1ST WEEK OF LENT

Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.

When we hear this commandment, two questions come to mind: What does it mean to be holy? And how are we supposed to get there?

The Hebrew word for “holy” is kodesh, which means to be “set apart.” When God describes himself as holy, he is saying that he is different, or set apart from, any creature or created thing. He is transcendent, and in his perfect purity, he lacks nothing. God’s holiness isn’t an action he does; it is simply who he is. And incredibly, it is his deepest desire to share this holiness with us.

So for us to “be holy” (Leviticus 19:2), we have to set ourselves apart and make time for the One who is all holy. That’s how we open ourselves up to God’s work of transformation in us. Before becoming Pope Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger pointed out that “being holy does not mean being superior to others; the saint can be very weak, with many mistakes in his life.” Instead, it has far more to do with maintaining a steady rhythm of “profound contact with God, being a friend of God” (October 6, 2002, L’Osservatore Romano).

Just as God’s holiness is a matter of who he is and not what he does, the same is true for us. Through our time spent with the Lord, he makes us into a new creation. This transformation isn’t the result of our own moral fortitude or strength of will; it can only come about through a deep and abiding friendship with God. He is the only One who can truly heal our hearts and fill us with his own goodness and mercy.

As with all relationships, growing as a friend of God takes humility and time. It requires commitment on our part—we need to set ourselves apart from the world each day to be with him. It also means accepting that we will make mistakes along the way.

But thankfully, we do not just pursue friendship with God; he is pursuing friendship with us. Because of his great love, his deepest desire is to be with us. In that communion of love, he can do what we could never do on our own: he can make us holy as he is holy.

“God, give me the grace to look more like you every day.”

Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18
Psalm 19:8-10, 15
Matthew 25:31-46