The Aim of a Catholic, and especially a visible Catholic, is to seek perfect Union with God. We are called to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect and holy as our Heavenly Father is holy (Mt. iv.48). This doth entail that our lives become Divine by participation in God's Nature. We may note that our Lord did not suggest Sanctity and the journey entailed ; He commanded it!

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By the Sacraments we are initially transformed for this Union, but our full transformation doth rely on how we respond to the grace of that Sacrament, especially the Most Holy Eucharist. Thus the Interior Life doth hinge upon and proceed from one's Sacramental Life. The Sacraments are the seeds of grace, but you must also be cultivated and purged in the Interior Life to bear fruit as you ought.

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The Means :

The approach to perfection involveth 2 angles. On the one hand, the Catholic must pray, looking up to God. Firstly, he must receive God in Scripture, Creation, and Holy Reading. Then, he must meditate and contemplate God, Whom he hath received, in silence and solitude. Then, knowing God better, he must respond affectionately with adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, and petition and repeat the process without ceasing.

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Yet it seemeth impossible to pray without ceasing, as Saint Paul mandateth. Too often we are distracted or confused. The world, the flesh, and the devil all war on us, demanding our attention, and so we must fight back! Mortification, or penance, is a response to the sinfulness in one's nature, whereby we pull and push away from things that pull us away from God. 

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Quite simply, according to Saint John of the Cross, O.C.D., if something inspireth us to love God more, use it. If it doth not, deny it, fully or partially. Secondly, do not be too hard on yourself. Many souls pull away from the pursuit of Holiness because they overwork themselves in the beginning. Level up slowly, relying on God's strength, like any athlete or tradesman would do with his discipline, and you'll be a Saint by the grace of God!

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The Powers/Assets :

In short, virtues are the capacity, fitness, manliness (literally from the Latin), and power to control one's faculties and order the soul to its Ultimate End, Perfect Summit, and Principle Source, Who is God, One in the Blessed Trinity. Generally speaking, there are the 3 Theological Virtues (Faith, Hope, Charity), the 4 Cardinal Virtues (Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance), and Humility. The other virtues are sub-virtues of the Cardinal. To gain the habits of virtue, one must make smaller acts of virtue and do so consistently.

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Vices, on the other hand, are the complete opposite. Vice is weakness and doth hinder us from approaching God the way we ought. Generally, we may recall the 3 Categories of Vice : the Pride of Life, the Concupiscence of the Flesh, and the Concupiscence of the Eyes ; or the 7 Deadly Sins : Pride, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Greed, Wrath, and Envy. 

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The Stages :

This transformation taketh 3 basic stages. The first is the Purgative Stage, in which one doth focus on removing his defects and cutting down his vices. One remaineth in the Purgative Stage until after he ceaseth committing mortal sins. This Purgative Stage requireth the Night of the Senses, in which the Catholic actively detacheth himself from his attachments, so as not to be tempted to sin in the future. God Himself will also purify the penitent soul to complete the process.

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The second is the Illuminative Stage, in which the penitent or innocent turneth more to growing in the virtues. This soul doth not fall into mortal sin, but may still fall into venial ones. He proceedeth in the knowledge and Love of God as God Himself revealeth it. Beforehand he understood the Faith according to images and analogies. Now he beginneth to contemplate God directly and be unable to tell others exactly what he now seeth in the Holy Spirit. 

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To pass on to the third Stage, the Catholic must undergo another Dark Night, this one being of the soul, so that he may be fixed on God alone and His Will. Gradually, he is weaned from all spiritual attachments, actively and passively. If the Catholic doth make it into the Unitive Stage, he is only concerned with doing the Will of God and saving souls. Proper to this Stage are the Spiritual Marriage and even, for some, Confirmation in Grace, in which the soul is no longer capable of even desiring to sin. In this stage, the soul becometh a nuclear warhead for the Church. A single sigh from this soul is more valuable than the martyrdoms of souls less far in the Interior Life.

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