The Little Path
DO not waste time thinking about the
heroics of the saints, their miracles, extraordinary penances, or
ecstasies if it only brings you discouragement in your present state
(“I’ll never be one of them,” we mumble, and then promptly return to the
status quo beneath the heel of Satan). Rather, then, occupy yourself
with simply walking on the The Little Path, which leads no less, to the beatitude of the saints.
On Becoming Holy
Young Woman Sweeping, Vilhelm Hammershoi (1864-1916)
I AM guessing that most of my readers
feel that they are not holy. That holiness, saintliness, is in fact an
impossibility in this life. We say, “I am too weak, too sinful, too
frail to ever rise to the ranks of the righteous.” We read Scriptures
like the following, and feel they were written on a different planet:
…as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, “Be holy because I am holy.” (1 Pet 1:15-16)
Or a different universe:
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt 5:48)
Impossible? Would God ask us—no, command us—to
be something that we cannot? Oh yes, it is true, we cannot be holy
without Him, He who is the source of all holiness. Jesus was blunt:
I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)
The truth is—and Satan wishes to keep it far from you—holiness is not only possible, but it is possible right now.
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