Thanks for all the messages I have being receiving, I can’t thank you all enough. It shows we are all trying to build a true catholic community.
You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matt: 5:48) Holiness is a value every Christian must strive for. The Gospel of this week reminds me of a young boy who wrote a letter to God saying "Dear God, I want to be just like my Daddy when I get big, but with hair on my head." we all want to be holy but sometimes like the boy's dad, we’ve lost our..? Nevertheless, God is still a gracious God. The psalmist sums up the goodness of God this way...
"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor requite us according to our iniquities. As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear him."
A short story from Anthony de Mello, SJ:
There once was an ascetic who lived a celibate life and made it his life's mission to fight against sex in himself and others.
In due course he died. And his disciple, who could not stand the shock, died a little after him. When the disciple reached the other world he couldn't believe what he saw: There was his beloved master with the most extraordinarily beautiful woman on his lap!
His sense of shock faded when it occurred to him that his master was being rewarded for his sexual abstinence on earth. He went up to him and said, "Beloved Master, now I know that God is just, for you are being rewarded in heaven for your austerities on earth."
The master seemed annoyed. "Idiot!" he said, "This isn't heaven and I'm not being rewarded - she's being punished."
Maybe holiness lies not so much in subjecting ourselves to austerities, but more in being true to who God created us to be. We're all created in God's image, so our genuine selves must be good and worthwhile.
No one can find your meaning for you. You find your true self in the unfathomable love of God as the psalmist said “HE” redeems your life from the Pit, and crowns you with steadfast love and mercy. For where there is love, there is bound to be perfection. for the love of God perfect all things. I hope we all strive to be perfect just like our HEAVENLY FATHER.
Peace…