Ave Maria Meditations
Holiness of Life
Striving for sanctity is about striving for purity of body and soul. Essentially this is what it means to become a saint. A saint is a person who has fully surrendered his life to Jesus Christ. This is why the greatest desire that anyone can have in this life is to strive passionately after holiness of life. Today many people have given up on leading a holy life, thinking that the world has gone so far astray that holiness is impossible. This, however, is not the case.
Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. Hence, since there is so much sin in our world today, there must be also be so much grace available for those who desire to attain sanctity. The wisdom of the saints is that they are able to tap in to the rich treasures of the Church during difficult periods of human history. God’s love and mercy are always present, even in a corrupt age such as our own.
So where are these fountains of grace and mercy that will allow a person to become a saint in our day? The answer is easy. The means of attaining holiness have always been in the Church. It is within the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church that God is able to purify his people and make them holy, and this happens through the sacraments and the observance of all the teachings of the Church.
(In Holy Scripture) we learn from St. John’s vision that the souls of the saints have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. At first we might think: “since when does blood make something white?” However the Blood of Jesus is pure and is able to wash us clean from sin. We receive this Blood through the worthy reception of Holy Communion, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Saints know this, and this is why every saint had a great love for the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Furthermore, as in the Gospel, Jesus gives us the Beatitudes so that we might be able to live lives that are in right relation to God. The Beatitudes help us to realize that living the Christian life is not always easy. We will be persecuted and ridiculed, but we are assured that we will be called blessed for our faithful observance of the commandments of God.
When you think about it, is there really anything more worthy in life than the ardent pursuit of holiness? In essence, every person should be striving to have “St.” in front of their name. Nothing has ever been more difficult, but nothing has ever been so worthy of attaining.
Fr. Donald Calloway MIC
