that are destined to be demolished. In 1985, I attended a meeting that Pope John Paul II held with Cameroonian intellectuals. He said: ‘There is a great disparity amongst intellectuals when it comes to their academic development: they are professors, doctors, physicians, engineers, and so on. Yet the level of their spiritual life has remained at the stage of the doctrine of Baptism and First Communion.’ Hebrews 5:12–13: ‘By this time you ought to be teachers, yet you need someone to teach you the very basics of God’s Word all over again. You have reached the point where you need milk rather than solid food. Anyone who is still on milk cannot follow a line of reasoning about what is right, for they are a baby. Adults, on the other hand, who eat solid food, have, through practice, their senses trained to discern what is good and what is bad.’

Taking steps to grow in one’s faith

We must seek to grow. Have I made significant progress in my faith recently? Even if I have, I must not stop there. With the major retreat already on the horizon, a great opportunity is being offered for everyone to set out on the path to spiritual maturity.

To help our faith grow, we must nourish it; all life needs nourishment: the sacraments: Church weddings, Holy Communion, Reconciliation, etc.; pilgrimages; regular attendance at group or community meetings; reading and putting God’s Word into practice; a personal friendship with Jesus; more regular conversation with Him; gatherings such as the major retreat. These are a few ways to nourish our faith.

If we make an effort in this direction, our spiritual life will grow. However, we must also help others so that they too can grow in their faith. Indeed, evangelisation is a sign of spiritual maturity. The more my faith grows, the more I want to help others so that their faith may grow too. Let us begin now to prepare ourselves to make the most of the major retreat and to invite others along.

Henri Bayemi