Call to Holiness Essay

Megan
Christian in the World
December 2, 2012

Call to Holiness Essay

When I first started reading through the writing assigned, the first thing that stood out to me was the Catechism entries, particularly the second one from the top. It says, “Charity is the soul of the Holiness which all are called: it ‘Govern, shapes, and perfects all the means of sanctification.’” I found it has an important role in the idea that if we need something, we chase after it if it goes away. In a way holiness is charity. And we should be chasing holiness not when it goes away, but until it goes away. That’s kind of a side note; I just thought it was really interesting.

Often times, we “don’t realize what we have until it’s gone.” I think this is the same thing. We get into relationships that we assume will always be strong and wonderful, but when things begin to crumble, we chase after them until it is either gone, or we get it back. The quote said the church failed mankind because she forgot who Christ was; she did not rely on it. This is exactly the same as the quote in the prompt. The church failed mankind because it failed to recognize the presence of Christ. In the same way, we fail Christ by not recognizing the call to holiness. (wow. I didn’t even realize I had made that connection until I did…). Like I said before, the call to holiness is charity according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Because of this, in order to realize the holiness God has to offer, we must do more charity. They everyday catholic should do more charity. It is a simple act; it doesn’t even have to be for the standard poor or homeless, it can be for anything or anyone. A small simple act for the sake of doing it: that is holiness.

As for the last part of the prompt, I can’t say for sure I know. Maybe saying Christ’s name without shame means without sin, and recognizing his presence. Part of being holy, at least from my talk at Kairos is not boasting about your love for God, yet not being shameful either. You have to have at equal balance. Part of Holiness is striving for holiness. You have to make an effort to be holy in order to achieve it. This is the most important part because it allows a person to fully recognize the presence of Christ, and at the same time you are not chasing sometime once it disappears. Unlike the church, you would be relying on the gift of Christ, and will not be shameful. I guess that is what it means to not be shameful when speaking the name of Christ. It could also be a part of reconciliation, meaning you can’t speak the name of Christ with sin on your lips. This means you must be a full witness to Christ. Witness in this case mean myrtr, and that is the essence of not chasing Christ after he has left.