CHRISTMAS AND THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Call to Holiness
Photo by Osama Saeed on Unsplash
THE CALL TO HOLINESS
Adam and Eve were in a state of Original Grace because they and God were in perfect union: “So God created humankind in his image, …; he created them … (Gen. 1:27). Dominican Matthew Fox argued for Original Grace, but this belief does not explain the Fall. Fox fell out favour with the Church.
Having eaten the forbidden fruit and heard the Lord’s call,” Where are you?” (9), our First Parents “hid” because they were “naked” (10) …. The Lord casts Adam and Eve out of the Garden.
Literalists read the above text as is, but the account is sacred myth, from the Greek mythos(story) The account is not fiction but sacred or inspired story to explain theologically the Fall.
Does the above mean Adam and Eve, us, are doomed to eternal punishment. No. God in his mercy promised a redeemer through a virgin who would crush the head of the serpent. So, there is a sacred paradox in the first call of God to the humans. Thus, in the Exultet sung at the Easter Vigil is the Felix Culpa, O happy fault; this phrase does not mean sin is acceptable. God in his mercy reaches out to us in our sin, and if we are humble and repentant, we are at right with God.
God’s first call to us was a call to holiness.
Having established the origin of the phrase, the call to holiness, we focus on what it means. Biblically “call” means a summons from God to a person to the service of salvation (Dufour, p.65). God called the prophets from Moses to Malachi to service. For example, in a Servant Passage, Isaiah writes: “The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me” (49:1). Today the same "call” comes through our Baptism; we are messengers mirroring Jesus.
“Holiness “is the gift of sanctification received through the Holy Spirit. One way of describing holiness is to derive three words: Heal, whole, holiness. All these words have the same Old English root haig meaning holy, sacred. When we receive absolution, we are healed, made whole, and receptive to holiness.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) restates the above in a reference to Vatican II: “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of life and the perfection of charity: All are called to holiness… (Lumen Gentium) quoted in 2013 CCC). We find a similar statement in The Word Among Us: “The Lord calls each of us to be his followers and to attract others to himself, to his gospel, and to the Church by a life of radiant love” (June 2025 p.9). We are set apart to carry the Good News to all.
With all the above theology, we may ask how then do we grow in holiness? First, like Job we admit our creatureliness, our sins with a repentant, humble heart. By so doing we open ourselves to God’s mercy. As Pope Francis has written: “[M]ercy is real; it is the first attribute of God” (The Name of God Is Mercy) p.62.
Second, we must realize in faith that holiness can not be separated from suffering. In the CCC we read: “The way of perfection passes by way of the cross” (2015).
This writer has had firsthand experience of this latter statement. Over five years ago I was suffering agitated depression which hospitalized me, but before the latter happened, I was in my parish office. Coming out with my wife, I met my pastor who said to me (I paraphrase.) : “You are suffering with Jesus.”
But I was so ill, I did not realize what he was saying. Months later after my recovery, I realized Father was alluding to the paradox of the cross: Jesus’ suffering and death were but a necessary step to the triumph of his resurrection. As I got better, I turned more deeply to prayer.
One might question the call to holiness is only for the cloistered. But Pope Francis asserts the modern world sorely needs mercy. The Lord does indeed call a Thomas Merton to the contemplative life, but remaining faithful to his vocation, Merton himself eventually left the monastery to work for peace, and to dialogue with far eastern monks.
In sum, our Baptismal call to holiness is essentially the Lord’ s universal call to us to witness to the gospel to believers and non-believers. The call may not be to preach from a corner soapbox, but to live our faith empowered by the grace of the Holy Spirit in family, work and play.
REFERENCES
Dufour, Xavier Leon Dictionary of Biblical Theology (Pauline, 1995)
Pope Francis The Name of God Is Mercy (Random House, 2016)
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Houghton Mifflin, 1970) p.1620
The Holy Bible New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (Catholic Bible Press, 1989,
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (Ottawa, 1992)
The Word Among Us June 18, 2025. (WAU Press, 2025)
Bernard Callaghan
bandscall@eastlink.ca
THE CALL TO HOLINESS
Adam and Eve were in a state of Original Grace because they and God were in perfect union: “So God created humankind in his image, …; he created them … (Gen. 1:27). Dominican Matthew Fox still argues for Original Grace, but this belief does not explain the Fall. Fox fell out favour with the Church.
