If you were to take a step back right now, and think about where you are at in your life - what would you see? Are you the person you want to be? Are you living "the best version of yourself"? Are you intentionally seeking out ways you can better yourself and truly serve the people in your life as Christ teaches us to do? When you look to the lives of the Saints - who we are supposed to imitate because they lived holy lives - does that intimidate you? If you look at where you want to be ideally - does that seem intimidating to you? If I say the best version of yourself means that you are called to be holy - does that seem intimidating or impossible? What does that even mean?
If you feel like I'm calling you out right now, don't stress, and please read on. I know these questions may seem like a tall order when the life we are living right now may more times than not just feel like we are surviving. Maybe not even just surviving at times, maybe you're at the place where you feel like you're just exhausted can't seem to do more than just go through the motions and hope for the best. I was sitting in my living room the other day, was exhausted from just not sleeping well the past few nights and decided to turn on some Netflix. As the episode ended I clicked on "next episode" (as one does...) After watching both episodes, I was tempted to click "next episode" yet again (the danger of watching a series on Netflix...) But thought to myself I had wasted enough time and I should go do something productive; I had hoped to go to Adoration for some time that night, but I ended up just doing the dishes and going to bed instead. Going to Adoration, or just praying in the Church for at least 30 minutes a day has been a goal of mine, but I've really fallen short of that lately - I've felt more like I've been going through the motions and hoping for the best. I'm not perfect, but oh, do I strive for it - yes what a foolish person I am :) I am what some people may call a "perfectionist". Although I laugh because that in itself is impossible because no one is perfect except for God. I strive to be one of those people that has it all together and gets everything done on time, has a great relationship with God, and tries to be there for other people all the time. But let me tell you - I do NOT have it all together. None of us do! And all those questions I asked at the beginning - I want to strive for all of that too, but some days it just doesn't happen. There are days when we just go through the motions, when we may let our minds wander at Mass, when we encounter a difficult situation or difficult person and we don't step into that situation or conversation with the mindset of how we can approach them in a loving way. There are days when we make sharp or quick remarks to people around us because we are having a bad day, when we wake up and don't look forward to anything, but look at the day as just another one to "get through". We all have our flaws, we all fall short of perfection. But that doesn't mean we fall short of holiness. Holiness doesn't mean perfection. To be holy means that we are dedicated to God. If we are dedicated to God, that simply means we keep trying - that we don't give up, even if we have some bad days, or weeks, or months. When I asked you before if the saints lives were intimidating, how did you respond? Typically my answer is yes. Generally, when I think of the saints, I think of people who lived their whole lives serving God and that they did everything right in the eyes of God. We tend to put saints up on a pedestal any maybe think of them as "superheroes" of the Church. Superheroes typically have superpowers that "ordinary people" don't have. However the only "superpowers" that the saints have over us "ordinary people" right now, is that they are in heaven and closer to God than we are. When they were on earth, when they were living their lives, just like we are right now, they were JUST LIKE US. They messed up, they went through the motions, they had lack of motivation, and they had their bad days, weeks and months too. So, why do we look up to them? Because their lives exemplify holiness. Their lives remind us that even if they did mess up, or lack motivation, they were dedicated to God, and they kept trying. The other reason the saints lives may seem intimidating is because we hear about so many of them who lived so long ago, or that all the saints we hear about are nuns or priests, or they were martyred for the faith. Of course those are all good things, but it doesn't make it very easy to connect with them and the struggles that they faced - we are living in a much different world, aren't we?! But let me share this thought with you - are there people in your life who you see as a living example of holiness? Who is that person who exudes that joy, that peace, and that trust in God, that even if you aren't talking about God, you can still totally tell that they have a close relationship with Him? These are the people who you could one day consider a saint, or maybe you even now consider them a "living saint". There are also people the Church has recognized as "blessed" or "servant of God" - these are titles given to people who have died who lived a holy and exemplary life and will hopefully one day receive the title of "saint". Regardless of which title they have - these people are holy men and women who kept trying to live a life dedicated to God. If you're interested in some of their stories, click the link below: Young and Modern Day Saints Let me ask you again, are you living as the best version of yourself dedicated to God? No? That's ok! Are you still trying? If you are, that is what it means to live in holiness. Holiness is not this big idea you can achieve and then you don't have to worry about anymore. Take one small step today to strengthen your relationship with God. Maybe it's taking a minute at the end of the day to thank Him for 3 things. Maybe it's starting the day by saying "hello Jesus". And don't get frustrated when you lack that motivation or you feel like you're just surviving. Be patient with yourself. Getting back to the point at hand - we have these big inspirations in front of us, and big goals in life we may want to achieve and that's a great thing! But like we said, some days we don't even have the motivation to even attempt those big goals. My advice to you - think BIG, start small, and be patient. This will lead you to live a life of holiness - and yes, that is possible. Who Says You Can't Be a Saint?
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