Holiness

WHAT does it take to be holy today?

It surely is a broad and dense question, daring also, and the discussion can be endless. But we can always say something.

Hopefully the little that we can say, like a switch, can turn on a great light that can make us see a lot of things. Never discount the possibility.

Besides, even if it turns out only to be a little light, it's some light just the same. And of a very relevant kind at that, happily different from what is shed by so much dizzying political talk or useless, scandalous showbiz gossip these days.

Having said that, we have to say first of all that sanctity is a matter of supernatural grace. Therefore, it is gratuitous, freely given.

It does not depend on man's actions. No one can demand or claim it on the basis of what he may have done or accomplished. It is such a supernatural reality that talking about it would just be useless.

But grace somehow requires some human cooperation. This is because man is created free and rational. Even with the supernatural goal of holiness, he needs somehow to be responsible for it, because he at least has to want it.

In fact, sanctity is the first and most important object of human freedom.

It's not food nor clothing nor money nor sex. It's not politics nor business nor any natural need. It's his deepest spiritual yearning that defines man more definitively that determines the proper object of his freedom.

Thus religious freedom is a fundamental aspect of freedom, a basic human right that cannot be alienated. This is simply because in the Christian view that is how man is made or designed. One cannot be truly human if he fails to resolve the first object of his freedom.

And so holiness needs to be worked out also by man. It just cannot be given to one without him working for it.

As St. Augustine once said, "God who created you without you, will not save you without you." For those who read the Bible, they can read the following from the Book of Sirach to reiterate the same point:

"God created man in the beginning and he left him in the power of his own free will." (15,14)

Man needs at least to want to be holy for him to achieve sanctity. And from that choice, of course, would flow some corresponding actions. In short, man needs to do certain things to attain sanctity.

That's the reason God gave the commandments, why Jesus gave some instructions like praying always and carrying the cross, etc. That's why God said we have to love him with all our heart and might, and why Jesus said we have to love even our enemies, and to love others as he loves us.

All these are meant to guide man in his basic choice and in the free moral actions flowing from that choice. They are not just nice things to say and decorate our houses with, dummy.

No one can escape from making this choice and face the consequences of said choice. Unless, of course, one chooses to ignore this basic option. But that already indicates a choice.

In other words, holiness is a fundamental option man has to make. As such, it cannot be optional. Besides, it has to be sustained all throughout life.

Sad to say, what we see these days is deep and extensive indifference to this basic option. Are people still thinking about sanctity, about God, about serving him, about conforming their lives and activities to his will? I doubt very much.

As to what does it take to be holy these days, I think the answers lie more in the area of how this religious freedom is understood and pursued.

Offhand, many things have to be done to counter the causes and effects of the rampant religious indifference that leads to and begets religious confusion and errors.

There is need to do a lot of catechesis, to transform family and community environments to be more friendly to religious freedom. Right now, the air is simply filled with all sorts of paganism and secularism, that is, the attitude that shuts out the spiritual, supernatural or religious dimension of man.

There is little prayer, there is actually very little recourse to the sacraments. The need for ascetical struggle is hardly understood. But yes, there is lot of eating and dancing and enjoying. There is a lot of politics and money-making with hardly any inspiration coming from faith and religion.

That's the problem with the pursuit for sanctity these days.