As we finish Romans 12 today, St. Paul gives us radical instructions for living as Christians who are both in the world and set apart from the world. His instructions are challenging and counter-cultural, underscoring what it really means to have a transformed mind.

St. Paul calls us to fix our desires upon what is good and to genuinely love one another with mutual affection. Amid this passing world full of strife, he gives us a prescription for navigating our earthly pilgrimage: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.”

Each of us believers are knit into one body, one family, through a profound sacramental union and this reality must transform our daily lives! Our fallen human nature is tempted towards division, hatred, and jealously, but when we hate or resent members of our Christian family, we are wounding our own body.

St. Paul makes it clear that part of what makes it possible for us to discern God’s will for our lives is an inward change, being transformed by the renewing of our minds. The total transformation of our minds is only possible by the help of God’s grace, the outpouring of his mercy, and the supernatural aid of the Holy Spirit.

This week we’re looking at Romans 12 and St. Paul’s instructions to Christians on how to respond to the saving work of Jesus. Today, we talk about responding to Jesus’ selfless and sacrificial love by modeling that love through offering of our whole lives back to Him as a living sacrifice.

The culmination of human, spiritual, and intellectual formation leads to pastoral formation. In coming to know and love the Lord, we are able to serve Him by bringing others to do the same.

In addition to human and spiritual formation, St. John Paul II highlights the need to form the intellectual formation so that we can know Whom we love. In knowing more about Him, we can love Him more and help others to do the same.

Human formation paves the way for spiritual formation which leads to intimacy with God. St. John Paul II highlights the need to allow the cross to shape our life and draw us closer to the Lord. 

St. John Paul II explores the necessity of forming the human nature of a person. This includes virtue, temperament, and the way we process emotion. He calls us to this formation so that we can live a full spiritual life.

We introduce Chris Baker and the beginning of St. John Paul II’s document, Pastores Dabo Vobis. In this document, JPII outlines four pillars for personal formation.