Click here to read the daily readings from the USCCB website.
I try not to beat a dead horse. I don’t want to say the same thing over and over again, but these blogs are usually borne of my own meditation over the Scripture. And it seems to me that Jesus keeps saying the same thing to me, over and over again. I also don’t want to talk about the importance of holiness and begin to cause scrupulosity in the heart of the reader.
When I think and speak about holiness, I don’t think about the value of a person. Being holy doesn’t mean that someone is better or worth more. To be holy means to be “set apart.” To strive for holiness means that one sets oneself apart for God. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”
Holiness is a decision. It’s also a journey. It doesn’t just happen, and it certainly doesn’t happen all at once. Look at the apostles. They didn’t have it all together at the beginning of the story. Slowly their faith in Jesus grew and their actions followed suit. More than anything else, their conversions were rooted in their profound encounters with the Risen Lord. I must be the same for us! More than anything else, our lives must be shaped by our relationships with the Risen Lord. We stay in relationship with Him by truly taking up our crosses and following Him.
-Amanda Benner, Director of Evangelization