Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48
I'm a nice person. I try not to gossip. I share a kind word with my co-workers every day. I smile at people, don't pick a fight and are able to say sorry (most of the times). I give people the benefit of doubt. I make time for people who matter for me. I turn up for work every day and do my best. I pray regularly and make use of the sacraments.
Overall, I think I am doing OK.
But being OK is not what I have been created for. I was created for the life of holiness. Jesus made it absolutely clear that mere adherence to the rules of faith is not sufficient. Remember the young man who came to ask Him what he should do to enter the Kingdom of God? Jesus first of all asked him to do everything according to the law, but then He asked him to give everything up and follow him.
This is a challenging call for me today. To give up my worldly attachments and focus on the thing that is eternal. To stop trying to make my life all nice and comfortable at the expense of others, but to go out of my way to serve the most vulnerable. To learn to say ''I'm sorry" to people I alienate from myself. To bear difficulties with patience rather than constantly complaining about minor inconveniences. To always give thanks to the Lord, never attributing my success to myself alone. To bring the light of Christ to those who lost all hope. To do everything for the greater glory of God.
But being OK is not what I have been created for. I was created for the life of holiness. Jesus made it absolutely clear that mere adherence to the rules of faith is not sufficient. Remember the young man who came to ask Him what he should do to enter the Kingdom of God? Jesus first of all asked him to do everything according to the law, but then He asked him to give everything up and follow him.
This is a challenging call for me today. To give up my worldly attachments and focus on the thing that is eternal. To stop trying to make my life all nice and comfortable at the expense of others, but to go out of my way to serve the most vulnerable. To learn to say ''I'm sorry" to people I alienate from myself. To bear difficulties with patience rather than constantly complaining about minor inconveniences. To always give thanks to the Lord, never attributing my success to myself alone. To bring the light of Christ to those who lost all hope. To do everything for the greater glory of God.
Don't settle for mere OK. You have been created for holiness. It is not about some sort of perfectionism. It is about becoming who you are intended to become from the beginning of the world. This means being in communion with God. Breathing His Spirit every moment of every day. Becoming holy means a constant transformation so that we are more that the One who created us.
In this season of Lent, I want to journey towards the Easter morning in such a way that I will truly recognise the Risen Christ, that I will see His wounds and His glory through a purer heart, tuned to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. It will require a serious change of heart. No more mediocrity, just learning to be holier, day by day.
“Let them look up and see no longer me—but only Jesus” Blessed John Henry Newman
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