Maximus views the mysteries of the Eucharist and Baptism as divinizing media which impart divine grace to those who are immersed in the life of the Church. Maximus identifies the Eucharist as Holy Communion of the spotless and life-giving mysteries, whereby we are given fellowship and identify with God by participation in likeness, by which man is deemed worthy from man to become God. The Eucharist, as the center of liturgy, discloses that Christ will take away the marks of corruption and will bestow on us the original mysteries which have been represented for us through symbols here below.
Think about what he is saying! By partaking of the life-giving mysteries, that is the very Body and Blood of Christ, we are healed of the wounds that afflict us in life and become partakers of divine life itself. By partaking of the Sacred Mysteries, God inhabits the believer and communicates His righteousness through the grace of holy Baptism. Baptized in Christ by the Spirit, we have received the first incorruptibility of the flesh; we await the final incorruptibility of Christ in the Spirit.
Of course for this to happen we must believe that what we receive is truly the Precious and Holy Body and Blood of Christ Himself. This is why belief in the real presence is so critical. Our belief, as you know, cannot be proved. It can only be believed.
While highly esteeming the value of practical life and its ecclesiastic realizations, Maximus acknowledges the limited and transitory value of the first stage of spiritual life. The experience of an ascetic in the practice of virtues is indispensable yet incomplete without the experience of a contemplative in the hidden place of wisdom which can exist only in the habit of virtues.
While this may seem a little hard to understand, I believe that Maximus is trying to tell us that we must never really feel that we have arrived at a spiritual life which is complete but must continue to strive to grow in our attachment to God and the spiritual life. We must progress from first living a virtuous life to leading a life that integrates deep and profound prayer with virtuous living. We begin by practicing virtue, which then influences our prayer life. As our prayer life grows, it influences our virtuous life – our ability to love others unconditionally grows and flourishes. This is the value of the practical life, that is a life wherein we practice being accepting, kind, loving and forgiving. The world, at one point becomes like a mirror of God. We begin to see that everything in life and the world reflect God. We begin to see God in nature and others around us.
This process of growth, however, never comes to an end. Life is an experience of continuous spiritual growth.