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Holiness is desire for God, intertwined with personal integrity
Published: January 9, 2021
By Father Jerome Kodell, OSB
Subiaco Abbey
The Letter to the Hebrews tells us to strive for holiness, “without which no one will see the Lord.” (12:14) But what do we mean by holiness? We might say, “I know it when I see it.” But do we?
There have been many sad cases in history and in the recent past when people who seemed to be holy turned out to have a dark and unredeemed side that we hadn’t seen until they fell.
One of the most helpful definitions of holiness is that of St. John Henry Newman: “Holiness is a frame of mind in which we see everything in terms of eternity and act with the constant awareness of the presence of God.”
One of the most helpful definitions of holiness is that of St. John Henry Newman: “Holiness is a frame of mind in which we see everything in terms of eternity and act with the constant awareness of the presence of God.”
In this definition, holiness is not a matter of a state of life or a kind of work or ministry or the possession and use of material goods. It explains the amazing variety in the lives of those who have been proclaimed saints after their life here is finished.
But this in itself does not give us a clue to their holiness while they are among us. How do you know a person is seeing everything in terms of eternity and acting with a constant awareness of the presence of God? How do you know, in your own desire to serve God, if that is true of yourself?
A concept that is closer to home and one that gives us a better possibility of judging holiness is integrity: the way a person’s life reflects and validates or not the principles and values he or she professes. If you are a Catholic Christian, integrity means living by the dictates of your Catholic faith, but not only in an external sense, obeying what you have been instructed to believe and to do, but after having internalized the faith, living consistently from the dictates of your conscience within.
Holiness as personal integrity helps explain how persons who do not know about Christ or even God may become holy. Vatican Council II stated: “Those also can attain to salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, yet sincerely seek God and moved by grace strive by their deeds to do his will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience.” (Constitution on the Church, 16)
There is a long list of people in history — Mahatma Gandhi is an evident example — who though not Christian and perhaps not even believing in God as understood in Christian faith have sacrificed everything because of the inner principle governing their life.
The availability of God beyond Jewish and Christian boundaries was already the conviction that struck St. Peter, contrary to his earlier judgment, when he was guided by God to the house of the pagan centurion Cornelius: “I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.” (Acts 10:34-35)
Moments later, as Peter was preaching, the Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius and his household even before they were baptized. When he saw this sign of God’s approval, Peter baptized them all.
Faith-filled people may be embarrassed by being called holy because it invokes an image of reverence they may not feel they deserve. People usually do not mean that you have a halo but that your life exhibits integrity. Taken that way, the remark is not only a compliment but an encouragement to make sure that it is true.
