Claim. Each stage of the filial curriculum is reached only by sacrificing the previous one’s domain — family for nation, nation for world, world for God.
Elaboration. SMM articulates the sacrificial ladder explicitly: “People become filial children only by sacrificing themselves for their families. Further, in order to become patriots, people must be willing to sacrifice their entire families in order to save their nation. Only in this way can they become patriots. Saints are people who are willing to sacrifice their country in order to save the world. Divine children must be willing to sacrifice the world in order to realize God’s Nation and Land, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth” (CSG 14.3 §1, 285-218, 1997.5.19). A true parent does not let the child stop at one stage — “A true parent will never say to their child, ‘You have become a filial child, so, you do not need to become a patriot.‘” The structure carries weight beyond rhetoric: it explains why restoration requires giving up something at every level, not adding obedience on top of obedience.
See also. csg-loyalty-and-filial-piety-presuppose-the-other-stages