The Call to Holiness, that is to be vibrant Christians, is a journey that is replete with obstacles, challenges and struggles. These are meant to strengthen us and help us grow in our commitment to becoming holy. The direction a person’s journey takes is very important. Jesus’ battle with the tempter in the desert clearly pointed out two possible directions for Jesus. One was a self-serving direction of living up to the people’s ideal of what a messiah should be. The other was an other-serving direction of doing what God willed, meeting the needs of the people and dying in the process.
Is one’s life going to be only self-seeking, that is, only inner-directed, self-centered, an effort to find those things that one feels will make a person a complete and happy human being? OR is it going to be outer-directed, responding to the call to place oneself completely at the disposal of God? This is truly the fundamental question!
Some people who have embarked on a committed life struggle to fit into a certain self-ideal. They have a picture of what a holy person should be. Every day they struggle against many obstacles to conform to that self-ideal. Their struggle is self-centered and usually unsuccessful. Others embarking on the same course see that the struggle against the interior and exterior obstacles is a stretching to respond and conform to the Loving Other into whose hands they have commended themselves. The struggle is other-centered, a struggle to be open to the call of the Spirit, however it comes.
Even though the journey is one of relationships, of reaching out to God and to other people, it does focus on a person’s personal commitment and faith and identity. This focus is necessary and good, as long as it does not become an introverted, private exercise.
The struggle is not against interiority or the development of a faith life. It is a struggle to keep our vision wide, to see beyond our self and our own little world. It is a constant struggle not to retreat from the world, not to think that doing my thing is most important. It is the effort to be involved in the world, to stay connected to people and to expand our vision to include more people. The hunger of other becomes our own hunger. Their poverty, their homelessness, their suffering from violence and oppression become our own suffering. Their inner turmoil, and especially their failure or their nability to set their feet on the road of the spiritual journey, becomes our own concern. Their happiness, their security, their well-being become as important as our own. The struggle is part of the pilgrimage, the journey of life. It is meant to lead us out of ourselves to deeper relationships.