Having eaten the forbidden fruit and heard the Lord’s call,” Where are you?” (9), our First Parents “hid” because they were “naked” (10) …. The Lord casts Adam and Eve out of the Garden.
Literalists read the above text as is, but the account is sacred myth, from the Greek mythos(story), to explain theologically the Fall.
Does the above mean Adam and Eve, us, are doomed to eternal punishment. No. God in his mercy promised a redeemer through a virgin who would crush the head of the serpent. So, there is a sacred paradox in the first call of God to the humans. Thus, in the Exultet sung at the Easter Vigil is the Felix Culpa, O happy fault. This phrase does not mean sin is acceptable. God in his mercy reaches out to us in our sin, and if we are humble and repentant, we are at right with God.
God’sfirst call to us was a call to holiness.
Having established the origin of the phrase, the call to holiness, we focus on what it means. Biblically “call” means a summons from God to a person to the service of salvation (Dufour, p.65). God called the prophets from Moses to Malachi to service. For example, in a Servant Passage, Isaiah writes: “The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me” (49:1). Today the same "call” comes through our Baptism; we are messengers mirroring Jesus.
“Holiness “is the gift of sanctification received through the Holy Spirit. One way of describing holiness is to derive three words: Heal, whole, holiness. All these words have the same Old English root haig meaning holy, sacred. When we receive absolution, we are healed, made whole, and receptive to holiness.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) restates the above in a reference to Vatican Two: “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of life and the perfection of charity: All are called to holiness… (Lumen Gentium) quoted in 2013 CCC). We find a similar statement in The Word Among Us: “The Lord calls each of us to be his followers and to attract others to himself, to his gospel, and to the Church by a life of radiant love” (June 2025 p.9). We are set apart to carry the Good News to all.
With all the above theology, we may ask how then do we grow in holiness? First, like Job we admit our creatureliness, our sins with a repentant, humble heart. By so doing we open ourselves to God’s mercy. As Pope Francis has written: “[M]ercy is real; it is the first attribute of God” (The Name of God Is Mercy) p.62.
Second, we must realize in faith that holiness can not be separated from suffering. In the CCC we read: “The way of perfection passes by way of the cross” (2015).
This writer has had firsthand experience of this latter statement. Over five years ago I was suffering agitated depression which hospitalized me, but before the latter happened, I was in my parish office. Coming out with my wife, I met my pastor who said to me (I paraphrase.) : “You are suffering with Jesus.”
But I was so ill, I did not realize what he was saying. Months later after my recovery, I realized Father was alluding to the paradox of the cross: Jesus’ suffering and death were but a necessary step to the triumph of his resurrection. As I got better, I turned more deeply to prayer.
One might question the call to holiness is only for the cloistered. But Pope Francis asserts the modern world sorely needs mercy. The Lord does indeed call a Thomas Merton to the contemplative life, but remaining faithful to his vocation, Merton himself eventually left the monastery to work for peace, and to dialogue with far eastern monks.
In sum, our Baptismal call to holiness is essentially the Lord’ s universal call to us to witness to the gospel to believers and non-believers. The call may not be to preach from a corner soapbox, but to live our faith empowered by the grace of the Holy Spirit in family, work and play.
REFERENCES
Dufour, Xavier Leon Dictionary of Biblical Theology (Pauline, 1995)
Pope Francis The Name of God Is Mercy (Random House, 2016)
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Houghton Mifflin, 1970) p.1620
The Holy Bible New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (Catholic Bible Press, 1989,
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (Ottawa, 1992)
The Word Among Us June 18, 2025. (WAU Press, 2025)
Bernard Callaghan
bandscall@eastlink.ca
THE CALL TO HOLINESS
Adam and Eve were in a state of Original Grace because they and God were in perfect union: “So God created humankind in his image, …; he created them … (Gen. 1:27). Dominican Matthew Fox still argues for Original Grace, but this belief does not explain the Fall. Fox fell out favour with the Church.
