I can't help but to respond to this question. So many people live for the answer to this question. It seems as though there is something hardwired in the human being to find the answer to the "secret". From the first pages of the Bible we are confronted with our ancestors' thirst for the secret knowledge. "The serpent said to the woman, 'You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad." (Genesis, 3;4)What a crock! She fell for it. We fall for it all the time. We know the difference between good and bad already. Eve knew it too. She knew that eating from that tree was bad because it went counter to God's command. She knew that God is good because He created her. He was taking care of her in the garden. He gave her human companionship. The only evil she had to confront was the fruit of that tree, and of course the wiles of Satan.
When it comes to good and evil, we too know the difference. We, like Adam and Eve have a very basic, kindergarten set of rules for our lives...the 10 Commandments. We know that acting against their direction or omitting their requirements from our lives is bad. Pretty easy, right? Hmmmmm?
Not so fast, says our buddy in the bottle, or the weed, or the revealing dress, or the pictures of Benjamin Franklin forgotten on the counter, or the spinning wheels behind the bright lights and even the 350 horses under the hood of our bright red Italian Import. We know what is bad, fundamentally. What is the secret to staying on the straight and narrow?
There is no secret. God doesn't hide anything from us. God's light of knowledge, emotion and conscience shines on all of us, "... if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." (1 John, 1:7) We are His children and He teaches us everything that will make us become more and more like Him every day of our lives. That is no secret. He has been teaching us about Himself from all eternity. What else is there to learn? Walk in the light. Is that a secret? Open your heart to God in meditation. Is that a secret? "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." (Deuteronomy, 6:5) and repeated in the Gospels. Now, that's no secret.
We Catholics, we Christians have an eternal advantage over everyone else. We don't have to go fishing for the "secrets" of ancient, pre-historic spiritualities. God Our Father has been hugging us in His loving arms for centuries. His Son came to assure us of this love and went so far as to be martyred for us. This is no secret. Our holy examples like Stephen, Peter, Paul, Ignatius, Cecilia, Perpetua, Felicity, Theresa (several), Elizabeth, Mary, Vincent, Isaac, Isaiah, Nathan, Abraham didn't waste their time looking for the answer to the "secret", they listened and gave their lives to Our Father so that we would see that there is NO secret.
Finally, stop looking for the secret to perfecting yourself so that you will resemble the divine more. Fall on your knees morning and night and recognize the One who created you and the One who died for you. While you're there, after your Ave Maria, Pater Noster, Credo and Act of Contrition, read one psalm before you start your day and when you end it. Spend fifteen minutes a day (and more when you can) in the dynamic silence of the presence of Our Loving God. Silence is important because that's where we get to hear what He wants to tell us.
What you have just read is not a secret. You knew it all along. Come home to Daddy, Brother and Spirit of Love and we'll all see one another around the table in Heaven.
Now that I have reminded you of Faith and Love 101, you know that Our Father doesn't like children of His crying at one another's' funeral...especially not mine.
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