Jesus said, "Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you." - John 14:11-20
Here, Jesus is saying that believers will be able to do "the works that I do" because "I will do it." He then says the Holy Spirit will come, who will be with us always. He also says the ability to do "the works I do" is very closely linked to being in union with God. He emphasizes the unity of the Holy Trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God and three Persons. He asks us to believe and keep the commandments. The gifts are not something we use on our own power, just like you cannot use a television without electricity. The power that makes the gifts work is the Holy Spirit, in union with the Father's Will, and in the Name of the Son. With the Holy Trinity living in you, and with you living in harmony with the Holy Trinity - by believing, and keep the commandments - then you too can, "do the works that I do." Miracles, healing, intercession, speaking prophetically to the lost, transforming injustice into justice, contributing to the Church that Jesus established in whatever way God gifts you, is possible.
But we are just human, isn't this expecting too much? As humans, we have a unique capacity for union with God, through Jesus Christ, who saves us from sin and baptizes us in the Holy Spirit. Even though we are not God or gods, God lives in us, starting at baptism! As faith grows, so does union with God. When we recognize our sinfulness, and ask Jesus to forgive us, God begins transforming us gradually from sinners into saints. The US Bishops teach about this in their pastoral letter on marriage, saying:
"Through Baptism, men and women are transformed, by the power of the Holy Spirit, into a new creation in Christ. This new life in the Holy Spirit heals men and women from sin and elevates them to share in God’s very own divine life." - US Catholic Bishops Pastoral Letter, "Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan," 2009.
Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit, and stay close to Him, especially in the Sacraments. This invitation to union with God is available to everyone, not just a few special people who somehow became holy in a way that no one else can understand. Vatican II taught that all are called to holiness. It is not us who "make" the Holy Spirit's gifts work, as if manipulating them like a machine. It is not our power, but God in us, especially by grace and faith. Grace and faith expand our capacity and give God more room to work in our lives. In union with God, the Lord is pleased to do His works through us! St. Alphonsus Liguori, a Doctor of the Church in 18th century Italy, wrote that even though we are sinners and not perfect, God gives grace so that we can be capable of great things because human nature is still "in the image of God." St. Alphonsus wrote in 1759:
"God is love. Out of love He created man in his own image... And God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:26-31). But sin came into the world! Sin destroyed neither the love of God nor the nature of man."
St. Alphonsus Liguori wrote "On the Confidence with Which We Ought to Pray," in which he said, "But you will say, on what can I a miserable sinner ground a secure confidence of obtaining whatever I ask? I answer, on the promise of Jesus Christ. ‘Ask,’ He says, ‘and you shall receive’ (John 16:24). ‘Who,’ says St. Augustine, ‘can fear deception, when truth promises.’ Can we entertain any doubt of being heard, when the God of truth promises to grant whatever we ask. ‘He would not,’ says St. Augustine, ‘exhort us to ask, if He did not intend to give.’ Now He constantly entreats and command us in Holy Scriptures, to pray, to ask, to seek, to knock, and adds that ‘whatever we will, it shall be done unto us.’" (John 15:7).
In summary, yes, we are "just humans" - but that is a good thing, not bad thing! Because we are humans, we can be redeemed by Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit who gives and operates all the gifts by God's power and grace. The question remains, will we believe?
From the Bible and Church Tradition St. Augustine said, "God does not demand anything impossible. But when He commands, He exhorts you to do what you can and to ask for what you cannot." The Council of Trent continued, saying, "And He will help your effort."
The angel Gabriel told Mary at the Annunciation that, "Nothing will be impossible for God." Luke 1:37
Jesus said, "Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing." - John 15:4-5
Teaching on 1 Corinthians 12:9, St. John Chrysostom wrote: "And to another, faith:” not meaning by this faith the faith of doctrines, but the faith of miracles; concerning which Christ saith, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall say to this mountain, Remove, and it shall remove” (Matthew 17:20). And the Apostles too concerning this besought Him, saying, “Increase our faith:” (Luke 17:5) for this is the mother of the miracles." - St. John Chrysostom, Bishop in the Early Church, Homily 21 on 1st Corinthians
Universal Call to Holiness: Becoming a Saint is Possible for every Christian "We must, then, resolve to acquire the perfect love of God, and must immediately adopt the means of becoming saints." - St. Alphonsus Liguori, On the Love of God, 18th century, Italy
We should remember the example of Mary, who through her perfect humility, and profound relationship with Jesus as His Mother, was able to become the most powerful of intercessors as the Queen of Heaven and Mediatrix of Grace. Christianity has traditionally seen Mary as a prophetic image of the Church, revealing in her life how great God's plan is for the Church's union with Him. As we follow her life from the Annunciation as a simple young woman to becoming the Queen of Heaven interceding for all humankind that Jesus has given to her as her spiritual children (John 19:26), we also see the perfect example of humility, openness to the Holy Spirit, and welcoming of God's mysterious and glorious plan which exceeds our expectations. Praying the Rosary and meditating on the truths and doctrines found throughout the sets of mysteries such as the Annunciation, Wedding at Cana, Pentecost, Assumption, and Coronation, can help increase understanding of this.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church in paragraph 972 teaches about Mary revealing who we are as the Church saying:
"In her we contemplate what the Church already is in her mystery on her own "pilgrimage of faith," and what she will be in the homeland at the end of her journey. ... In the meantime the Mother of Jesus, in the glory which she possesses in body and soul in Heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise she shines forth on earth until the day of the Lord shall come, a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God."
The Coronation of Mary, painting above the main altar in the cathedral in Spoleto, Italy