The attainable goal of Holiness-Homily for the memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 10TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY)

2Cor.5:14-21; Ps.103; Luke 2:41-51

The attainable goal of Holiness

Having celebrated the Sacred Heart of Jesus yesterday, today we celebrate the Immaculate of Mary. To be sacred and to be immaculate both mean to be holy. So, the unity between Jesus and Mary was not just that of Mother and Son relationship but essentially one of holiness. Mary is united to Jesus because Mary took up the virtue of holiness. Today’s celebration therefore teaches us that what unites us with Jesus is not our portfolio, or number of years we’ve been in the Church or whatever, but the extent to which we struggle to be holy.

In the first reading of today, St. Paul begged the Corinthians (you and I inclusive) to be reconciled to God. He invites us all to come into Christ so that we are made new, putting away the old. Being a new creation is essentially being holy. It is this holiness that made God to send his Son to die for our sake “so that in Him (Jesus) we might become the righteousness of God. To give up in the struggle to be holy means to disassociate oneself from the merit of Christ’s death. To be holy, we must develop a sense of awe for the Sacred. It is only a genuine love of God that can convince us to strive towards holiness. So, St. Paul says: “the love of Christ urges us on”.

For us to develop an ardent love for God, we need first to internalize the love God has for us. Anyone who has not personally reflected on how much God loves him/her, may find it difficult to properly reciprocate God’s love. Understanding how much God love us will guide us against taking his mercy for granted by sinning purposefully. It will also help us to cherish moments of prayers when we are privileged to encounter God personally. For one who understands God’s love for him/her, prayer is never just a routine or a burden but a privilege moment of an unusual encounter; encounter with the Divine.

One who truly loves God will be far from over familiarity. This was the case with the Blessed Virgin Mary in the gospel reading of today. Despite being a child, she did not loose the sense of reverence for Jesus. While Jesus was growing up, she must have perfectly struggled with relating with him both as a little boy and as her Lord. As a little boy, she and Joseph went about searching for him when they thought he was missing. As her Lord, Mary calmly inquired from him why he made them so tensed in searching for him. As her Lord too, Mary kept all these things in her heart.

Beloved, from Mary, we learn how best to embark on this all-important project of attaining holiness. Holiness may be difficult but it is not impossible; God does not call us into a life of impossibility. Anything or anyone that suggests to you that you cannot be holy is your real enemy because it is telling you that you cannot be saved. Don’t give up, our salvation is assured in Christ.