Father John Gavin, S.J., is an associate professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.
He recently spoke with the Catholic World Report about his new book Growing into God: The Fathers of the Church on Christian Maturity, published recently by the Catholic University of America Press.
CWR: What gave you the idea to write a book about Christian maturity and the Church Fathers?
Fr. John Gavin, S.J.: First, I became interested in the ways that both the Scriptures and the Fathers of the Church used images of maturation for describing the spiritual growth of Christians.
St. Paul exhorts the Corinthians “to be infants in evil, but in thinking to be mature” (1 Cor 14:20). And in The Letter to the Ephesians, we hear the call to “attain the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph 4:13). Such Fathers as St. Irenaeus of Lyons and Augustine of Hippo used the stages of human maturation—from infancy to old age—to describe both the growth of the Church and the individual Christian.
Second, I hoped that a study of Christian maturity might help the Church to confront the crisis of maturity in our society today. Sadly, so many have become infantilized by forces in our modern culture, resulting in a lack of genuine adult leadership and witness. I believe that the Fathers have much to teach us regarding our true fulfillment as mature members of the Body of Christ.
CWR: How did you come up with the title “Growing Into God” for this book?
Fr. Gavin: Basil of Caesarea wrote, “Thus ‘grow’ is said to the irrational animals in regard to perfection of body, in regard to the completion of nature; but to us ‘grow’ is said according to the inner human being, according to the progress which is growth into God.”
Human beings do indeed mature corporally and psychologically, but more significantly, by God’s grace, they may grow into a supernatural end: the intimate union with God that the Fathers called theosis or deification.
CWR: Who is your intended audience?
Fr. Gavin: I hope that this book will interest not only scholars but also a wider Christian audience. I did not write it with just theologians in mind. The Fathers were always pastors, zealous for preaching the Gospel to all persons. This book provides food for both the mind and the heart through the wisdom of these great saints and thinkers of the Church.
CWR: What’s your definition of maturity?
Fr. Gavin: I build a general definition from one Greek word for maturity: teleios. The root of the teleios is telos, which means “a conclusion derived from a preconceived purpose or state,” “an end or goal,” or “fulfillment.” On the one hand, teleios could be translated as “perfection,” that is, something done to completion. Jesus, for instance, says, “Be perfect (teleios) as my heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5:48).
On the other hand, the word may also mean “mature,” thereby indicating a movement toward a particular telos or fulfillment of a nature. As noted earlier, St. Paul calls for becoming mature (teleioi) in thinking as Christians. Thus, I would define maturity as the fulfillment of a nature that, in the case of human beings, also encompasses personal freedom and divine grace.
CWR: What’s distinctive about Christian maturity apart from maturity more broadly?
Fr. Gavin: As human beings, we can certainly speak about the complexities of human physical and psychological growth. However, Christian maturity, while encompassing these natural ends, distinguishes itself by its telos, that is, a participation in God’s very life. St. Athanasius wrote that “God became man that man might God.” God became man and grew physically as a man, but he also established a radical new end and potential for humanity through the Paschal Mystery. In Christ, our maturity becomes “the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
CWR: What role does Jesus Christ play as a model of maturity?
Fr. Gavin: First, Jesus restores our capacity for maturation after the fall. In our disobedience to God, we fell into radical immaturity, incapable of coming to our supernatural end. God established a formation process with the Hebrew people, maturing them through the ages for the coming of Christ. The Word incarnate passes through the stages of natural human maturation and, in the expression of St. Irenaeus of Lyons, “recapitulates” the whole of salvation history in himself to bring it to fulfillment. In the Paschal Mystery, Christ restores humanity’s hope for participation in the divine life—in “growing into God”—that one receives in the sacrament of Baptism.
Second, Jesus also provides a model of this Christian maturation. Gregory of Nyssa, for instance, offers a profound reflection on the need for an imitatio Christi through the appropriation of Christ’s titles in the writings of St. Paul, e.g., “hope,” “peace,” or “light.” These titles, when assumed—Gregory has much more to say about this!—render one “synonymous” with Christ.
In fact, the very title “Christian,” should awaken us to this potential. Gregory writes, “For I think that if a person always keeps this in mind, that he is a participant in the revered name, when he is called a Christian according to the teaching of the apostles, he will also necessarily show in himself the power of the other names by which Christ is thought of, since through his life he is a sharer in each of them.” One can find this theme in the writings of many other Fathers, that is, the need to assume the life of the Master as a mature disciple.
CWR: What are some key ideas the Church Fathers give us about maturity?
Fr. Gavin: I describe what I call the three pillars of Christian maturation according to the Fathers of the Church.
First, there is “Form and Finality”: Christian maturity acquires its form from Christ and moves to a supernatural end through the gift of God’s grace.
