Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

Easter is the holiest day in the Church’s year. It is the climax of the story of salvation, which began with the creation and has now entered a time of re-creation. Jesus, our Savior, is risen from the dead. Alleluia!

We mark the Christian story with holy days throughout the year. There is the holy day of Christmas, when we remember the birth of Jesus. There is the holy day of Pentecost, which marks the coming of the Holy Spirit. There is Good Friday - an experience of darkness and desolation - the day of the Cross. That has now given way to Easter, and to the light and joy of Jesus’ resurrection.

We have holy days and we have holy people. I am reminded of a question that a bishop once put to a group of candidates who were about to be baptized. He asked them, “do you want to be holy?”

Throughout history there have been special holy people, whom we call saints, whose lives tell us something about the nature of holiness. They all have one thing in common: they all had a close relationship with Jesus. By living in the light of Christ’s resurrection, they were able to reflect his glory in their own lives. 

Perhaps the most well known saint was St. Francis of Assisi. He was born into wealth and nobility and, as a youth, spent lavishly on himself and his friends. Yet there burned in his heart a fierce love for God. When he heard God’s call to live a different kind of life, he became a monk, and embraced a life of poverty and simplicity. Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday, was so inspired by St. Francis of Assisi that he took his name when he was elected Pope. 

To be holy, you don’t need a lot of money or possessions. Instead, you orient yourselves toward God, from whom holiness comes. God is the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each divine person of the Trinity is separate and yet the Holy Trinity as a whole is undivided. In each one we can see God and the life of God.

God’s saints manifest God’s life in the world. How do we do that? It’s actually very simple: to be holy means to pray, to worship, and to love God and neighbor. Holy people have self knowledge, inasmuch as they are aware of their sins and failings and are willing to repent of them. Being holy means to accept that God has a plan and purpose for you that may differ, slightly or greatly, from your own.

Because Jesus has won the victory, our holiness is not something we earn or consider a right. Nevertheless, it is something to aim for. Eventually, you learn that holiness is less a state of mind and more a state of being. Holy people are those who are blessed by God and who are a blessing to others. 

The modern world is full of adventure and possibilities. It is also filled with an overabundance of diversions and distractions. Make sure you avoid centering your life on its peripheries, and instead give your attention to things of God. Maybe God is asking you, “do you want to be holy?”

Happy Easter!

Father David