Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Memorial)

For you know how one must imitate us. 

How easy it can be to fall into the trap of thinking of holiness as a kind of self-improvement routine! Of course, there’s nothing wrong with trying to improve ourselves, but in today’s first reading, St. Paul is asking us to widen our view. God calls us to holiness not just for our own sake but for the sake of the people around us.

Paul told the Thessalonians that he and his missionary companions had worked hard, earned their own living, and conducted themselves in an orderly way to serve as a model for them. Just think how it would look if Paul had told them to be diligent and responsible for themselves but then didn’t live that way himself?

If Paul sounds a bit boastful in these verses, it’s only because he wants the Thessalonians to follow him in becoming models of holiness for their neighbors.

“Imitate us,” Paul said (2 Thessalonians 3:7). Christianity grew from a small gathering of Jesus’ disciples into a worldwide phenomenon because there was something contagious about the way believers lived—the way they helped each other, the peace and joy they reflected, and their unwavering trust in the Holy Spirit’s power in their lives. It made people want to know them and to imitate them.

The Church is still growing today because of the witness of everyday believers like each one of us. It will continue to grow as you ask the Spirit to help you maintain a joyful, peaceful attitude today, even if your day is filled with “toil and drudgery” (2 Thessalonians 3:8). It will grow as you avoid the near occasion of sin so that you don’t “act in a disorderly way” and give a poor witness to the gospel (3:7). And if you should fall to temptation, the Church can still grow—as you humbly confess your sin and seek the forgiveness of anyone you might have hurt.

Yes, the Church grows because of God’s grace and not only because of our hard work and dedication. But that grace has to show itself somehow, and that’s where you come in. By the witness of your life, you can show the world what that looks like!

“Lord, help me to imitate you in holiness today.”

2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18
Psalm 128:1-2, 4-5
Matthew 23:27-32