Prologue

Right now I am going to re-read the introduction and some parts of “Walking Like He Walked” that I published on February 14, 2018. Today is December 27, 2022, day of Saint John the Apostle (later I would know Saint John is the patron of theologians). I plan to dedicate the next three days after today (until Friday 30, because un Saturday the focus would be in the New Year’s celebration) to re-read what I have written and write a brief summary of what theology of light is.

This has been a whole adventure I can only be grateful for. This adventure begun with the contemplation of Jesus Charity, Iesu Amor, as a plasmation of a work of art. This later became the plasmation of the whole personal formation as another Christ, as Christ Love, as ipse Christus. Right now, I can’t imagine my life without the difference that Jesus Charity has made in my life. Giving light to Him (in Spanish: darle a luz) had been the most beautiful gift and the biggest blessing of my existence.

I will re-read the text and write here a sketch for a new text, a new “Walking Like He Walked”, adding of course brieft comments of what I have contemplated along the years since 2018 to the present. This is not meant to be a long text, but a brief written sketch. With “written sketch” I mean: my intellectual sketchs are usually tables or drawings. This is a written sketch.

I hope you may enjoy this gift as I am in awe upon His mercy and beautiful gaze. As the introductory biblical text of the original text says: “So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little”. How greatly can I love thanks to the great sins I have been forgiven!

The original text was dedicated to anyone who have witnessed any kind of abuse inside the Church, to those who had endured abuse against their dignity, to those who have endured religious persecution and to anyone who had experimented a wound of acharity. To that I add: I dedicate this text to anyone who lacks a family that loves him or her unconditionally, as God loves everyone. May every person in this earth find the embrace of a home where he or she can grow loved as God loves us all.

I repeat the original prayer in the original text:

For every assault against truth committed in your name, God that are Light, we ask your forgiveness. Fiat Lux.

For every assault against charity committed in your name, God that are Love, we ask your forgiveness. Fiat Amor.

For every assault against fraternity committed in your name, God that are Life, we ask your forgiveness. Fiat pax.

A New Sketch

Radiating God’s Light Through the Whole Personal Formation: A Theology of Light.

As many of you know, the concept of “theology of light” born while I was in the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in a cafe, writing a letter. The main problem with creating a theology of light was that I needed a structure of personal formation to develop the theology of light, and in that process, the theology of light became a theology for studying how to radiate God’s Love through the whole personal formation, both as living humans and as living Church. The concepts of person, personal formation, ecclesial formation and being living sacrament og God-Love became key concepts of the theology of light.

As painting, Jesus Charity begun as Iesu Amor, a painting made for students who had never seen a smiling Jesus. Of course, since the very beginning and even since the picking of the canvas in which He would be painting, everything was full of meaning. In that moment I was coming out from an environment where following norms was more important than living charity, and that asphyxiated my creativity, and even caused a faith crisis (can I be Catholic and be creative?) until beginning Iesu Amor as creative project also meant the beginning of my healing as wounded heart and of my way of conversion as sinner.

The original text of “Walking Like He Walked” deepens the diverse aspects of the theology of light. It is divided in seven parts:

The first part explores the nature of the “mundane” light, how light works in the universe and in nature. This belongs, mainly, to the science of physics. I haven’t been able yet to understand fully the nature of light due lack of understanding of physics, but there is a good text that explores the relation of the nature of light seeen as a theology, a text that didn’t existed when I proposed a theology of light. The title is “The Author of Light: Did God Revealed His Identity in the Physics of Light?”. That books is an awesome proposal of a theology of light from sound physics. It is actually written by a physics professors, as far as I remember. From my perspective, what is more important related to the theology of light is the nature of light and formation of colors, because we form as living sacrament of God Love in the same way light creates and plasmates colors. It is kind like the shroud of Turin but in color: as we are radiated by His resurrection light, we form as the living shrough of God Love we are called to be. The same can be applied to the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe: as we let God’s Light radiate us, we become the living tilma of His Love we are called to be, full of colors that makes His Love visible. As a matter of fact, the beginning of the New Albor Fest at the midnight of New Year, when colorful powders are splashed, has everything to do with what I am explaining now: as we let God “splash us” with His light and colors, we become the living icons of God Love-with-us we are called to be. This part of the text has a lot to be deepened and explored with the help of professors and professionals who are believers and also experts in physics and the nature of light.

