Be Holy as God is Holy: Reflections on the 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy (Leviticus 19:2).

This is an imperative, not a suggestion. God does not play games. He spells out what he demands from the people of Israel of old, and from us, the new Israel. Holiness is that quality that makes us like unto God. God is holy because he is utterly Other, and removed from everything else. He is the One God, not one among many. And God’s holiness speaks of his transcendence. To be holy is to be ‘set apart.’ We are called to be holy and be separated as well. But from what must we be separated? The separateness that scripture calls for is that we be set apart for the Lord. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that man is the only creature willed by God for its own sakes (CCC. 356). Whereas all created things were created for something more perfect than themselves, human beings have been created for God. This is because there is nothing in this world more perfect than human beings. The purpose for our creation must be something outside of this world; and that is God. We were created for God, and we must strive to live for God. This is the goal of creation, and it is the source of its glory. Man is created for God’s glory, and as long as we live with this awareness we would be living true to our real purpose.

Holiness is the universal vocation of all of us. It is not the exclusive rights of any particular group. All the baptized are called to holiness in whatever state of life they are in. The holiness expected of priests and religious cannot be the same that is expected from married people. But each one is called to be holy in their respective vocations. We are ‘set apart’ not so we can discriminate against others, but so we can be dedicated to the Lord’s service. It is the presence of the Spirit of God in us that makes holiness possible. The Spirit complements and gives value to our efforts. Because our righteous acts are as filthy rags in God’s presence (Isaiah 64:6). The point here is not to denigrate human effort, but to say that they are insufficient to save without the grace of God’s help.

Lent begins this Wednesday with Ash Wednesday. Our Masses would be 8:30 a.m., 12:00 noon and 6:00 p.m. The Lenten season is a time when we respond by our efforts to the promptings of grace to true repentance and renewal. We show our repentance by taking up the spiritual practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. In this way we discipline our bodies so our spirits can be more attuned to the workings of the Holy Spirit in us, we also draw closer to God. We strive not only for moral perfection, but also friendship with God. As Gregory of Nysa says, “the goal of a virtuous life is to become like God.” This is what it means to be holy as God is holy.

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence. “For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms of fasting are obligatory from age 18 to age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards” (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops). Pregnant and nursing mothers, people who are sick or who care for sick people are also exempt from the obligation to fast. They are however required to observe the law on abstinence.

May Jesus bless our Lent and make it fruitful. Amen.
 
Fr. Julius