Universal Call to Holiness
“…If I need something, I chase
after it if it goes away”
I
take numerous things for granted and I see this quote parallel with that
because it correlates with the phrase, “You don’t know what you have until it is
gone”. For instance, Jesus Christ lived on earth for approximately thirty-three
years and then he was gone. At first the Apostles were at a loss and kept
themselves locked up in a room until Christ came and told them not to be afraid
but to go out and teach. In a way they began ‘chasing’ Christ because they
wanted to attain his state of divinity or perfection. This is the Universal
Call to Holiness, to ‘chase’ after Christ and the perfection and beauty he
embodies.
“Has the Church failed mankind, or
has mankind failed the Church?” “…Both, both, because first and foremost it is
mankind who failed the Church, because if
I need something, I chase after it if it goes away. No one chased after
it…The Church began to fail mankind, as I see it…because she forgot who Christ
was, she did not rely on…, she was
ashamed of Christ, of saying who Christ is.”
T.S.
Eliot finds fault with Catholics and the Church because they have failed to
respond and encounter holiness. Instead of attaining perfection and beauty or
truth, the same truth and beauty that Jesus possessed, mankind has remained
stagnant in his desires and evil. For everyday Catholics this implies the
necessity for improvement and a reinvigoration to the call to holiness. Instead
of continuing to submit to the antagonist of beauty, that is, evil, Catholics
must reject evil and look to the epitome of truth, Jesus Christ. Catholics are
at an advantage too because they already possess the initial grace given to
them at Baptism. To take it just a step further and make the effort to become
perfect is the solution to the call to holiness.
“…she was ashamed of Christ, of
saying who Christ is.”
Shame
is weakness. Christ endured persecution to the point of death on the cross and
he expects us to be able to endure pain and tribulations with hard hearts. To
be ashamed of saying who Christ is punctuates the inability to dedicate
ourselves to the cause. To say who Christ is without shame is to take on the
challenge of receiving blows and derogatory comments but still holding the
message above pain and showing confidence in what we are fighting for. This is
also incorporated in the call to holiness because it is another facet of
perfection. Perfection encompasses purity of heart, compassion, love,
obedience, and conformity to Father’s will. The ultimate goal is to love God
and love our neighbor. God sent his son who was the perfect model of
perfection. He possessed all the facets of perfection and loved his neighbor.
He said who his Father was with no shame and expects his followers to do the
same in his name.
Universal Call to Holiness
The
goal is to imitate Christ because he was perfect. Likewise, his mother, Mary,
followed the call to holiness and sets the same example as her son. There
were/are others to, the ones called saints who were able to embrace holiness
and work for perfection in their lives. The
Church is holy
because Christ is holy, therefore as members of the Church in Baptism, the
Church’s members are also holy. In order to achieve the level of holiness Jesus
had we have to “become what we are”. We are the Church and the Church is holy.
The arrow always points to the “X” which for the case of Catholics is the
Father, Son and Spirit. The arrow points in an infinite direction upward
because the nature of the call to holiness is everlasting. Perfection is a high
goal, a goal that will make us happy and hard in our hearts. No matter how
difficult, to be united with God is truly worth it.
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