Good day brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Remember always that Christ Jesus has risen from the dead, the savior of all of us. Remember his atoning work on the cross and remember that he has demolished the barrier of sin by his Holy Cross, and therefore has destroyed death also. By his Holy Life, Death, and Resurrection, we have been granted Eternal Life through the pure Grace of God. And so we must take action. We must constantly deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow Jesus, the Author of Life.

A very traditional teaching of the Church is that the Word became flesh so that we may become gods. That Christ became man, so that man may become sons of God. What does this mean? It means that by Christ's selfless sacrifice for all of us, we may become Christ-like, and we may truly become sons of the Living God and be ourselves gods on this earth. But this must be done right, or else it would lead to pride, arrogance, and all kinds of blasphemous and moral filth.

 One thing that is very important: Theosis is not a reward, nor is it a human achievement. It is a gracious gift from God, a gift granted to us by his tender Love, Mercy, and Grace. Remember that God created Adam and Eve, in the beautiful Garden of Eden, and at that time, they were sinless, they knew no sin, they had eternal life, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they fulfilled perfectly the image of God, bearing his image and fulfilling that image in everything they did. It was after the Fall that this was lost. But now that the Eternal Son of God became flesh and restored us to that image, we can once again have that great state that Adam and Eve did have before they sinned. We become gods by God's Grace, and we become like God in ways unimaginable by God's Grace. And this is known as Theosis/Deification.

But in order to practice Theosis, it is very important to first prepare for Theosis. It can be defined in four simple steps, so that we may become Christ-Like:

1. Humility: You must put God first in your life, and then yourself and all other things second. Make God the base of your life and always put him first in your life. No one who is building a pyramid neglects the base of the pyramid. The base is your faith in God. Strengthen your base by putting God in your life first. There is no other way: you must put God first and yourself second in your life. Be humble enough to do this, and it will really pay off in the end.
2.  Ascetism: This is the process of purifying your soul, body, and mind. The center of yourself is your Heart and Soul, and it is here that the demons tempt you to sin before God Almighty, to tarnish your soul with sin, and to distort you from the perfect image of God by sin. You must purify your soul by redirecting your focus to God and taking your mind off those temptations. Deliberately discipline yourself spiritually and deny yourself sin, and follow Jesus Christ, in keeping his commands in great tender Love and Faith to him. Recall that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, so maintaining the Body is important in our journey to Theosis. Keep your mind pure and chaste in Christ, and put good things into it, so that when those thoughts are put into your mind, they go to the heart, and purify your heart and soul, allowing you to grow closer to Jesus Christ, and to reflect the same Heart as Christ Jesus has. Ask God to discipline you further spiritually, and he will give it to you. Do Fasting and Deny yourself.
3. Participation of the Holy Sacraments: In the Holy Church that Christ Jesus established, there are seven sacraments that allow us to have intimate fellowship with Christ Jesus. These are: Baptism, Holy Eucharist, Confirmation (Chrismation), Confession, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Holy Matrimony. Active participation in these Holy sacraments allow us even more intimate fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ, and to live the true life of a loyal child of God redeemed by God's Grace by Christ Jesus, especially Baptism and the Holy Eucharist.
4. Repentance and Prayer: Repenting from your sins, whatever they may be, is always a good thing, and repenting always is a very good thing in our journey to Theosis. Sin is evil, and repenting from it always is very important. Prayer is equally important, in that in prayer, we stay in communion with God, which is extremely important. It reminds us of the goodness of God and reminds us especially that we need God Almighty in our lives constantly, that we need him, and that we must remain in his Love. Some good prayers to pray are the Jesus Prayer, Our Father, Hail Mary, Fatima Prayer, Litany of Humility, Glory Be, and a myriad of others. Try to pray as many times a day as you can, and make sure that the prayer time is quiet, peaceful, and only between you and God. Both these things, Repentance and Prayer, are vital to receiving Theosis, and must be done constantly and consistently. 

These simple four qualifications of Theosis will prepare us to receive the great gift of Theosis that only comes from the Grace and Mercy of God Almighty. Now then comes the three stages of Theosis, which are:

1. Purification: This happens when the sinner cries out to God repenting deeply of their sins and feeling remorse for the grave sins that they have committed before God Almighty. They confess their sins, and repent radically of their sins. This is the first experience of feeling God's gracious Grace. When this is done, the soul feels peaceful, and there is deep appreciation and Love in the heart. There is truly an inexpressible joy felt in the entire being when one repents of all evil. It mostly manifests as tears of repentance, and it is in these tears, that Purification is felt.
2. Illumination: This is the more advanced stage. After Purification, the now repented person sees everything in a new light, in a new Grace. They see the natural world differently, people differently, all things in existence in a new grace. They have in them a greater Love of God, a greater Love of all things that are good, and their entire being is transformed into something that is truly grateful. hopeful, faithful, and loving. No longer are they the sinful person they were, seeing all things in a negative and demonic sense: they see all things in a positive and Godly light. Tears for Love of God come now, and they Love all things even more that come from God. This is Illumination. This is when the sinner knows for sure that God has forgiven them for every sin and atrocity they committed. And it is truly wonderful. They are freed from all the evil sins' grip, and they have a new life in Christ, true freedom in the Eternal Son of God.
3. Theosis: After being purified and offering themselves to God, they receive the great gift of Theosis, being completely transfigured and transformed, so that their own will, desires, actions, and thoughts perfectly aligned with God's. Their soul participates in the divine life of God, and becomes one with him, without losing its distinctiveness. They become fully united with God, and become fully alive to God Almighty. This is the ultimate goal of Theosis. This is the ultimate gift that comes from God. This is the way the Saints became Saints.

Go and practice this! Go do Theosis! The Holy Saints of the Chruch over a course of 2000 years have done this, and it is truly what helped them become Saints of the Church, models of righteousness. There is enough evidence that this works! What are you waiting for? Go and do it!

Video from the Christianity Pill heavily inspired and helped the writing of this article: how to actually become Christ-Like.