Father Michael's Weekly Reflection

"As he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him." (Eph. 1:4)

This is the Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time. God has called me.  I did not bring myself into existence.  I am not my own.  Wherever I was born, whatever my profession, I have received the universal call to life to holiness.

Each of us may have a quite different understanding of what this entails.  In the end, we are called to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.  This perfection does not consist in a self seeking endeavor but rather has its foundation in charity.  God has loved us first and all that we do is simply trying to correspond to this love.  We are to live for God and for others, sharing generously our gifts. Ultimately we are all called to be another Christ in this world.  St. Paul sums it up by saying "it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me." (Gal. 2:20)

Questions for Reflection: 

• Do I renew my desire for holiness frequently? 
• Do I understand that half of the work is the decision to be holy and then apply the means? 
• Am I aware that charity is the queen of the virtues and without it, I'm not living in the truth?