Is Holiness Possible?

Universal Call to Holiness

Holiness begins by assenting to the will of the Father and therefore the outpouring of his grace. Those who seek holiness “must follow in His footsteps and conform themselves to His image seeking the will of the Father in all things” (Lumen Gentium, 5). This is initially manifested in the sacrament of Baptism wherein one enters into union with God who is holiness.

God initiates this call to holiness, which is essentially a call to a relationship with him. Since God calls us, it must be possible to answer. In his love for us, God provides man with the tools for sanctification. Primary among these are the sacraments which draw us closer to him by availing us to his grace. He also gives us the liturgy so that me might learn how to pray, the essential tool to develop our relationship with the Lord. He provides the faithful with role models to follow in the lives of the saints. Their lives provide evidence that answering the call to holiness is possible for all.

The call to universal holiness is not something simply born out of Vatican II. Christ gave us the instruction to all of us to be perfect as the Father is perfect (Matt 5:48). The saints and popes have written about this instruction years before the Second Vatican Council.

St. Francis de Sales wrote in the 16th Century:

"But my object is to teach those who are living in towns, at court, in their own households, and whose calling obliges them to a social life, so far as externals are concerned. Such persons are apt to reject all attempt to lead a devout life under the plea of impossibility[.]" (vi)

Pope Piux XI in 1930 issued the encyclical Casti Connubii in which he said:

For all men of every condition, in whatever honorable walk of life they may be, can and ought to imitate that most perfect example of holiness placed before man by God, namely Christ Our Lord, and by God's grace to arrive at the summit of perfection, as is proved by the example set us of many saints. (CC, 23)

I'd like to close with a point from St. Josemaria: "Conversion is the matter of a moment. Sanctification is the work of a lifetime." (The Way, #285)

Favorite Christmas Song

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A few years ago, I began teaching a lesson with my high school debate students (around this time of the year) in which I asked them to name their favorite holiday song. Part of the lesson required that the students explain why they chose the song. The kids enjoy the lesson and they learn how to structure a simple argument.  In the process they also learn a little  about themselves.

A couple of years ago one of the students put me on the spot and asked me to name my favorite song. To the extreme pleasure of my students, I had been stumped. I didn't know. I gave it some thought and reviewed by my iTunes library, discovering I had a number of versions of the Little Drummer Boy.  Apparently the Little Drummer Boy was my favorite Christmas song.

As I listened through Joan Jett, Bing Crosby/David Bowie and Jose Feliciano, I determined that the reason I so enjoyed that song is that the little drummer boy gives the only gift he has, his one talent. For me, this embodies our response to universal call to holiness. Like the little drummer boy we can sanctify our daily ordinary lives by offering our Lord our work and our simple talents.

Anyway, I now make it a tradition to search out new versions of the song and I am now up to 27 on my special playlist.  This year I have added Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Diamond and Johnny Cash.

What's your favorite Christmas song and why?

Gut Check: Are You Living a Joe Catholic Life?

You a drifter? You... one of the crowd? You, who were born to be a leader! There is no room among us for the lukewarm. Humble yourself and Christ will set you aflame again with the fire of Love. (St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way, 16)

It’s gut check time. A few months have passed since the end of Lent. Still more time has elapsed since we made our January resolutions. As the summer heat wears us down, we have a tendency to slow down and slide back into our old habits.

The past week, I began reading Father Larry Richards' book, Be a Man!, which I hope to review on this blog once I have completed it. The experience of reading the book has been like a mini-retreat. It got me thinking about the state of my own walk and my adherence to my spiritual plan of life. As I was praying about this, my eyes turned to our logo (it’s my screensaver) and I realized that we can use the Joe Catholic logo to reflect on where we are in our daily walk.

Catechism of the Catholic Church
The CCC or the “big green book” reminds us to study our faith. We can’t share what we don’t know. We have to know our faith, so we can live it, share it and defend it. Spiritual reading must be a component of our daily spiritual plan. This site has a number of good links to books to read. Additionally, almost every post has at least one book recommendation. St. Josemaria said that “one hour of study is an hour of prayer” when offered to our Lord.

Bible
We must be men of the Word of God who became incarnate in Jesus Christ our Lord. We do this by going over the daily readings or some other organized reflection on scripture. I’m not saying we have to have scriptures memorized (although that may be useful at times), but generally know where important points are located. For example, we should all know that John 6 contains significant references to our Catholic beliefs about the Eucharist. St. Jerome said, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”

Rosary
We must be men of prayer. Prayer is the conversation we have with God. Without this communication we cannot have the intimate relationship he desires to have with each and every one of us. St. Teresa de Avila said, “Mental prayer is nothing else than an intimate friendship, a frequent heart-to-heart conversation with Him by whom we know ourselves to be loved.”

Toolbox
Think of the toolbox as representing our daily work lives. Reflecting on our work, we can ask ourselves whether we are "blossoming where we have been planted." In other words, do we approach our work as a means for sanctification or do we treat it like a grueling necessity or even as punishment? Our work lives and our spiritual lives are not intended to be separate. I’m not talking about being bible thumpers, but living our faith in the little things: being kind, doing good work, offering it up and even praying at meals. St. Josemaría said, “Work is man's original vocation. It is a blessing from God, and those who consider it a punishment are sadly mistaken. The Lord, who is the best of fathers, placed the first man in Paradise ut operaretur, so that he would work.” (Furrow, 482)

Hammer and Rule
Reminds of our role model, St. Joseph the original Joe Catholic. Call on him as a powerful intercessor. He is not only the patron of our little group, but of fathers, workers and the universal church. St. Bernard teaches us “there are some saints who have the power of protecting in certain specific circumstances; but Saint Joseph has been granted the power to help us in every kind of need, and to defend all who have recourse to him with pious dispositions."