In the Quest for Holiness we must first find the Heart of Christ:

In the Quest for Holiness we must find the Heart of Christ:

A follow-up to a recent article on Holiness

As in articles that seek holiness it is the one attribute of eternity that so many do not have the realistic sense of seeking by themselves.  We cannot wish for it and then go another direction just wishing and not understanding what holiness is all about.  

“We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him…For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren.  And those whom he predestined he also called; and those  whom he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified.  (CCC 2012). 

The way to perfection passes by way of the Cross.  There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle.  Spiritual progress entails ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes:  (CCC 2015).  

He who climbs never stops going from beginning to beginning, through beginnings that have no end.  He never stops desiring what he already knows.  (cf 2 Tim 4).

“If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”  (CCC 2029).  (Mt 16: 24).

Here again the premise of the Cross tells us that without the Cross no one will taste the glory of the Resurrection since it is the only essence of suffering that becomes the path to forgiveness.  It will not be prayer, almsgiving, and fasting that are essential during Lent.  But to stop just before the Cross that sits waiting for us to climb we will in fact miss the glory that the Resurrection promises.

We must adhere to the very trek that Jesus walked as he willingly took the path which led to the Cross in order to redeem you and me by welcoming the tree of life that is our salvation into eternity.  Was there any other way that would’ve been a redemptive effort to forgive the ways of sin?  No!  An easier way would not have convinced man and we would’ve kept on our solicitous path to hell. 

The Cross is the only way to find the LIGHT who is Christ in His Glory that promises us eternal life each time we climb the cross. That is our only way to share what Christ welcomed; it is our own effort that awaits each person to protect his eternal soul.

Ralph B. Hathaway