Dear parishioners and friends,

For some – holiness means kneeling for hours with folded hands in prayer, devout face,  and eyes directed upward. For others it’s a way of life, proceedings, a state that it’s worth keeping, because it leads to eternal life. For us Christians, it is our weapon against  bad treatment, cursing, as well as indifference, and dominance of our personal lives by those to whom our faith, our attitude, our existence is like salt in the wound.

When God speaks to Moses, He orders him to repeat these words to the whole community of Israel, and to us who now read: “be holy, for I am Holy, the Lord your God!” (Lev 19, 2b). We need to understand these significant words properly. Sanctity is not for show, but about the rules of life which confirm that a person is righteous, not looking for disagreements and hatred.

It is also to show others our wisdom, our belonging to God, our  status of being a man of faith, love and hope. Faith in another man, love for others, hope not only for eternal life, but also for those who still do not understand the rules given to us by Jesus Christ and who will join us on the road to holiness, to God. If we believe in the risen Christ, everything belongs to us. We read this in a letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians: ” the world, or life, or death, or things present, or the future; all belong to you, you to Christ, and Christ to God. ” (1 Cor 3:22b-23).

The Evangelical words of Jesus Christ are in fact the full instruction on what to do in order to attain Holiness. Christ passes us the basic principles: “love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for He makes His sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. ” (Mt 5, 44b-45). You can ask, what is the offer for these principles? The greatest: He offers us to be “perfect, just as your father in heaven is perfect.” (Mt 5,48). And this offer is not for bidding.

It is less than two weeks to Ash Wednesday. We will begin the time of Lent. This will be the perfect opportunity to soar to the heights of holiness through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving; opportunity to deepen our faith and get closer to God. Don’t waste the time of grace.     God Bless You!