In his 2001 apostolic letter, Novo Millennio Ineunte (At the Beginning of the New Millenium), St. Pope John Paul II wrote about perfect holiness, stating:
This ideal of perfection must not be misunderstood as if it involved some kind of extraordinary existence, possible only for a few โuncommon heroesโ of holiness. The ways of holiness are many, according to the vocation of each individual. The time has come to re-propose wholeheartedly to everyone this high standard of ordinary Christian living: the whole life of the Christian community and of Christian families must lead in this direction (emphases mine).
Accordingly, this article will lay out some sage advice from Scripture and the Theology of the Body (TOB) on achieving this ideal of moral perfection in this life. For an article on moral perfection, please click here.
Theology of the Body on Holiness
Without getting deep into this beautiful work, I want to simply draw out a very astute observation that JPII gives us. In TOB 19:4, JPII repeats what we all know from Scripture and the Church, namely, that God, who is Spirit, makes us in His image and likeness. Nevertheless, God creates us with physical bodies. So, what gives?
JPII writes that God creates our bodies to make the invisible visible. What is invisible? Well, our souls, grace, and God Himself. Therefore, God gives us bodies to make our souls, grace, and God visible to others. Itโs hard for us to do this if we do not have the discipline and disposition that exudes who God makes us to be. In other words, we must take care of ourselvesโmind, body, and soulโfollowing His will so that we can properly image Him.
St. Athanasius of Alexandria famously wrote of Jesus, โFor He was made man that we might be made God.โ This โexchange formulaโ points toward the gift of deification (click here for more on this). God loves us so much that He gives us the Way to be like Him, to leave sin behind, and become full of grace. Just keep in mind that we are โmade Godโ by becoming full of His grace. We do not become objects of worship (i.e., latria), and we do not become Godโs substance as if He somehow absorbs us into Himself.
So, let us read what Scripture says on preparing our minds, bodies, and souls for deification.
Holiness of Mind
Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by the renewal of our mind that we may prove what the will of God is, what is good, acceptable, and perfect. Thus, the renewal of our minds requires a radical reorientation. It requires us to keep God and His goodness at the forefront of our minds. This may seem daunting, but it is really just a matter of establishing and maintaining this holy habit. Philippians 4:8-9 provides some insight:
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Even while we are working, recreating, before we go to bed, upon waking up, and periodically throughout the whole day, we can and should train our minds to notice Godโs creation and actions and give Him thanks for it. By doing this, we will admire and even adore the artist through His art. This change in mindset will work its way into our actions and desires. Eventually, we will learn to habitually focus on God without material stimuli as well.
Also, we should train our minds to give God thanks no matter what we encounter. If a task is easy, give God thanks for the ease. If it is difficult, give God thanks for His discipline. A difficult task completed gracefully helps us to stretch ourselves beyond our comfort zones. These kinds of tasks prepare us for progressively greater tasks that we can then use to glorify God with our actions and prayers of thanksgiving.
Finally, sin begins with an evil thought. So, we must train ourselves to recognize evil thoughts as soon as they enter our minds and replace them with prayer and good thoughts. With this discipline, an evil thought that spontaneously crosses our minds will not become sinful. We can snuff out the spark before it becomes a flame or a raging fire.
Read Hebrews 12:4-11 and the parable of the talents carefully for more.
Holiness of Body
Jesus said, โIf anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with himโ (Jn. 14:23). St. Paul adds, โDo you not know that you are Godโs temple and that Godโs Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys Godโs temple, God will destroy him. For Godโs temple is holy, and that temple you areโ (1 Cor. 3:16-17).
These words should make everyone stop and evaluate every single thing they do with their bodies. Just as we must train our minds, we must train our bodies. The virtue of temperance is crucial here. With it, we can master concupiscence, which is a desire of the lower (sense) appetite contrary to reason (read this article for clarity on concupiscence).
We must discipline our bodies to eat nutritious foods, exercise, and refrain from overindulgence. Even simple exercises and walking will break us of a sedentary lifestyle that gives absolutely no glory to God. (Caveat: Taking care of our bodies will differ according to our age and ability.) Regarding gluttony, Philippians 3:18-19 states:
For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
Sexual sin is no different. God gives us a sexual appetite for a reason, but simply having this appetite does not grant us permission to abuse it. The Church has always taught that the sexual act must occur between one man and one woman within the sacrament of marriage, and it must always be open to the creation of human life. Click here for more on why this is true.
Since cussing relates to a holy body, we must remove all profanity from our vocabulary. As someone who used to cuss frequently, I can tell you that there is absolutely no need for it. Cussing never glorifies God, and it never makes us better people.
Holiness of Soul
One cannot have holiness of mind and body without having a holy soul, and this requires grace and growth in it. Spiritual growth entails purity of thought, purity of intention, and purity of act. Without cooperating with grace to purify our souls, we cannot be like God who is grace. Our hearts often desire evil, but God gives us the grace to soften and purify them.
Jesus said, โDo you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and so passes on? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a manโ (Mt. 15:17-20).
And Paul adds, โSince we have these promises [i.e., life and fellowship with God], beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, and make holiness perfect in the fear of Godโ (2 Cor. 7:1).
A holy soul will eventually lead to holy minds and holy bodies provided we cooperate with grace. Pray, fast, give alms, and practice the virtues of faith, hope, love, prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude, and, of course, humility. All the saints mention these virtues as being absolutely necessary for whole-person holiness. We simply need to apply them to our daily lives to begin the habit of virtuous living.
Part II of this article will discuss practical means for achieving the goals mentioned in part I.
Authorโs Notes:
- For Bible verses on whole-person holiness, including the necessity to stop cussing, please click here.
- Click here for an article on how to stop sinning.
Photo by Lidia Stawinska on Unsplash
