Higher Holiness

Seeking the holiness that begins in the heart

02/24/2024

Mt 5:20-26 Jesus said to his disciples: "I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven. "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."

If I were to ask you, who are the really holy people in the Church, what would you reply? Most Catholics would probably answer that refers to the priests, nuns and monks. After all, they dedicate their lives to God and the Church, and heck, they sure look holy in their priestly collars and brown robes and veils and habits. Right? But I would suggest to you that is exactly the wrong way to think about holiness and being a saint. Why is that?

I hear a lot of confessions, and probably over a hundred each week. And I gotta tell you, I am always humbled by what I hear. Yes, people sin, and some of the stuff they say is pretty bad. You want to know what they say? Sorry, I cannot tell you. But far more important is their sorrow for sin, and their desire to do better. I often think when someone walks out of confession: “Man, that girl is a lot holier than I am!” In other words, lay people – moms and dads, teachers and coaches, lawyers and doctors, ditch-diggers and housekeepers, and yes even high school students, are reaching the heights of holiness faster and more frequently than many priests, monks and nuns. The reality of holiness is often the reverse of what we think.

In the gospel today, Jesus says the same surprising and paradoxical thing: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” That is, Jesus’ followers must seek a higher holiness than the professional religious of their day, meaning, the priests, monks and nuns of the first century. How will they reach this higher holiness?

Jesus says holiness is not about wearing a Roman collar or a brown robe or swinging a rosary around like a lasso. Holiness begins and ends in the heart. So, for example, he says don’t grow angry with your brother. In other words, holiness is hidden in the heart and thus confidential, like what I hear in confession. Boys and girls, I know who is holy in this school because I hear your confessions, and the holiest person ain’t me. So, good job, your righteousness is surpassing that of the scribes and Pharisees.

Have you ever heard of St. Josemaria Escriva? He was a priest in Spain who died in 1975. During his life he tried to practice and preach what Jesus urged in the gospel today, namely, holiness is for everyone, not just the professional religious priests, nuns and monks. He proposed a bold new way to grow in holiness through our work or our vocation in life. He would say startling things like: your altar where you offer sacrifice like a priest at Mass, is your ironing board where you iron your family’s clothes, your school desk where you take your tests as a student, your chalkboard where you write your lessons as a teacher, and so forth.

And we should do these activities – ironing, studying, teaching – not to impress other people, but for God. Notice the subtle change in the heart. On the outside we look like the rest of the world – moms, students, and teachers – but on the inside (in the heart) we are becoming saints. We are not living our lives for a "pat on the back" or more money, but for God. In other words, we may not wear a Roman collar, or look super holy, but that is how our righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees.

Boys and girls, I know the sophomores here at OCA are about to go on their week-long mission trip to help the poor in Kentucky. And that is truly wonderful, and I am proud of you. I used to go on annual mission trips to Honduras with 30 missionaries to help the poor there. And that is great too. But the higher holiness Jesus calls us to does not require going to Honduras but rather a change in the heart, why we do things. We do things for God not for others.

I know it doesn’t sound very sexy to stay home and iron clothes and do chores, or study algebra and history, or teach day after day, or write these ridiculous homilies every day. But when we do these things only for God, that is how our righteousness will surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, too.

Praised be Jesus Christ!