THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Holiness: God's overarching call

Remembering St. Augustine: 28th August, 2015

1 Thess 4: 1-8; Mt 25: 1-13

At times it makes me wonder: how many compromises I make; how many concessions I make to myself; in how many ways I make things easier for myself; in how many senses I lose sight of the right spiritual priorities in life... what am I upto in my daily life? 

All that I do, all that I carry out as my duty, all that I enjoy doing, all that I am good at doing...everything should lead me to that one destiny that God invites me to:  Holiness. That is the overarching call of God, despite all the varied shades of events and experiences in life.

Holiness, today the readings explain, is nothing but integrity. Integrity is the quality of being what I am, what I am called to be and what the core of my being is, without considering the consequences and inconveniences it could cause. Integrity is that oneness of my mind and heart, that oneness of my thoughts and perspectives, that oneness of my actions and attitudes that does not keep changing as the situations around me keep changing. 

St. Augustine arrives at this oneness, though a bit late, but with a certainty that no one else has manifested. St. Monica, though not a greatly educated lady, understood that the crux of integrity was simplicity, that oneness of everything. It may take time, it may prolong till the eleventh hour, but the Lord will surely be there to receive the persons of integrity, for 'this is the will of the Father: our sanctification' (cf. 1 Thes 4:3).