Having eaten the forbidden fruit and heard the Lord’s call,” Where are you?” (9), our First Parents “hid” because they were “naked” (10) …. The Lord casts Adam and Eve out of the Garden.
Literalists read the above text as is, but the account is sacred myth, from the Greek mythos(story), to explain theologically the Fall.
Does the above mean Adam and Eve, us, are doomed to eternal punishment. No. God in his mercy promised a redeemer through a virgin who would crush the head of the serpent. So, there is a sacred paradox in the first call of God to the humans. Thus, in the Exultet sung at the Easter Vigil is the Felix Culpa, O happy fault. This phrase does not mean sin is acceptable. God in his mercy reaches out to us in our sin, and if we are humble and repentant, we are at right with God.
God’sfirst call to us was a call to holiness.
Having established the origin of the phrase, the call to holiness, we focus on what it means. Biblically “call” means a summons from God to a person to the service of salvation (Dufour, p.65). God called the prophets from Moses to Malachi to service. For example, in a Servant Passage, Isaiah writes: “The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me” (49:1). Today the same "call” comes through our Baptism; we are messengers mirroring Jesus.
“Holiness “is the gift of sanctification received through the Holy Spirit. One way of describing holiness is to derive three words: Heal, whole, holiness. All these words have the same Old English root haig meaning holy, sacred. When we receive absolution, we are healed, made whole, and receptive to holiness.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) restates the above in a reference to Vatican Two: “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of life and the perfection of charity: All are called to holiness… (Lumen Gentium) quoted in 2013 CCC). We find a similar statement in The Word Among Us: “The Lord calls each of us to be his followers and to attract others to himself, to his gospel, and to the Church by a life of radiant love” (June 2025 p.9). We are set apart to carry the Good News to all.
With all the above theology, we may ask how then do we grow in holiness? First, like Job we admit our creatureliness, our sins with a repentant, humble heart. By so doing we open ourselves to God’s mercy. As Pope Francis has written: “[M]ercy is real; it is the first attribute of God” (The Name of God Is Mercy) p.62.
Second, we must realize in faith that holiness can not be separated from suffering. In the CCC we read: “The way of perfection passes by way of the cross” (2015).
This writer has had firsthand experience of this latter statement. Over five years ago I was suffering agitated depression which hospitalized me, but before the latter happened, I was in my parish office. Coming out with my wife, I met my pastor who said to me (I paraphrase.) : “You are suffering with Jesus.”
But I was so ill, I did not realize what he was saying. Months later after my recovery, I realized Father was alluding to the paradox of the cross: Jesus’ suffering and death were but a necessary step to the triumph of his resurrection. As I got better, I turned more deeply to prayer.
One might question the call to holiness is only for the cloistered. But Pope Francis asserts the modern world sorely needs mercy. The Lord does indeed call a Thomas Merton to the contemplative life, but remaining faithful to his vocation, Merton himself eventually left the monastery to work for peace, and to dialogue with far eastern monks.
In sum, our Baptismal call to holiness is essentially the Lord’ s universal call to us to witness to the gospel to believers and non-believers. The call may not be to preach from a corner soapbox, but to live our faith empowered by the grace of the Holy Spirit in family, work and play.
REFERENCES
Dufour, Xavier Leon Dictionary of Biblical Theology (Pauline, 1995)
Pope Francis The Name of God Is Mercy (Random House, 2016)
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Houghton Mifflin, 1970) p.1620
The Holy Bible New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (Catholic Bible Press, 1989,
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (Ottawa, 1992)
The Word Among Us June 18, 2025. (WAU Press, 2025)
Bernard Callaghan
bandscall@eastlink.ca
THE CALL TO HOLINESS
Adam and Eve were in a state of Original Grace because they and God were in perfect union: “So God created humankind in his image, …; he created them … (Gen. 1:27). Dominican Matthew Fox still argues for Original Grace, but this belief does not explain the Fall. Fox fell out favour with the Church.
