Possibilities of mediating Christ as a model for all humanity

This article exhibits ways on how to promote Christ as a human and spiritual model.  This section is in line with the sectors of pastoral spiritual theology as explained by Rafael Checa, in La pastorale della spiritualità Cristiana,  (Città del Vaticano: LEV, 1998), p. 124-208.

1.  Dedicate time for research and teaching aimed to promote the practice of imitating Christ

Lonergan explains that scientific studies engage a set of distinct operations related to one another. From their relationship, a pattern is formed whose outcome is cumulative and progressive (cf. Bernard J. F. Lonergan, Method in Theology, London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1972, p. 4). Adopting this approach, the practice of imitating Christ can evolve with any more in-depth study, new understandings, or evolutions in different areas of research related to the imitation of Christ. Here are some areas of research related to this subject:  

Research on the method:

• Research on the teaching imitation during Church History
• Research on how individual saints lived the imitation of Christ
• Research in scientific methodologies (social and psychological) that might help the practice of imitation of Christ
• Research on the right methods of investigating the words and deeds of Jesus intended for imitation
• Research on the relationship between human ‘effort’ and ‘grace’ in the act of imitation—how these interact, in order to have more explicit guidelines of how mystagogical methods can be developed
• Research on the practical aspects of the developed method, for example, by building a valid and reliable data over the years using a particular approach to the practice of imitating Christ.
• Research for more ways and means on how  the developed approach can be applied in all the sectors of pastoral spirituality, for example, how it can be applied to Sunday homilies, for spiritual direction, for retreats, for groups and so on

Research on specific topics using the developed method:

• How Jesus transmitted and developed faith in personal encounters
• How Jesus transmitted and developed faith to an audience
• How Jesus prayed
• How Jesus maintained his relationship with the Father and the Spirit
• How Jesus maintained his relationship  with religious and civil authority
• How Jesus used to quote the Old Testament
• Organising a macro-modelling project of the words and deeds of Christ. As already mentioned, such studies must be limited to a specific gospel. Once ready, these models can be adapted to different categories of people, namely: children, adolescents, youths, couples, and the elderly.

Academic teaching on how to imitate Christ:

• In Spiritual theology: The practice of the imitation of Christ might be easily inserted as a specific course since it is one of the fundamental aspects of Christian living.
• In Dogmatic theology: Topics such as the practice of the imitation of Christ might serve as a concrete means of how theory can be applied in practice, in topics such as the doctrine of grace, the humanity and divinity of Christ, and the theology of prayer.
• In Moral Theology: Since a model is more appealing than a set of rules, specific topics in moral theology can be presented as an imitation of Christ
• In Pastoral theology: The presentation of the practice of the imitation of Christ, and its mystagogical approach, might be stimulating.
• In Biblical theology: With such methods, the profound exegetical observations on the words and deeds of Christ might be brought to life.

2.  Promote Christ as a model of how to approach the great mysteries of faith

In the Liturgy:

• Offer Christ as a model for the Christian way of living, during homilies.
• Show Christ as a model for the Christian as a preparation or when celebrating (during homilies), the great mysteries of faith. Example:
  • Advent: show the attitudes of Jesus towards eternal life
  • Christmas: show the kenosis of Christ
  • Paschal Mystery: show how Jesus experienced his cross (passion, death, and resurrection)
• Offer the words and deeds of Christ as a concrete model on special occasions such as:
  • In baptisms: show how Jesus lived his sonship in relation to the Father
  • In confirmations: show how Jesus has allowed the Holy Spirit to guide his life
  • In weddings or family occasions: show to what extent Christ loved the Church (he died for her) as a model of the married life
  • During parochial feasts: Show Jesus celebrating the Jewish feasts

In the pastoral aspects of theory and practice in prayer:

• Deliver seminars and retreats that can promote the suggested mystagogical method of imitation as a means of prayer
• Deliver seminars and retreats on prayer in the style of Jesus
• Create movements within the Church aimed to observe and promote the words and deeds of Christ as a model for all humanity

3.  Let the imitation of Christ be the model and object of the pedagogy of faith

In Profound spiritual formation

• Show how Jesus acted and reacted in different situations: when accepted; when confronted; when betrayed; when misjudged; in front of the rejected and the poor (children, women, hungry, sick, tax collectors, prostitutes, sinners…), in front of divisions (pagans and Jews, clean and unclean, sacred and profane…), in front of civil and religious authorities…
• Show how Jesus loved everyone, including his enemies
• Show how Jesus lived according to the Father’s will
• Show the core values of Jesus
• Show how Jesus lived his divine sonship
• Show how Jesus lived in relationship with the Father and the Spirit
• Show how Jesus lived his mission
• Help others to model their personal mission on the words and deeds of Jesus

In Spiritual discernment

• Use the mystagogical method for the imitation of Christ to discern on your actual way of living (i.e. confront your actual behaviour with the words and deeds of Christ)
• Instruct others to face their actual conduct with the words and deeds of Christ

In Spiritual direction (companionship)

• Model your style of spiritual direction on the words and deeds of Jesus
• Show your protégé that the imitation of Christ is fundamental for Christian living
• Instruct your protégé, on how to imitate Christ
• Instruct your protégé, to model their areas of growth on the words and deeds of Christ
• Train your protégé, to evaluate their actual behaviour with the words and deeds of Christ

In the Spiritual animation of groups

• Promote Christ as a model in preparation for marriage
• Promote Christ as a model in preparation for the priesthood
• Create family leadership courses in the style of Jesus
• Create parish leadership courses in the style of Jesus

