Word to the Wise
Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - Tuesday in the 8th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Pet 1:10-16 and Mark 10:28-31]Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind,live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, Be holy because I am holy.
One of the principal ideas of the Second Vatican Council is the universal baptismal call to "holiness!" This is based, of course, on the scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments. Christians do not have a monopoly on holiness and not every person on the planet will be baptized, but those who do embrace the way of Christ are called to a way of life that is manifested publicly in our conduct. The idea that holiness is a private thing just between the individual and God, as our individualist-oriented culture in the West promotes, is foreign to the teaching of the scriptures.
I think it is important to distinguish between "holiness" and "piety," or "devotion." Religious acts of devotion do not guarantee holiness. Holiness begins with faith which shapes all of our conduct, and not just what we do in church. We have only to read the prophet, Isaiah, to encounter thundering denunciation of those who make big temple offerings but then cheat others at business! The word that comes to my mind in regard to holiness is "integrity." This implies a connection between the "inside" and the "outside" of a person. [cf. Matthew 23:26]. If our faith is only interior and has nothing to do with our public conduct, we cannot claim to be "close" to God. The old expression: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions!" reminds us that faith must shape both thought and action across the entire range of human experience. It is this that makes for holiness. AMEN