After sharing with you the thoughts of our Patriarch and Synod of Bishops about an initiative meant to help all communities become vibrant parishes, I have shared my thoughts about what it means to be Called to Holiness<\/i>. It is my belief that in order for a parish to be vibrant, <\/i>the majority of its members must feel and understand that they are Called to Holiness. <\/i><\/p>\n
It is our initiation into the Church, through the reception of the Mysteries of Baptism, Chrismation and Holy Eucharist, that we have been given this call to holiness – given this call to be saints. For to be a saint means that we recognize that we are called to holiness<\/i>!<\/p>\n
It is my belief that holiness<\/i> can mean, and has meant, many different things throughout the history of the Church. In a practical sense, holiness<\/i> means being actively engaged in the spiritual activity called metanoia<\/i><\/strong> <\/i>with an intent to achieve Theosis<\/i><\/strong>.<\/strong> <\/i><\/p>\n Metanoia<\/i> is described as a person\u2019s recognition of his darkened vision of his own condition, which includes negative attitudes and ways of thinking and a sincere desire to accomplish a change of heart and mind. It includes an honest assessment (something not always easy to do<\/i>) of one\u2019s thoughts about God, life and others in light of the teachings of Jesus. Attitudes are difficult to assess because they are our attitudes and we most frequently feel that what we think about things is right.<\/p>\n Once a person who desires to be holy has assessed his\/her attitudes he\/she then makes every effort to bring them into conformity with the Gospel message. This again is tricky since the Gospels are frequently interpreted in accord with our own dispositions and ideas.<\/p>\n A basic rule of thumb is this: any attitude or way of thinking that puts conditions on my love and acceptance of others, is not <\/span>in conformity with the Gospel. I don\u2019t believe that anyone can truly read the Gospels and find where Christ ever placed a condition on His love for others. The one judgment Christ made was when he found hypocrisy – when people said they believed in God and yet rejected their neighbors.<\/p>\n Metanoia<\/i> is the process described in Eastern Spiritual literature of changing one\u2019s heart and mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After sharing with you the thoughts of our Patriarch and Synod of Bishops about an initiative meant to help all communities become vibrant parishes, I have shared my thoughts about what it means to be Called to Holiness. It is … Continue reading