I have spoken about holiness before in these blogs because I believe that we are all called to holiness in the truest definition of the word. Holiness means to be “set apart for God.” It doesn’t mean the kind of piety that is sanctimonious, a pretense of looking or sounding holy. Holiness happens in the midst of regular, daily life.
Lumen Gentium, (Light of the Nations), is a document that came out of Vatican II in 1964. It is quite clear that all Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love, and by this holiness a more human manner of life is fostered also in earthly society. #39. It says that it is quite clear that holiness is the fullness of Christian life and the perfection of love, and it is found in everyday society,
Holiness is not just for nuns and priests. Please take time to reflect on this quote from the document: But the laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God.
They live in the world, that is, in each and in all of the secular professions and occupations. They live in the ordinary circumstances of family and social life, from which the very web of their existence is woven. They are called there by God that by exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the Gospel they may work for the sanctification of the world from within as a leaven.
In this way they may make Christ known to others, especially by the testimony of a life resplendent in faith, hope and charity. LG #31.
Yes, I want to be resplendent in faith, hope, and charity.
Through Baptism, we have been called to holiness and committed to discipleship. We have died to our old selves and risen to put on Christ. Through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Galatians 3:26-27. Through the Mass and through receiving Christ from the Table of the Word and the Table of the Eucharist, we learn how to be holy, how to follow Christ in the world, how to live in a community of faith and faithfulness.