The second part explores the notion of light from a Christian-theological perspective: what is the meaning of light in the Christian tradition, from the fiat Lux of the Genesis to our days, to the beautiful stained glass that embellish our churches today as adoration of light and to the meaning of light in the Christmas decoration traditions? This part of the text also needs to be deepened with more resources, specifically theological resources. What I did was done with my very limited theological knowledge, and can be deepened biblically. The same way that life is made visible, His light plasmates —makes visible in us— God Love incarnated. As the Aposle John says: “We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life… The life was made visible, we have seen it and testify to it” (1 Jn 1:1-2)This is walking like He walked: forming us as He is formed, proclaiming Him as God-Love that is seen and touchable as we incarnate Him as living Eucharist, as we incarnate Him as we become the living icons of God-Love we are called to be, informed, conformed, transformed, reformed and co-formed as the living Communion we are called to be, incarnating His living Eucharist as the living people of the light we are called to be to radiate His light to all nations, becoming together the human family we are called to be, full of new life, hope, peace, joy and blessings, walking together as brothers and sisters that walk in the light, light that is incarnated sacramentally as we become the living sacrament of His communion we are called to be, the people of the new albor we are called to be. After all, Saint John also tells us: God is Light (1 Jn 1:5). We are called to reveal that light incarnated, as we become the living stars of Heaven we are called to be, the living beacons of His communion we are called to be: You are the light of the world (Mt 5:14).

The third part of the text is dedicated to “integraction”, that is not a typo but my way to denominate the personal formation model contemplated through the process of plasmating Iesu Amor and the theology of light, although in this part of the text integraction is approached also from the natural and integractive sciences perspective. What “integractive sciences” mean? Well, the sciences of the person: humanities (including theology), education and social sciences. This is, by far, the most contemplative-creative part of the text “Walking Like He Walked”, because no one has proposed a structure like integraction to define our personal formation growth processes in the same way DNA defines our biological formation growth functionality. The problem is: concreting this requires A LOT of study in integractive scieces, especially in psychology, and I had never studied psychology beyond and introductory course of psychology of education. As a matter of fact, the living examples of psychologists I have had in my life had not been the best neither, so I had never been able to show this text to a psychology professor or professional to discuss it with scientific view. Of course, my faith was related to the development of this formative model, because it developed as the theology of light was developing, and as Iesu Amor was developing, but I am, theologically and scientifically speaking, in unsorted waters. Scientifically speaking, a structure like integraction had never been “seen” or studied. Theologically speaking, there is not a single ecclesial document dedicated to the nature of the person, to personal formation or to the plasmation of the image and likeness of God Love in our personal formation. So… all these reasons helped this part to be the most creative one of the text. As I wrote in the text, the key questions are: what is a human person? How he or she is formed? How do we embrace our whole human personal formation according to the image and likeness of God Love? Why a new humanization is needed, understanding new humanization as a new, deeper understanding of the human person, forming our humanity as we deepen our personal formation, as we help to be, to do, to grow and to glow every human person, making the person’s growth the center of our humanity’s progress?

The fourth part is dedicated to the theology of light, that applies integraction to the ecclesial personal formation. Here is a huge change from the original text: at that moment, ecclesial personal formation was seen as separated from human personal formation… right now, they are not exactly separated, now ecclesial personal formation is part of the onthological dimension of the nature of the personal formation… but how to explain onthologics in such a way you explain God and the faith is there, well, that is way beyond my onthology and metaphysics knowledge, I just know the ecclesial nature of the personal formation has to do with the onthology and that it influences the whole personal formation, as all the dimensions of the personal nature do (biological dimension, onthological dimension, filial dimension). Well, that being said, you can understand now how why we are literally living Church, and the formation of the Church as living body is related to our formation as persons, as living icons of God Love-with-us. So, the questions in this part of the original text remain: how do we radiate God’s Love with our whole personal formation? What is the Living Church? How do we embrace our whole personal formation according to how God love us? Why a new ecclesialization is needed? By new eclessialization we understand the formation of the Church through the Holy Spirit and sacramental action by “plasmating” the whole personal formation centered in Christ, in unity of ecclesial personal formation and human ecclesial formation, in order to make God’s Love the center of the person’s growth. There is such a great need of a new ecclesialization! We can’t keep being a Church of believers that go to mass but does not incarnate the love of God or does not incarnate the whole personal formation as the living sacrament of God-Love we are called to be. We can’t keep being neither a Church of people who call themselves “non-practicant members”. Either you practice your faith and make it an incarnated work of Love, or you are simply not following Christ and denying yourself being sacramentally part of the Living Church we are called to be. We need a Church that incarnates as living sacrament, as living work of love plasmated in the whole personal formation as the living Eucharist we are called to be, letting the Spirit inform, conform, transform, reform and coform us as His incarnated Body and Flesh. We need a new eclessialization that makes the faithful conscious of their sacramental dignity, of how they are called of live and being a living sacrament of Love, a living icon of God-Love, walking together as He walked, giving witness of how Jesus Charity beats in us, of how the living Eucharist beats in us, of how His heart beat in us.

