Bishop Kevin Farrell

Interesting question! It might be understood as asking for all those who would like to be holy to hold up their hands; or it could be a disparaging rhetorical question implying that only a fool would want to be holy. Our individual replies will depend upon our understanding of holiness; desirable or repugnant.

I suspect that lots of people are afraid of holiness, largely because they see it as an extreme lifestyle, like that of a hermit, a mystic or an ancient stylite sitting on a pillar. There were, of course, holy men and women among the hermits, mystics and the stylites. They included people like Saint Romuald, St. Catherine of Siena and St. Simeon. But, that is not the holiness to which most us are called.

We, for the most part, are called to a quotidian holiness, a holiness that is lived out every day, not in a monastery, or a hermitage or on top of a pillar, but in our home, our office, our school, our market, in our neighborhood, and with our families.

Holiness is not spectacular. Pope Francis says it is often anonymous. It is not a performance in a public square but more often a hidden victory in our heart. Holiness is a journey.  For most of us it is a slow labyrinthine trek through the vagaries of life.

In the words of Pope Francis, “Holiness is a journey; holiness cannot be bought. It can’t be sold. It cannot be given away. Holiness is a journey to God’s presence that I must make: no one else can do it in my name. I can pray for someone to be holy, but he’s the one who has to work towards [holiness], not me. Walk in God’s presence, in an impeccable way.”

I call holiness quotidian because it is composed of the little things of daily life. In the Holy Father’s words, “If you’re able to not speak ill of another, you’re on the right path to becoming saintly. Little things … ‘I want to criticize a neighbor, a workmate’: bite your tongue. The tongue will swell a bit, but your spirit will be holier on this journey. Nothing grand, mortification: no, it’s simple. The path to holiness is simple. Do not go back, but always moving forward, right? And with fortitude.”

Now! Who wants to be holy?

The first official Memorial Day, on May 30, 1868 at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., was celebrated by the placement of flowers on the graves of war veterans as a remembrance of the ultimate sacrifice made for their country. Today, we again remember and honor those whose lives were lost in service to our nation.

Prayer for Memorial Day

God of power and mercy,
you destroy war and put down earthly pride.
Banish violence from our midst and wipe away our tears,
that we may all deserve to be called your sons and daughters.

Keep in your mercy those men and women
who have died in the cause of freedom
and bring them safely into your kingdom of justice and peace.
We ask this though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers
Image Credit: IIP Photo Archive on Flickr

Originally published May 24, 2014

Pope Francis “has changed the image of the church so much that prestigious graduate schools of business and management are now using him as a case study in rebranding.” That’s according to Father Thomas Rosica, the priest who assists the Vatican Press Office with English-speaking media.  Father Rosica added that “Many of my non-Christian and non-believing friends have remarked to me that we ‘Catholics’ have turned the Internet into a cesspool of hatred, venom and vitriol, all in the name of defending the faith!”

Speaking at the Diocese of Brooklyn’s observance of World Communications Day on May 11, Father Rosica noted, “The character assassination on the Internet by those claiming to be Catholic and Christian has turned it into a graveyard of corpses strewn all around.” He observed that, “If we judged our identity based on certain ‘Catholic’ websites and blogs, we would be known as the people who are against everyone and everything!” He went on to say that “If anything, we should be known as the people who are for something, something positive that can transform lives and engage and impact the culture.”

Referring to the change wrought in the public image of the Church by the Pope, Father Rosica recalled that “Prior to Pope Francis, when many people on the street were asked: ‘What is the Catholic Church all about? What does the pope stand for?’, the response would often be, ‘Catholics, well they are against abortion, gay marriage and birth control … they are known for the sex abuse crisis that has terribly marred and weakened their moral authority and credibility,’” he said.

What do they say about us now, he asked? “People are speaking about our leader who is unafraid to confront the sins and evils that have marred us.” He said, “We have a pope who is concerned about the environment, about mercy, compassion and love, and a deep passion, care and concern for the poor and for displaced peoples roaming the face of this earth.”

Father Rosica observed that “Often times the obsessed, scrupulous, self-appointed, nostalgia-hankering virtual guardians of faith or of liturgical practices are very disturbed, broken and angry individuals, who never found a platform or pulpit in real life and so resort to the Internet and become trolling pontiffs and holy executioners! In reality they are deeply troubled, sad and angry people.” He concluded by stressing that “We must pray for them, for their healing and conversion!”

Father Rosica’s words are a good reminder of the Gospel message: Your every act should be done with love. (1 Cor. 16:14) And this includes dissent.