Life in the Spirit (9)

Now consider the second of the three key attributes of God.  The first key attribute is that God works with us as individuals.

The second is that God is a gradualist.  

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read the following:

CCC 53: God communicates himself to man gradually.

CCC 66: Yet even if Revelation is already complete, it has not been made completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over the course of the centuries.

CCC 69: God has revealed himself to man by gradually communicatinghis own mystery in deeds and in words.

According to the standard theory, our universe sprang into existence as singularity around 13.7 billion years ago, the earth is estimated to be 4.5 billion years old, humans have been on earth for 200,000 years, andGod worked with the Israelites for at least 1,500 yearsto educate them about himself. In short, God is a gradualist.

As a gradualist, then, God will gradually, slowly, and deliberately guide us as we engage in the three key activities associated with life in the spirit: prayer, listening and discernment.