4.  Promote the imitation of Christ as a booster for strong spiritual moments

• Retreats that can promote the practice of imitation
• A day or more of recollection that can boost some aspects from the words and deeds of Christ (see 4.6 below for examples)
• Create strong spiritual moments for different categories of people:
  • Offer Christ as a model for children
  • Offer Christ as a model for adolescents
  • Offer Christ as a model for youths
    • How to maintain your Christian values in the style of Christ
    • How to take life decisions in the style of Christ
  • Offer Christ as a model in preparation for the state of life:
    • formation for the priesthood and religious life
    • formation for married life
  • Offer Christ as a model in early adulthood
    • How young couples can grow in love in the style of Christ
    • How to be an educator (parent) in the style of Christ
    • How to perform your ministry as a priest in the style of Christ
  • Offer Christ as a model for the elderly
    • How to carry the daily crosses in the style of Christ
    • How to live the final moments in the style of Christ

5.  Let the words and deeds of Christ be promulgated in the means of social communication

Printing:

• Manuals promoting ‘how to’ imitate Christ according to the Catholic Church
• Books showing different aspects of Christ’s words and deeds, including exercises that can help acquiring a life in the style of Jesus
• Articles in reviews and magazines promoting both methods as well as specific aspects of the words and deeds of Christ
• Books for different categories, such as children, adolescents, youths, couples, and elderly, all showing Jesus as a concrete model. These books have to be published in a language and design tailored to the specific category

Cinema:

• Films on Jesus’ life intended to promote his style of living.  These can be done specifically to show certain aspects after being modelled and examined according to the teachings of the Church. We suggest that if such work is done, it will be more biblical if the theologies of the gospels are not mixed, but the film will maintain only a specific theology.
• Films on how specific saints imitated Christ. First, the saints have to be studied to elicit how they imitated Christ, and then they could be projected as models of how to imitate Christ through movies.

TV series:

• TV series that can promote a daily life according to the life, style and values of Jesus.

Publicity:

• Many studies are done on publicity and its effectiveness, both on TV, newspapers, as well as on the internet. Why don’t we start to promote a life in the style of Jesus utilising high impact publicity?

Art:

• Paintings can promote a life in the style of Jesus, through a more in-depth study of the words and deeds of Christ.

Literature:

• Write poems and songs that promote a life in the style of Jesus
• Write novels that  encourages the reader to understand Christ on a deeper level.

Internet:

Everything discussed above, and everything mentioned below could be done and promoted through the internet. Here is an overview:

• Coordinating intelligently the research of how Christ was imitated during church history.
• Promoting how individual saints lived the imitation of Christ in different circumstances.
• Offering courses and coordinating research on the practice of imitating Christ.
• Portray Christ as a role model for the Christian way of living – through blogs and YouTube videos.
• Offer online seminars and online retreats that can promote the practice of imitating Christ.
• Be a living witness of the words and deeds of Christ by what you share and through your comments on social media.

6.  Be a living witness of the words and deeds of Christ

Your dignity as a human person

• Meditate on your ontological relationship with Christ
• Meditate the words and deeds of Christ to learn on your Christian vocation
• Imitate Christ’s freedom
• Scrutinise your moral behaviour by confronting your actual actions with those of Christ
• Educate your moral conscience according to the words and deeds of Christ
• Model your human virtues on Christ:
  • How to discern in every circumstance our true good and to choose the right means for achieving (prudence)
  • How to have a firm and constant will to give God and others their due (justice)
  • How to be firm in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good (fortitude)
  • How to moderate the attraction of pleasures assuring the mastery of the will over instincts (temperance)
• Meditate on faith, hope, and charity, the gifts through which authentic imitation of Christ is possible
• Model on the words and deeds of Christ; the dispositions that make you docile in following divine inspirations:
  • Imitate Christ’s wisdom,
  • Imitate Christ’s understanding,
  • Imitate Christ’s counsel,
  • Imitate Christ’s fortitude,
  • Imitate Christ’s knowledge,
  • Imitate Christ’s piety,
  • Imitate Christ’s fear of the Lord.
• Let the Spirit you received in baptism bear fruit by imitating Christ
  • Imitate Christ’s charity,
  • Imitate Christ’s joy,
  • Imitate Christ’s peace,
  • Imitate Christ’s patience,
  • Imitate Christ’s kindness,
  • Imitate Christ’s goodness,
  • Imitate Christ’s generosity,
  • Imitate Christ’s gentleness,
  • Imitate Christ’s faithfulness,
  • Imitate Christ’s modesty,
  • Imitate Christ’s self-control,
  • Imitate Christ’s chastity.
• Imitate Christ’s mercy
• Avoid sin by focusing on the words and deeds of Christ

Your relationship with others

• Reflect on your role in society through the words and deeds of Christ
• Imitate Christ’s hidden life in Nazareth
• Imitate Christ’s social justice
• Imitate Christ’s relationship with civil law and authority
• Imitate Christ’s respect for the dignity of the human person
• Imitate Christ’s social justice
• Imitate Christ’s reactions to social inequalities
• Imitate Christ’s generosity,
• Imitate Christ’s kindness
• Imitate Christ’s solidarity,
• Imitate Christ’s virtue of solidarity

Your relationship with God

• Imitate Christ’s relationship with the Spirit
• Imitate Christ’s relationship with the Father
• Imitate Christ’s way of praying
• Imitate Christ’s way of using scriptures
• Imitate Christ’s way of mediating faith