Holiness
Supernatural life is given to the soul in an incipient stage and now it must develop and grow. To keep alive, the human body must be active, the lungs must breathe, the heart must beat, the blood must circulate, food must be assimilated. The same holds for the supernatural life; according to the vigor and intensity of its operations, we are holy in a lesser or higher degree. Holiness consists in hating what is evil and loving what is good. What these things are in particular God has made known to us in His commandments and counsels, and we share in His holiness to the extent that we avoid what offends Him and do what is pleasing to Him. Holiness is indeed nothing else but the practical conformity of our will with the will of God. "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me" (Jn. 14:21).
To hate evil we must know its malice, and to love the good we must be aware of its beauty and blessings, but before we can do these things the weakness of our nature must be strengthened by the power of grace. That strength comes to us through the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In His Passion, Jesus demonstrated the malice of sin. His humiliations were punishment and atonement for the pride of sin. The cruel tortures inflicted upon Him were punishment and atonement for sinful pleasure. Prayerful meditation on the Passion will arouse a deep and lasting hatred of sin. On the other hand, love for what is good will be enkindled by reflection on the beauty and grandeur of His holy life as He places it before us in His teaching and example. Jesus always does the things most pleasing to the Father, and that is the highest degree of holiness. He is the holiest of the holy but He calls on us to learn of Him, to do as He has done, to love as He has loved. And even though human weakness may be great, His grace is all-powerful; strengthened by His grace, we can do all things.
~ FATHER A. BISKUPEK, SVD
"Prayer keeps us close to Jesus; it illuminates the mind and warms the heart, lifts thoughts and desires heavenward and thus lightens the burdens of the Christian life. In holy Mass we share in the atoning power of His Passion and learn the lessons of a holy life: profound reverence for the majesty of the Father, humility, obedience, and patience. In Holy Communion our whole being is more strongly and deeply penetrated with His Divine life."
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