WE CALLED TO BE HOLY.
(Reflection by Fr. Ebuka Nnadi)
"God called us in Christ...to be *holy and blameless* before Him" (Ephesians 1:4).
My dearest ones, , as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, we are reminded that we are called to holiness of life. It is a call that was there even before the creation of the world. Thus, when God created man, He bestowed upon man the sanctifying grace. This sanctifying grace is a gift from God which places man in a state of holiness. This grace was given to Adam and Eve before the fall. With the sanctifying grace, Adam and Eve were enjoying the fullness of God's company. They were fully satisfied and had everything moving well for them until Satan, cunningly in the form of a serpent, deceived them to disobey God. That disobedience separated them from God. Adam and Eve lost the sanctifying grace which is the life of the soul. Ever since then, man has been struggling to come back to God by regaining this sanctifying grace but all to no avail. It was only when Jesus came into the world and died for the sins of the world, that this sanctifying grace was restored back to man. However, it should be noted that one loses the sanctifying grace whenever he or she gives in to mortal sin; and without the sanctifying grace, no one can be holy and blameless before God.

The Church honours the Blessed Virgin Mary more than any other creature because, when she received the sanctifying grace as a gift, she kept herself holy and blameless before God. And that was the reason she was bestowed with this great title by the angel, "full of grace".

From the time we were baptized as Christians, the stain of original son was wiped away and then, our souls were bestowed with the sanctifying grace. So, we are called to holiness of life which nourishes and maintains the sanctifying grace. In Leviticus 19:2 and 11:45, God says: "Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy". In 1 Peter 1:16, Peter wrote, "For it is written, 'Be holy because I am holy'". In Matthew 5:48, Jesus says, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect". In Leviticus 20:26, God says, "You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own". In Romans 12:1, Paul advised us, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship". Paul went on to say in Ephesians 5:3, "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people". He went on to say, "Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life".

From these Biblical quotations, we can now admit that holiness is very important in our lives as Christians. In Hebrew 12:14, the Bible says, " Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord". Thus, the benefits of holiness are enormous. Holiness is the foundation of our lives as Christians. When we lose this foundation, we can no longer stand because "foundation once destroyed, what can the just do" (Psalms 11:3).

In the words of Fr. Ejike Mbaka, "Prosperity without purity is in shambles". So, each and every one of us is called to live a holy life by avoiding sin because sin is a cankerworm to sanctifying grace which is the life of the soul. Honestly, it is difficult to live a holy life in our present world. It is like swimming against the current. But the Bible assures us in 119:9, "How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word".

Most importantly, we should be holy because we are God's Temples. This is confirmed in 1 Corinthians 3:16, "Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?" Paul warns us in 1 Corithians 6:18-19, "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own"


Finally, if you keep yourself holy, God will make you his battle axe, that He will use to shatter your enemies (Jeremiah 51:20). Therefore, without holiness, whatever service you are rendering to God is vain. Truly, there are great benefits in living a holy life. We are told that the prayer of holy person has great power (James 5:16). Therefore, let us strive to live holy lives for effectiveness in our prayers and ministries.
Fr. Ebuka cares.