Journey To Holiness

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by Mrs. Anastasia Rebello

Our goal as Christians should be to become Christ like - to grow up to be like Jesus. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:20 ‘We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors" as though God were making His appeal through us. The only way you and I can ever represent Jesus properly is to let His character show through our attitudes and actions. This can only happen through a divine transformation—and that is exactly what God had in mind from the beginning of time.

God had predestined us to be moulded or transformed into His own image but how can this ever happen? Listen to the words of God himself ….Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hands, so are you in my hands (Jeremiah 18:6). In our journey with God we must never forget that He is the potter and we are the clay. As we need to become pliable allowing the Potter to do whatever is necessary. New clay is hard and has to be kneaded skillfully till moulded well, so also in journey to holiness we too need to be moulded well.

Whenever the topic of Holiness came to my mind I always thought it was applicable for the nuns and the priests and not for us - lay people. When I came to Catholic Charismatic Renewal I thought Holiness was an exterior thing. I even tried to dress ridiculously in order to look holy. Today in my journey with Lord I have realized that Holiness is call to all who say they love Jesus and it is a way of life.

To become Holy is a whole life’s work. It is not an instant thing. We know we are not Holy but God with His grace helps us to live holy lives. As I said He is the potter and the power of His Spirit helps us. God has many ways and means eg. just like to make beautiful painting you need colors, or to make a stain glass window or mosaic you need several bits of glass or tiles , So also in our journey through this short life, God gives us steps to climb. The Lord through His great goodness, through the Catholic Charismatic renewal for those who have been touched by our Lord by power of His spirit should know some of these steps. Holiness is not an instant thing like instant coffee or fast food but a process which takes time. The apostles did not become Holy overnight. Holiness is a way of life & we must strive to be Holy.

There are several steps to Holiness but for me I found these the most important.

Prayer: When Jesus prepared for His public ministry he called his disciples to pray. There are several books on prayer and I am not going to teach you how to pray but that you should do it. Make yourself available to pray. Spend time with Jesus. No one can reach Holiness without a fruitful time of prayer. Prayer is not what we do for God but what God wants to do for us. Jesus intercedes for us, and the Father’s plan for us is revealed to us when we pray. One question you could ask yourselves, how much time do I waste with Jesus? Wasting time…? In our society we have to be doing things. But yet Jesus said Mary has chosen the better part…. (Luke 10:38-42) To sit at the feet of Jesus. Prayer first of all is being available to the Lord. Like I remember in early days when I just met the Lord the time I spent with Jesus was the time He was moulding me. It was the most beautiful time of my life. Like a nun was once told by her superior that the best place to be in presence of our Lord is in the blessed sacrament. He is your teacher. So she sat diligently everyday 3 hours before the sacrament and at the end a month she realized that God was moulding her.

There was once a prisoner who sat daily in particular direction in kneeling position. One day the guard asked him why does he face that direction. He told him, In that direction is the steeple of the church and the blessed sacrament is below it and I know my Lord is present there and I am bowing before my Lord.

Sometimes we are distracted when we pray. Make distractions the topic of your prayer. Prayer is thus like food for our body. It transforms us and transfigures a vision he has for us. (Luke 9:29)

Love: Whenever we pray and let Jesus touch our lives, our contact with Jesus makes us loving people. As God is love and whoever lives in God, God lives in Him. 1John 4:7-18 God. Like St Francis of Assisi knew that with prayer love is possible but without prayer love is self-centered. Mother Theresa said that my life is devoted to Christ. It is for Him that I see and breathe. I can’t bear the pain when people call it social work. If it was social work, I would have left it along time ago. We must never think we are indispensable and God only sees what is one in love. But today in our society Love has a very distorted Image.

It is more about receiving than about giving. For example pre marital sex or wrong relationships speaks about love, feeling of niceness which amounts to destroying themselves.

In case of our children it is not only giving all things yet giving them nothing. A person who loves is a person who gives Jesus Christ. Mary did that when she visited her cousin Elizabeth. She did that when she carried Jesus in her womb. If my prayer life is not leading to this then I need to question myself. I need to give it to the Lord so that He can mould me and make me like himself.
Paul talks about it in 1 Corinthians 13
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Holiness is not an instant thing. In our journey towards holiness , there are no important people the only important person is Jesus. In the CCR we stress a lot on gifts. Gifts do not guarantee the holiness of a person. We tend to make stars of people. But the only one we have is Jesus. Like in the old testament God used a donkey Balaam …..We are all donkeys . It is Jesus that is important. The new testament has only one message is to Love. Mother Theresa, Max Milan Kolbe all who lived the gospels had only one message love.

In church many men & women fighting for their rights. Brothers against sisters, all for some piece of property which they did not earn. Jesus Christ who was the son of God came and washed the feet of His disciples and dragged the cross for your sake and my sake. The person whom we serve came to serve and not to be served. Satan has destroyed the image of love.

  • Love means I do not come first
  • Love means giving
  • Love means acknowledging the faults in others and not making an issue of it.
  • Love is the greatest charism.

Repentance and Confession: Confession is very important part of our growth towards holiness. In the OT- David in 2 Samuel 12 and NT - the women at the well confession. There are several other stories about Repentance that is very important in our journey to Holiness 10Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death 2 Corinthians 7:10.
The steps for a good confession :

  • Acknowledge that you have fallen is the first step.
  • No Guilt If we believe that God is love then we must also believe that God will forgive & accept us back just like the prodigal Father accepted his son. There are several examples of backslidden people both in new & old testament.
  • Perseverance is one of the keys steps in overcoming condition. Do not give up. The more you soak yourselves in God ‘s word you will be able to rise out of your situation. Starvation from God’s word will be detrimental for your soul. So read God’s word & claim His promises. We cannot ascend the mountain of God in neutral. ( Example: Try driving a car up a hill in the neutral gear)

Commitment: Holiness is not a one time trip to the altar, but a day by day walk of life AND FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. Scripture speaks much of the Promises. Once we begin our walk in the Lord problems do not cease. Satan will try to deceive the us, In fact he will work over time. The only way to be committed is OBEDIENCE to God in every area of our life. It will not be easy, but always fruitful. As it is said a Journey with God through life in His ways could be very painful, but always fruitful. My commitment to be faithful is very important. So Holiness is not an instant thing but a short road till we reach eternity. Amen

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