Sep 10 Thu
Me? A saint? No way!
Yes, way. You must be a saint. But holiness is a lifelong venture.
This is the will of God: your sanctification. This is the greatness of the Christian vocation. Personal holiness is everyone's duty, a lifelong "commitment of love." It requires a constant and loving effort to attain the goal. St. Josemaría: "For nearly thirty years, God has been putting into my heart the desire to help people of every condition and background to understand that ordinary life can be holy and full of God. Our Lord is calling us to sanctify the ordinary tasks of every day, for Christian perfection is to be found precisely there."
We need to struggle, to rectify a little each day, by setting specific and attainable goals. This is what God asks of us: effort, the readiness to improve. Mistakes do not matter when we have the goodwill to begin again, time after time. Then, “the ascetical struggle is not something negative and therefore hateful, but rather a joyful affirmation. It is a sport."
“A good sportsman doesn't fight to gain just one victory, and that at the first attempt. He has to build himself up for it, training over a long period of time, calmly and confidently. He keeps trying again and again, and if he doesn't succeed at the first attempt, he keeps on trying with determination until the obstacle is overcome."
God asks us to show our love through the daily effort to fulfill our obligations, the little duties of each moment. “Holiness doesn't consist in doing increasingly difficult things, but in doing them with increasingly greater love."
If we act out of love, we will feel the need to do what we should at every moment and reject the tendency to comfort-seeking. Rectifying will be easy; we will be hungry to give ourselves, hungry for work, not sparing any effort or sacrifice. It is well worth being generous, being eager to give ourselves, even though we know that our love will always fall short. Knowing that our daily struggle pleases God spurs us to begin anew day after day.
To reach this goal, we must say yes, without setting limits to grace.
The fullness of Christian life requires a continual resolve to improve: only in this way will we be faithful. Whoever does not aspire to be better does not deserve the name "good". The moment a person no longer desires to be better, that person stops being good.
We cannot be content with what we have already accomplished. Remember, it’s never too late to become the person you should have been.
Examine yourself, and don't be satisfied with who you are if you want to become who you still are not. For as soon as you become complacent, your progress stops. If you say "enough," you are lost.
If we put limits on our dedication, we would have strayed from the path. Seeking holiness is not just an option open to us, but God's express command. To disregard his will would mean we had failed in life, supernaturally and humanly.