We Are One Body - How To Live A Saintly Life

One of the joys in my life is music. I love to listen to it and I love to sing it.  I am a member of the St. Mary of Vernon Choir and I look forward every week to singing at Mass. This does present a bit of a problem.  I do not read music very well so I am a bit timid when I am the lone tenor at Saturday evening Mass. It is really a lot of fun for me when other tenors present.  Jerry and Todd, two of our expert tenors make it look so easy and as they are "singing in my ear" the notes on the page seem to come alive and I have a better time of keeping with the group.  This is First Corinthians 12 in action! 

Yesterday I wrote how the Catholic Church formally canonizes those people she considers as worthy examples for us to emulate in living our life. But what can you and I do as people in the real world to become a holy person? 

First let's define what a hole person is. A holy person need not be a religious person. As a matter of fact I know some religious people that are not living a holy life (forgive me for judging them.)  A holy person is a person that is whole.  Their whole being is turned to God.  They are hopelessly in love with God and do not want to turn away from him. This burning love to God is a hallmark of a holy person.  Well, I hear you say, that lets me out.  Not so fast there good buddy. You don't become a whole person overnight, it takes a long time.  For some of us it will take to our last breath and that is okay. A holy person is a person that is making the attempt to be better.  So you probably are on the way to becoming a holy person. Here are some things that we have to accomplish to complete on our journey.  Consider it our bucket list to heaven.

• PRAY.  Prayer is the beginning to establishing a relationship with God.  It is also a simple thing to do. Talk to God like you are talking to a friend.  After a while, perhaps years, you will realize that you are doing all of the talking. That is okay but you may realize that a relationship where one does all of the speaking can be improved. 
• LISTEN.  When we realize that God may have something to say to us we will try to listen.  It is NOT an easy thing to do. When you quiet your mind and start to focus on God events of the day, issues you are dealing with, outside distractions will tend to intrude. That's okay. Chase them away.  Be kind to yourself, do not be discouraged.  At the start if you can be in absolute silence of mind and focused on God for thirty seconds, then consider that a success.  Be faithful.  Talk to Jesus every day and after you have had your say, quiet your mind and try to listen for the voice of the Lord.  If you were able to do ten seconds one day, try for eleven seconds the next time you pray. Slow and steady progress is what you strive for.
• ACTION.  The word Christian and Catholic should bring to mind action. Prayer is good and is heartily recommended but we must be people of action.  As Mother Theresa once said we must be willing to do small things with great love.  Christian action can be as simple as helping a child tie shoe or giving a cold drink of water to a man on a hot day. In other words your actions do not have to be earth shaking. We are presented with dozens of events over the course of a week where we can be Christ to another person, watch for them. 
• CONFESS.  End every day with a brief examination of conscience and an act of contrition. Once a month walk into the confessional and confess your failings. The Church only requires you to go to confession once a year. Would you take a shower once a year?  Would you wash your car once a year?  Would you scrub your floor once a year?  No, each of these things are routine maintenance items. Confession for some reason terrifies some people so they do not go to confession.  When I was a kid we went every week and the priests would be available for three hours on Saturday afternoon and there was always a line to get into what Edith Bunker, Archie Bunker's wife in the 70's sitcom All in the Family, "Telephone booths to God."  I don't know why confession has fallen out of favor today. Maybe people don't sin anymore. But confession will give you graces that will help you to defeat sin and you will have a fresh start. 
• COMMUNION.  Go to communion every chance you get. We can get no closer to Jesus on this mortal earth than when we take Him into us, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.  When you take communion Jesus is truly present in you.  Talk to Him, do not ignore Him.  He wants to hear your needs, your apologies to Him, your praise.  He gave us this great sacrament as a sign of His ever loving care for us until He returns to bring us home. 
• FORGIVE.  This is very important and for some of us it will be very hard. But when you say the Our Father we ask God to forgive us our sin as we forgive those who have sinned against us.  When my mother passed away my heart was filled with rage against the doctor that mis-diagnosed her and indirectly caused her to die young.  I carried that rage inside of me for six long months. During that time I was also in a deep depression. Had that doctor stepped in front of my car I would have done my best to run her down, and this is not a joke.  One day on my way to work I passed a Catholic Church and a thought entered my head. I realized that the Blessed Sacrament was only yards away and brick and glass could not shield me from His love. I knew at that moment what I had to do.  I had to forgive.  When I did my depression left me and the rage I felt was replaced by a deep seated feeling of peace.  Since that time it has become impossible for me to hate anyone.  Would I eat lunch with that doctor? No, I do not hate her, but I also realize that she is one of God's beloved children and I have no right to hate her. So when I released my hate and rage, God granted me a deep peace. So forgive your enemy, you will be doing yourself a great favor. 
• PRAY FOR THE POOR SOULS.  It is a fact that most of us will not make it directly to heaven. There will be imperfections on our souls that will need to be scrubbed away before we will feel that we can enter heaven. Once in Purgatory we can no longer help ourselves. We have to wait until we are ready for heaven or our time can be cut short because of the prayers of the people still alive for us.  If we pray for the poor souls and if we pray even one soul out of purgatory and into heaven, he or she will not forget us when we are in need. 

I think that if we do these things we will begin to enjoy heaven right here on earth because we will have stepped outside ourselves and shared the love that has been showered on us by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

May the light that is Christ guide you this day and this week.