In our first reading this morning from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians, we hear about what has come to be known as the universal call to holiness. Each of us, because we have received the identity of being sons and daughters of God by way of our baptism, has this universal vocation. That began to be greatly emphasized in the Church following the Second Vatican Council.

Lumen Gentium, one of the Dogmatic Constitutions that emerged from the Council, spoke about it at length. That vocation is intrinsically rooted in the nature of who Jesus is and what He accomplished by His Cross; it ties directly into His own mission.

The Church says: “Christ, the Son of God, who with the Father and the Spirit is praised as ‘uniquely holy,’ loved the Church as His bride, delivering Himself up for her. He did this that He might sanctify her. He united her to Himself as His own body and brought it to perfection by the gift of the Holy Spirit for God’s glory. Therefore in the Church, everyone whether belonging to the hierarchy, or being cared for by it, is called to holiness, according to the saying of the Apostle: ‘For this is the will of God, your sanctification.’” (LG 39)

But the thing is, we can’t achieve that on our own, we don’t reach holiness solely because of something we have done. It is first and foremost a gift from God, offered to us as grace to overcome the temptations that the world might throw at us. Holiness can only be achieved through the help of the Holy Spirit.

So, what’s the reflection for us today? I would invite us to ask ourselves two questions: (1) in what way is the Holy Spirit trying to lead me to holiness?; (2) what is my response to the graces that He is offering?

Even if holiness is only achieved with God’s help, we do still cooperate with Him. We still have to respond. That means inviting the Holy Spirit into our hearts daily, asking for His inspiration, His guidance. It means recognizing the gifts that He is giving us, offering thanksgiving for those gifts, and then utilizing them to walk on the right path. So today, let’s do just that…let’s ask the Holy Spirit to continue guiding us, giving us the graces that we need to always strive for holiness…giving us the grace to respond in a way that allows us to walk in the light of the Lord.

Image: Du Paradis by name_ gravity. Used under Unsplash license.