The fifth part of “Walking Like He Walked” is dedicated to Jesus Charity, the work of art and artistic icon who begun as Iesu Amor. Jesus Charity is a whole process of conversion of the whole personal formation into the sacrament of God-Love-with-us we are called to be, as the living icon of God-Love we are called to be as baptized that incarnate the living Eucharist. As Iesu Amor began, an iconography began to be formed to concrete the meanings behind each form in the painting. Everything in this painting has a meaning, including the color tones and shades. This is essentially related to the sacrament of baptism and is actualized every time we receive the Eucharist: we are all chosen by baptism and called by the Eucharist to plasmate a concrete image of God Love incarnated in our whole personal formation. We are all called to be an “ecclesial sacrament”, a living Church, a unique and concrete living work of love, like happens with a unique work of art made by an artist, but the Artist now is the Holy Spirit that keeps acting and keeps the Church alive as we do constant charity acts, as we consecrate ourselves to live charity, becoming the living work of Love we had been chosen and called to be. Now I think that what in the text is called in this part “sacramentalization in formation”, “glorification in formation”, “familiarization in formation” and “transfiguration in formation” can be considered connected with new ecclesialisation. The fourth and fifth parts are very, very connected, so connected that they could be joined, leaving the technical part of the iconography (the definitions) and deepening the meaning of the process of becoming a living  icon of God Love, as it happened while painting Iesu Amor, who later became Jesus Charity and Christ Love. The same way the Cristeros in Mexico said “viva Cristo Rey” as they were being persecuted for living their faith, now we say “viva Cristo Amor” upon the ideologies that are menacing to destroy the person, like violent leftists ideologies, marxist ideologies, comunism, gender ideology and transgenderism ideology. As we become the living icon of God-Love we are called to be and as we plasmate our whole personal formation according to God’s vision, not according ideologies, we discover the trascendental purpose that God and His Love gives to our lives, we become gifts of the Holy Spirit, and so we learn how to live passionately a life of shared dreams, a life of shared giftedness, a life with objectives, goals and purposes that eventually, in a formative process that embraces the whole life, reach the God-given dream to every baptized: becoming together the saints we are called to be, the family of God we are called to be, the people of the light we are called to be, the best person we can be. If you want to call it this way, this would be the “coaching” part of Walking Like He Walked, because you need to imagine Jesus Charity as your creative mentor or creative coach as you let the Holy Spirit plasmate you as the living icon of God-Love you are called to be.

The sixth part would be completely transformed in the new version of “Walking Like He Walked”. In the original version, it is the story of Fiat Amor. In the new version of “Walking Like He Walked”, the sixth part would be devoted to the new fraternization, the Universal Declaration of Love (the Universal Declaration of Fraternal Rights) and the need to end the colonization era, that ends with the end of colonization in Puerto Rico, to start a new era of new fraternization in which everyone can walk as brothers and sisters, equals in dignity. The American Alliance can also be mentioned here as a project of new fraternization that embraces the whole Americas. The duty to plasmate a Nation of Love in which everyone can grow loved as a brother and a sister, everyone belonging to the same human family, is now the Fiat Amor of “Walking Like He Walked”. Ending all violation of human rights, of fraternal rights, of civil rights, is a duty of Love: all lives matter, all loves matter. Ending all kind of colonization, including ideological colonization, is a duty of love. Learning to walk together as brothers and sister who belong to the same homeland-family, were there are no second-class human beings, is a duty of love. All these duties of love are a necessary part of pursuing peace for everyone and ending this civil war that has lasted too long, in part due truth being denied. All these duties of Love are also part of living our faith as an incarnated faith, letting the Spirit work in us, plasmating us until becoming together the living icon of God Love we are called to be, the living sanctuary of God Love we are called to be.

