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Mr Joseph Vempeny Posted on : 12/01/2010 14:39:33

Invitation to Holiness

One day a young man told me of a dream he had. In the dream he dies and some one leads him up a hill to reach an old house. The house looked very repulsive to live in and there were many people in and out of the house. But not one of them looked happy, all seemed lost or sad or upset. And the sad part of the dream was that the same house seemed to be his destination. He was supposed to join those miserable people.

After some prayerful thought when I said that the house he saw could possibly be the purgatory, his face fell. He naturally expected to reach heaven at death. (Purgatory is not mentioned these days.) I told him not to worry, that the dream did not mean that he will have to be in the purgatory. It must have been a reminder that it exists – a pointer to the bye pass or short cut that will take you straight to heaven avoiding purgatory. People who take that bye pass are called saints. Every one of us can and must attain that state. That short cut, that bye pass is a life of holiness that God intended for us in the first place and to which the holy Bible is inviting us. “…for it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:16. Here Peter is quoting from Leviticus 11: 44. Jesus also invites us to become saints. “Be perfect therefore as your heavenly father is perfect.” Mt. 5: 48. Every one of us, you and I have every chance of becoming a saint. In fact that is what God the Father wants of us. That is what Jesus wants. So shall we see how to become a saint – how to lead a holy life. Such a holy life leading to sainthood is sometimes called spiritual life.

When we mention spiritual life one is tempted to think; “Is it not meant for those in convents and monasteries? Is it not a life of suffering and hardship, one of sadness and misery? It is nothing like that at all. It is not meant just for priests, nuns and monks. It is for every one; it is for you and me. It is a life of joy and peace, a life of love and goodness. It can even be one of fun and laughter. This life of holiness is heavenly as we can be in heaven here in this earthly life itself because in this case we are constantly with God, enjoying His loving, caring company and that is heaven.

The guidelines to lead this life of holiness were given to us some 2000 years ago by Jesus in his teachings in the gospels especially in the Sermon on the Mount.

A few of these are enough for anyone to attain holiness.

• Live like a child. Trust in the Lord and love Him as a three-year-old trusts its father or mother and loves them. A child never worries about the future nor cry over the past. Neither should you.

• Live in selfless love. Entertain only positive sentiments like love and compassion towards everyone. There should be no place in your heart for negative sentiments like hatred, envy, anger or even indifference.

• Forgive. Forgive anyone who has hurt you or your dear ones and ask forgiveness of any one you have hurt.

• Be poor in spirit. Do not be attached to wealth or material possessions. Be content with what you have.

• Remember that whenever you do something for the poor and needy you are doing it for the Lord.