Is he still alive or is he dead?”
That’s an important question to ascertain whether someone is alive or dead? There are signs which you need to check out for. You need to check for breathing, check for a pulse, listen for a heartbeat. Though, we’re talking about physical life or death. What of spiritual life or death?
How would you know, if you are Spiritually dead.
Here are four signs that we might consider to know if someone is spiritually dead.
First sign:
When you see yourself getting used to your laxity. And there’s no aspiration for a better future. You would say “My faults are permanent; it’s just the way I am. Virtues are impossible for me; I’m not that kind of person.” Bear in mind that absence of effort bears a family resemblance to the deadly sin of sloth (acedia).
Second sign:
No compassion. Simply means, a stone cold heart in the presence of sin and suffering. In front of sin, there is no indignation for the rights and dignity of God; there is no grief over the loss of a human soul.
When suffering is involved, there is no empathy for those afflicted, much less is there action on behalf of those who suffer. There is usually a lack of movement of body, mind and heart.
According to Saint Augustine: “Hope has two beautiful daughters: and their names are anger and courage. Anger, that things are the way they are. And Courage to make them the way they ought to be.”
In conclusion, absence of compassion indicates an absence of hope.
Third sign:
No learning. Simply indicates the refusal to be taught about God’s holiness and about our sin. No learning also indicates lack of humility, that is, not ready to hear the truth about God and the truth about ourselves.
Fourth sign:
No repentance. It simply refers to anyone who sins without hesitation, without regret, and without shame. A generation that values self-esteem more than it does contrition is most unlikely to produce many great saints.
Like a soul, a person without repentance has no good fruit or future.
If the above apply to you, it’s time to examine your conscience, plan for a reformation of life, and then get to confession as soon as possible before Easter would be ideal.
In prayer, let’s ask Our Lord to reveal to us where these weeds have taken root in the garden of our souls. Let’s seek for divine aid in uprooting these weeds and replacing them with the contrary virtues.
Consider that if we refuse to admit that spiritual death has already bitten into us or, if we refuse stubbornly to admit that we need to confess, repent and reform, then we are turning our backs on the graces of Lent and the blessings of Easter.
May God preserve us from such scandal!
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