Having eaten the forbidden fruit and heard the Lord’s call,” Where are you?” (9), our First Parents “hid” because they were “naked” (10) …. The Lord casts Adam and Eve out of the Garden.
Literalists read the above text as is, but the account is sacred myth, from the Greek mythos(story), to explain theologically the Fall.
Does the above mean Adam and Eve, us, are doomed to eternal punishment. No. God in his mercy promised a redeemer through a virgin who would crush the head of the serpent. So, there is a sacred paradox in the first call of God to the humans. Thus, in the Exultet sung at the Easter Vigil is the Felix Culpa, O happy fault. This phrase does not mean sin is acceptable. God in his mercy reaches out to us in our sin, and if we are humble and repentant, we are at right with God.
God’sfirst call to us was a call to holiness.
Having established the origin of the phrase, the call to holiness, we focus on what it means. Biblically “call” means a summons from God to a person to the service of salvation (Dufour, p.65). God called the prophets from Moses to Malachi to service. For example, in a Servant Passage, Isaiah writes: “The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me” (49:1). Today the same "call” comes through our Baptism; we are messengers mirroring Jesus.
“Holiness “is the gift of sanctification received through the Holy Spirit. One way of describing holiness is to derive three words: Heal, whole, holiness. All these words have the same Old English root haig meaning holy, sacred. When we receive absolution, we are healed, made whole, and receptive to holiness.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) restates the above in a reference to Vatican Two: “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of life and the perfection of charity: All are called to holiness… (Lumen Gentium) quoted in 2013 CCC). We find a similar statement in The Word Among Us: “The Lord calls each of us to be his followers and to attract others to himself, to his gospel, and to the Church by a life of radiant love” (June 2025 p.9). We are set apart to carry the Good News to all.
With all the above theology, we may ask how then do we grow in holiness? First, like Job we admit our creatureliness, our sins with a repentant, humble heart. By so doing we open ourselves to God’s mercy. As Pope Francis has written: “[M]ercy is real; it is the first attribute of God” (The Name of God Is Mercy) p.62.
Second, we must realize in faith that holiness can not be separated from suffering. In the CCC we read: “The way of perfection passes by way of the cross” (2015).
This writer has had firsthand experience of this latter statement. Over five years ago I was suffering agitated depression which hospitalized me, but before the latter happened, I was in my parish office. Coming out with my wife, I met my pastor who said to me (I paraphrase.) : “You are suffering with Jesus.”
But I was so ill, I did not realize what he was saying. Months later after my recovery, I realized Father was alluding to the paradox of the cross: Jesus’ suffering and death were but a necessary step to the triumph of his resurrection. As I got better, I turned more deeply to prayer.
One might question the call to holiness is only for the cloistered. But Pope Francis asserts the modern world sorely needs mercy. The Lord does indeed call a Thomas Merton to the contemplative life, but remaining faithful to his vocation, Merton himself eventually left the monastery to work for peace, and to dialogue with far eastern monks.
In sum, our Baptismal call to holiness is essentially the Lord’ s universal call to us to witness to the gospel to believers and non-believers. The call may not be to preach from a corner soapbox, but to live our faith empowered by the grace of the Holy Spirit in family, work and play.
REFERENCES
Dufour, Xavier Leon Dictionary of Biblical Theology (Pauline, 1995)
Pope Francis The Name of God Is Mercy (Random House, 2016)
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Houghton Mifflin, 1970) p.1620
The Holy Bible New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (Catholic Bible Press, 1989,
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (Ottawa, 1992)
The Word Among Us June 18, 2025. (WAU Press, 2025)
Bernard Callaghan
bandscall@eastlink.ca
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About the Author
With a B..A and an M. A, in English, Bernard, a retired teacher has been publishing short stories and religious articles since the early nineties in magazines and online. He favors articles on prayer and scripture.