The last part in the original text, the seventh part, is dedicated to the family evangelization project. This is the missionary part of the text, a call to action to everyone: how do we become the family of God we are called to be in order to let the Spirit plasmate us as the living icon of God-Love-with-us we are called to be, how do we become the living beacons of His Living Eucharist we are called to be? In this part new evangelization is deepened fully integrated with new humanization, with new eclessialization, with new fraternization, with new evangelization and with new familiarization. New evangelization is not an abstract term, nor the Gospel is abstract text: we are called to incarnate it as living and unique works of Love plasmated by the Spirit. As the original text asks: how do we radiate His light humanizing, ecclesializing, fraternizing, evangelizing and familiarizating? How do we consecrate to charity? How do we help each other to become living signs of God Love? How do we grow together as the family of God? How do we live the sacramental fraternity we are called to live as we make possible that everyone can grow as the brother and sister we are called to be? How do we “create home” as we radiate His light becoming the living stars of Heaven we are called to be to radiate His Love to the whole world?

The parts fourth and fifth could be joined eventually because both deal with the personal formation from the theological perspective, the difference is that one (part fourth) is done with theological [perspective only, applying personal formation theory dealt in the previous part, and the other one (part five) is done in the applied way, applying the theology of light (the theology of personal growth or personal formation according to the image and likeness of the Eucharist) artistically and as creative growth coaching… Good theology, for me, is not abstract, it is applied, that is why I think these two parts can be joined perfectly. If those two parts (part fourth and fifth) are joined, to complete the seven parts (a teleo) I would add another part that I think I did at some moment before and then I couldn’t include it here: I would make a chapter to integrate a little bit of the history and meaning of the concept of “person”, and how it has evolutionated until today, including the concept of human rights and human DNA as the foundation of personhood, not only the image and likeness to God (that too). This new part would be between the second and third part. It is especially important to have very clear the concept of person to understand the theology of light, because as His light is radiated it keeps incarnating, and then it becomes personal, as His light incarnates through time, it becomes us, and the creation keeps happening as we keep incarnating as the living work of God Love we are called to be, plasmated by the light of the Holy Spirit in the same way. I hope I just helped you to understand the connection between light and person, because it is essential to understand the theology of light.

All this, in brief words, would be the new sketch for the new text of “Walking Like He Walked: a theology of light”.

Writing a book like this one would be the adventure of a lifetime, not because writting it would be an awesome adventure of creativity and contemplation (yes, that too), but because all that I have written here are living words, words that I have lived and prayed and struggled to find. Yes, do you know the struggle of contemplating something and needing to find the best words to plasmate the meaning that you are contemplating? This book would be full of that struggle. This wouldn’t be just a book: it would be a living journey of faith made theology. Thus the tittle: “Walking Like He Walked: A Theology of Light”.

When this book is completed if would be a lifetime gift to share it as a humble step towards a better understanding of how to live Revelation deeper, and deeper and deeper, as the Living Church-Bride is called to do: to learn how to be more and more faithful to His Divine Husband and His charity alliance, until the end of the times. We do not live the faith today as the Church did in the Middle Ages, nor we should say tradition is something that impedes creativity. Creativity and tradition go hand by hand, making possible newer ways to live our faith, ways that are progresively more faithful to our Divine Husband’s memorial and paschal alliance. Any change that brings more faithfulness to the Divine Husband’s will is welcome! Of course, contemplating the personal formation as it is being done in this text is a huge change, and I welcome that change that is a gift from the Holy Spirit: creating something like that is beyond imagination, you need contemplation, His charisms and His action to do that, no one can do that by his or her own.

In the front part of the text it says a phrase that is handwritten: “We must share freely with our brothers the lights, the graces, which we have freely received. (From today’s spiritual reading, about apostolate)”. Although I don’t remember from exactly where I took that quote, it is probably from the book “The Soul of All Apostolate”. With that phrase I end this sketch: we are all called to give freely what we have been given freely, because all this, as I just said, is a gift from the Holy Spirit. Let’s everyone give freely what we are freely given by the Spirit, so we can learn together to walk better as He walked.

After all, that is our most fundamental call as disciples of light: to walk together as He walked, to walk as He walked… what eventually will have communitary effects: we will become not only the disciples of light we are called to be, but also the family of light we are called to be, the Church Light we are called to be and the Patria Luz we are called to be, pursuing together His family evangelization project, His revolution of light, His new era of new fraternization, His Order of Charity… loving as the Holy Family loved, becoming the family of light we are called to be. So, let’s be the light we are called to be and the world will be fired in God’s Love! 😊