Second, there is “Virtue and Character.” Though Christian maturity comes only through divine gift, it nonetheless requires the proper use of human freedom in the acquisition of the virtues through an imitatio Christi.
Finally, there is “Vocation and Commitment.” The Fathers have much wisdom regarding the ways that commitment brings one personally and communally into the divine life. I also consider the means of Christian maturation in the Church, focusing on the scriptures, the sacraments, and asceticism. Finally, I look at examples of Christian maturity in the figures of the martyr, the teacher, the servant, and the fool.
My hope is that the presentation of this material will be both informative and inspiring for modern readers.
CWR: What’s a positive example of someone exercising Christian maturity?
Fr. Gavin: A mature Christian today will make full use of the Christian means of maturation—the Scriptures, the sacraments, prayer, asceticism—while committing fully to the following of Christ in the way that God calls him or her in the life of the Church. A mature Christian, in turn, will demonstrate the traits of the witness, the teacher, and the servant. This will not require one to become a monk!
In fact, John Chrysostom held up the surprising example of the centurion Cornelius (Acts 10) as a model for mature Christianity: “He [Cornelius] will be a trustworthy teacher not only for the military but also all of us, as well as for those who have chosen the monastic life and those dedicated to the service of the Church.” In the end, however, the mature Christian will be infused with the love of God and share that transformative love with all.
CWR: What’s an example of Christian immaturity, or a sign from the Church fathers that one has more maturing to do?
Fr. Gavin: In general, one embraces spiritual infantilization by rejecting the three pillars of maturation. Turning from one’s fulfillment in Christ, refusing to grow in virtue, and avoiding commitment and vocation will result not only in stunted growth but also a degeneration in one’s life.
In fact, one need only look at the greatest infantile temper tantrum of all time, the fall of Satan and the rebel angels, to see the horrifying results. Satan exists now without form or finality, unstable in his existence; vices deform his once beautiful nature; and he rejects his vocation as angelos—a divine “messenger,” who manifests the Word of God—and becomes, instead, a diabolos or “slanderer,” the deformer of words.
Similar horrors gradually overcome many Christians who, though deemed mature by society, are in fact decaying. There is always hope for such persons through the grace of the sacraments and a conversion towards our true end in God, but, in the meantime, the crisis of maturity will have serious consequences in their lives and in their relationships with others.
CWR: Among the Church Fathers, who is your pick for a patron saint of Christian maturity and why?
Fr. Gavin: That is a very hard question, since it is difficult to choose just one! Perhaps St. Gregory of Nyssa, for his profound insights that I mentioned above. But I would also highlight the teachings and example of St. Augustine of Hippo (Thank you, Pope Leo, for turning our gaze to the treasures of Augustine’s writings!)
CWR: If you could pick one Scripture passage to illustrate Christian maturity, what would it be and why?
Fr. Gavin: Again, this is a difficult question, given that the whole of the scriptures offers a transformative formation for the maturing Christian. I would choose, however, finding the child Jesus in the temple (Luke 2:41-52). In this passage, we discover much in the example of Jesus’ own human maturation and in his obedience to his Father’s mission. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.” Like Mary, we need to keep this passage in our hearts and ponder the mystery of the Word-become-flesh.
CWR: How did your background as a college professor inform your approach to this topic?
Fr. Gavin: Certainly, the gift of being able to read and reflect on the writings of the Fathers shaped the composition of this book.
However, as a teacher of undergraduates, I have encountered many young people struggling to find meaning and direction in their lives. These young adults desperately seek models of maturity in our culture, and instead find our supposed leaders to be scandalously immature. I hope that, through this book, they and others can discover resources for growing as Christians in a deeply infantilized age.
CWR: What’s one thing that will surprise people about this book?
Fr. Gavin: Perhaps readers will be surprised that we do not talk about this theme very much in the Church today!
CWR: What do you hope readers will take away from this book?
Fr. Gavin: I hope that they will be inspired to assume the fullness of their Christian faith to become the mature witnesses our time needs.
CWR: Any final thoughts?
Fr. Gavin: May we also dig deep into the writings of the Fathers to recover their wisdom and joy in the Lord!
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Wonderful—an artful and substantive reconnection to the Church Fathers…
We recall, too, that this was a major theme of the Second Vatican Council when it paired “aggiornamento” (engagement with the world) with “ressourcement” (the return to sources prominently including the Church Fathers).
Very “backwardist,” according to the secular zeitgeist—and some “synodal” roundtables and maybe even some of the dozen or more “expert” post-synodal Study Groups on the so-called “hot-button” issues of the day. For example, will the members of Study Group #9 consult the the Magisterium, the Council, and the Church Fathers in their quest for “[t]heological criteria [?] and synodal methodologies [?] for shared discernment [?] of controversial [controverted?] doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues [!].”