Mother Teresa said that only when you realize your nothingness and empty yourself can God fill you with Himself. That’s really our goal in this whole holiness thing. It’s not about us climbing the ladder towards God, because He has already descended to walk among us. This makes it so much easier for us, because all we have to do is let Him in. Neither is it about earning God’s love, because it is freely lavished upon us.
How to Achieve Holiness
The only work necessary on our part is to desire God’s will and to cooperate with His grace. Both of these things are attested to by Jesus during His agony in the garden of Gethsemane.
Desiring God’s Will
He put God’s will before His own, knowing that it meant His suffering and death for the salvation of the world. He was fully human and for that reason it was difficult. Facing death involves fear, it requires a giant leap of faith to not only accept, but to desire what God wants for you above what you want for yourself. It was so difficult and painful for Him that His sweat turned to blood. The spiritual struggles we face in life are far more painful than the physical ones. This inner battle in which Jesus surrendered to the will of God was the greatest He’d ever fought. And that’s exactly what it requires: surrender. Not surrender in the sense of I win, you lose. Because when we surrender to God we realize that we win, for our will is joined to His.
Cooperating with God’s Grace
The angels ministered to Jesus. God was with Him. Although Jesus was God, He was also fully human and required grace to be able to transcend His fallen humanity and achieve true holiness. The same is true for us. We are destined to the same path as Jesus: death, resurrection, and perfection. We are made in the image and likeness of God. But there is something holding us back, keeping us from becoming what we were made to be. Grace is God’s life and love that He freely offers to us should we be willing to receive it. Grace is like the boost we need to be able to make the journey towards sainthood. We can’t do it on our own. We need His help. Acknowledging that and asking for it is a big step in the journey.
Achieving the Impossible
St. Therese of Lisieux explains this simple truth in her autobiography The Story of a Soul.
“The knowledge that it was impossible to do anything of myself rendered my task easier.”
~ The Story of a Soul
Once we get it through our heads that we cannot do anything on our own without God’s help, it becomes that much easier to get out of His way and let Him help us. We tend to set ourselves up for failure, building impassible walls built with fear. We sabotage our mission. Instead of trusting that God will do the impossible in us and through us, we throw in the towel before we even try. God can do amazing things when we give Him the opportunity. St. Francis of Assisi said:
“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
~ St. Francis of Assisi
How can you better cooperate with God’s grace in your life today? Do you want what God wants for you? What can you do today to take a step closer to God on your journey to holiness?