Of all human beings who have ever walked the earth, Mary would be the one we consider the holiest.  Why?  She never sinned.  She was the mother of our Lord.  She submitted her will to the Lord in her great yes to the angel Gabriel.  She was protected from original sin through her Immaculate Conception.  All these things make Mary holy.  We are called to the same holiness in our lives.  Comparing ourselves to Mary we may consider that task impossible, but all things are possible for God (Matthew 19:26).  We know all of us are called to holiness because Christ states in the Gospel, “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).  Perfection is only possible through God, so how do we respond to this universal call to holiness to become like Mary and the saints?

First, we must seek to have an intimate union with Christ.  This union in the Church is considered to be a mystical union since it relates to the mysteries of the sacraments (CCC 2014).  The sacraments are more than just moments in our lives that we go to Church to receive something for ourselves or give us an excuse to have a party.  The sacraments are the ways we receive the graces from Christ we need in order to succeed in our journey of salvation.  Without these graces we could do nothing, and through the graces we are united to Christ and each other.  The union with the divine aids us in becoming holy.

Second, the union with Christ must be seen as not just fun and roses.  Any path of holiness and union with Christ must involve the Cross.  Often, we seek to avoid pain and suffering.  In fact, many in the Faith feel that if God truly loves them then he would shield them from any pain.  That is simply not a true statement.  Jesus states in the Scriptures that if we truly wish to be His followers we must “pick up our crosses and follow” him (Matthew 16:24). The Catechism of the Catholic Church reads, “There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle” (CCC 2015).  This means that we cannot expect to become holy and reach heaven while at the same time avoiding all suffering in life.  The path to true holiness expects it because Christ suffered for us.

Finally, this struggle with suffering does not leave us in desolation on the path to holiness.  The reason we avoid suffering is because it causes us to lose hope, but holiness is filled with hope even in the most empty of moments in our lives.  Hope keeps us going.  Christ died on the Cross with the great hope of salvation of our souls.  Through the aid of grace we endure all in this life because we are not focused on this present moment.  We are focused on the crown of heaven.  It makes all we endure now worth it.  Keeping this in mind, we know that though life is difficult, it is not void of any happiness.  Moments of happiness with friends and family are meant to reinforce the great hope of the glory of heaven that will be infinitely greater than any moment of happiness we experience on earth.  The moments here are to aid us and strengthen us in this life while striving for the next.

Holiness is a difficult journey.  Mary knows that from her own experience.  She had to face Joseph before he knew of the miracle of the Child, the priest Simeon in the temple foretold Mary’s heart would be pierced because of her Son (Luke 2:35).  In the end, she watched her own Son die.  The suffering and pain was not in vain.  It was efficacious on her path to holiness.  Let us ask for Mary’s intercession that we may grow in holiness through what we experience in our lives.