Some good stuff here!

[toaslan]

One doesn’t have to become the source of something to share in its nature… We don’t need to make such hard and fast distinctions as saying “we are not Divine”, we only need to say that we are not the source of it, and like iron we need the constant presence of fire to maintain the quality of fire. That’s all anyone is saying, and **that IS Divinity **(and the Fathers, and the Councils, and the Catechisms, and the Doctors all agree on this).

Again, saying that we are not at all Divine by Grace is ultimately reductionist, because it removes the import and meaning from “participation”. The very notion of participation includes a distinction between the participator and the participated, so no further emphasis is needed. By stressing that we do not really have Divinity, you run the risk of denying that Grace literally makes us deiform.

… Again, the very notion of participation includes both real distinction, and real sharing of nature.

I encourage you to not draw such a hard and fast linguistic distinction that is quite simply not present in any of the official teachings of the Church.

Promethius, take a breath. You are not noticing distinctions.

 

[toaslan]

The flesh is garbage as we all know…

I have to add my two cents here. Let us reflect that a human being is essentially a hybrid. Remove either of his two aspects and he is no longer human. We are rational animal. That means we are both intellect and body. We have the eternal, supernatural nature which loves, thinks and corresponds to God Himself. We have the animal nature which makes us exist in time and space, eat and move around, do all the things dogs and cats do. We are BOTH. We are both humble and glorious at the same time. We are, by our very nature, both natural and supernatural. It is natural and human for us to be that way.

We will not be ourselves again after death until we are reunited with our glorified bodies. We believe we actually have our own bodies back, but glorified as Our Lord’s body is glorified. He showed that he could grill fish with His hands, that Doubting Thomas could touch His fleshly wounds. He broke bread at Emmaus.

At death a terrible separation occurs: our soul, which is essentially the act of our body, is separated from that body of which it is the act/form. When we get our bodies back, we will be ourselves again! Not to say we won’t be happy after our individual judgment if we are in heaven; we will be joyfully happy! That happiness will be even greater when, after the end of Time and the general judgment, we receive back our bodies so that we stand before God as He designed us to be, body and soul, praising Him.

The Catholic Church teaches that a man is essentially good, both his body and his soul; but that because of Adam’s sin, his nature is fallen. It is fallen but still good. Our nature is scarred, wounded, but still good! Like if I took a bullet through my leg. Maybe I will always limp, but I’m still walkin’.

Your flesh is not who you are, we are the light of the world…

Your flesh united with your soul–the hybrid or unity of both–IS who you are!