In the Book of Leviticus the Lord says, “Be holy, for I the Lord your God am Holy!” Those with an interest in grammar will note that the Lord uses the imperative command here, God does not suggest to his people that they should be holy, he doesn’t say that it would be great if they were holy, no the Lord is clear, and what he desires is our holiness. Before such a challenge how are we to respond? How are we to be holy when there are so many distractions in our lives, how indeed are we to be holy when there are so many others who are already so much better than us, how can we ever be holy when we fall into the same sinful traps time and time again? Perhaps we might begin to think that the Lord’s command is not meant for us, holiness is for those who have already been chosen by God for this exalted task, in fact there’s a comfort that comes with that thought – since I probably never will be holy I don’t need to put in as much effort, the Lord will be satisfied with me just the way I am – isn’t that altogether more palatable than “Be holy, for I the Lord your God am Holy!”
Just whenever we’ve reached that happy compromise, that holiness is for anyone other than me, we read on, but this time St Paul is throwing our spiritual life into chaos, “God wills you all to be holy,” he writes to the Church in Thessalonica. It is the will of God that we are Holy, all of us. But how is this even possible, how do we even begin to realise this awesome will of God? The problem is, that if we keep reading the scriptures, seeking a get out clause, some proof that holiness is for someone, anyone other than me, then we may stop reading, because the discommoding fact is that God wants us, all of us, to be holy.
There is clearly nothing new with God’s call to holiness, but it has been so hard for us to fully grasp. When we read through the lives of saints and read of heroic feats, of souls totally enwrapped in prayer, of the foundation of great religious institutions; holiness begins to feel very distant again, it seems like a greatness beyond our own meagre efforts. How different our lives would be today were it not for the 2nd of October 1928 when God allowed Fr Josemaría Escrivá to see a vision of holiness that is for all, and that all are capable of, and thus Opus Dei began as a particular part in the life of the universal Church. With the most impressive dedication, St Josemaría immediately set out to spread the age old call to holiness, not in spite of ordinary life, not through extraordinary means, but precisely in and through the small things of ordinary life, offering up our work, done to the best of our human capacity for the glory of God, and for our own sanctification. Holiness is not a thing to be achieved, a prize for which we might toil in vain, but it is our daily objective, our Opus Dei, God’s work achieved through the offering of our hands and hearts.
Last September Bishop Treanor appointed me to the City Hospital to act as the Catholic Chaplain. The first few weeks in any new job are completely exhausting, but I can tell you that after a few weeks in the hospital I was drained in every possible way. One evening I took up a well known book about the life of St Josemaría and read about the period in his life just after God had inspired him to found Opus Dei, when he himself was working as a hospital chaplain in Madrid. I was instantly impressed with his incredible love and devotion for souls, how he would crisscross the city to hear the confessions of dying patients, how he would cheerfully attend to those who were dying of the most terrible diseases and the deep sense of peace that he would give people who were suffering tremendous pain. I was instantly enthused for my own work and renewed for my own apostolate, and I suggest that this is the continued work of our Father today. St Josemaría enthuses us on our own mission because he shows us that it is possible to find God in everyday life, it is possible to offer up little things for God’s glory, and perhaps most crucially of all, he shows us that it is possible to be a saint in ordinary life.
There are so many things that we could say about St Josemaría, about his personal witness and for the extraordinary contribution which Opus Dei continues to make in all areas of the Church, not least in the Diocese of Down and Connor. Time and again he inspires us to through down the nets on the other side of the boat, and to seek God in the midst of our ordinary lives. He is our saint, the saint of men and women everywhere who hear God’s command to ‘be holy’ and struggle to find a way, he is the saint to lift us up and encourage us in our workplaces and in our homes to do all things well and to live out our Catholic faith, and he is the saint who cheerfully gives us all the hope that God calls us all to holiness, and that it is indeed possible.
This is the text of a homily delivered during a Mass in honour of St Josemaria Escriva, in the Church of the Good Shepherd, Holy Rosary Parish on July 2, 2016. It first appeared on the website of the Down and Connor diocese: www.downandconnor.org
About the Author: Rev. Andrew Black
Rev. Andrew Black is a graduate of Queens University Belfast and is a priest of the Down and Connor diocese. He is currently chaplain to the City Hospital, Belfast.