I shall put my spirit in you, and you will live. Ezekiel 37:14

I tuned in to the theme for this article while traveling in a maxi from Arima to Port of Spain.

The driver, an old timer, perhaps desperately wanting a change from the jump and wave, switched over to one of the softer stations just in time to catch the fading strains of Joan Osbourne's pop hit, What if God Was One of Us.

I thought this was an interesting concept for a song, given that the question has already been answered in the person of Jesus Christ who walked the earth some 2,000 years ago. The song, however, still elicited questions namely: How did Jesus live in our world while still remaining righteous? How can we follow His example? Now that's the challenge.

Living in the world while remaining righteous may be challenging, but it can be done. We get a clue from this weekend’s liturgy, where God tells us that he will give us life through the outpouring of His Holy Spirit (First reading).

A magnificent example of a person who dared to lead this lifestyle is Mother Teresa. In her, we saw a wonderful soul who chose to sacrifice the transitory pleasures of wealth and pleasure so that she could bring comfort and hope to our disadvantaged brothers and sisters in India. Moreover, through her life, we saw that a life controlled totally by the Holy Spirit is possible and achievable in our earthly existence. 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we all have to abandon everyday life and move to another country to help the poor. If there are some of us so inclined to do that noble deed then, by all means go for it.

Rather, we should aim to blend our normal lives with our spiritual existence and in effect create an existence led by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is what a friend of mine termed - a “spiritually normal life.”

The term “spiritually normal life” may seem to be a contradiction in terms. Indeed, to be spiritual in a world that so values materialism can be anything but normal.

However, spiritual was the way God intended us to live. If we believe the Bible is the word of God then we must believe that there is so much more to life than what we can touch, see or feel, and that, as the Bible says, “people who are interested only in unspiritual things can never be pleasing to God,” Romans: 8:8.  Therefore, spiritual should be normal for all of us.

There is no clear cut way of living this life but I believe a life based on obedience, prayer and compassion for our fellow man is a definite step in the right direction.

We young people can, for example, use this season of Lent to meditate often on the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self control (Galatians 5:22) and choose to live our normal everyday lives based on these principles. 

Think about those areas of your life where you may have the most difficulty. You may, for example, be a kind-hearted person, but not the most patient.

You can use this time to work on being more patient. Maybe self-control is your Achilles heel; then use this season of reflection to try to be less self-indulgent, and control your urges to drink, smoke, or to rid yourself of whatever weaknesses you may have.

You’ll find that the more you practice living by these principles, the more you will see your “normal” life being overtaken by the Spirit – and the more God will be pleased with you (a bonus!).

So next time you find yourself wondering how to live your life while building your path to eternal life with God, think about what it means to lead a “spiritually normal life” -- living totally and completely guided by the Spirit in a world guided (or in many instances, misguided) by man.  

This article was written on behalf of the Archdiocesan Youth Secretariat by Marc Punnette, youth volunteer and future leader.  The Youth Secretariat invites young people interested in submitting articles to call us at 624-0454 or email us at cathyouthsecretariat@gmail.com.