Beyond Words

Do most modern Christians really want to be holy, or are they content to be “good enough”? Do you really seek holiness, or do you still feel as though you can keep one foot in two camps? If you really, truly desire holiness, is there anything you can think of in your life that you could/should change?

What’s stopping you?

This week’s readings are a gut check for the Christian soul. In the second reading, St. Paul gives us very practical suggestions to aid us in our daily pursuits of holiness. We’re told to rejoice, to pray, to give thanks, to test everything, and to retain only what is good. We’re warned against quenching the Spirit, despising hard prophe-cies, and accepting any evil. Why? Because God doesn’t just want us to be holy—he wants us to be perfectly holy.

The initial reaction to that message is usually, “Ouch. Can’t I just be ‘good enough,’ God?That’s still better than most!” Isaiah answers this question in the first reading. This is not a rags to riches story. God doesn’t just want to make small strides with us; God wants to take us from rags and ruins and make us royalty. We are the poor, the brokenhearted, the captive, and the imprisoned. And God wants to give us a robe, a crown, and jewels. How will God accomplish such an audacious task? By sending us the only one who can rescue us: himself. We can be made perfectly holy by virtue of our relationship and intimacy with the One who is perfect holiness. This is why we have reason to rejoice on this Gaudete (Latin for “rejoice”) Sunday of Advent. Why settle for good when you can be perfect? Say goodbye to the rags, for the Lord is offering you the whole kingdom.

This excerpt from One Sunday at a Time: Preparing Your Heart for Weekly Mass (Cycle B) is reprinted with permission of Ave Maria Press.